Dolmenwood vs Shadowrun
Compare Dolmenwood and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dolmenwood | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Hexcrawl, Dark Fantasy, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Vancian Casting, Classic Fantasy, Deadly | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifiers vs. ascending AC for attacks and vs. save targets for saving throws (five categories: Doom, Ray, Hold, Blast, Spell). Skill checks and ability checks use d6 + modifiers vs. a target number. Characters choose a kindred (breggle, elf, grimalkin, human, mossling, or woodgrue) and one of nine classes. Three distinct magic systems: arcane (memorized spells), holy (daily prayers), and fairy (glamours and runes). | Roll a pool of d6s equal to attribute + skill, counting 5s and 6s as hits. Meet or exceed a threshold to succeed. Situational advantages generate Edge points rather than modifying dice pools directly; Edge is spent on tactical effects like rerolling dice, adding successes, or imposing penalties on opponents. |
| Dice | d20 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Low | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | No open license |
| Cost | $$$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Necrotic Gnome | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2024 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want a deeply detailed fairytale-dark fantasy setting with OSR mechanics, hexcrawl exploration, and rich faction play in an enchanted wood full of fairies, monsters, and intrigue. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Richly detailed fairytale-dark setting with competing factions and deep lore, hexcrawl travel system with Travel Points and terrain-based encounters, six unique kindreds including cat-folk grimalkins and fungal mosslings, three distinct magic systems each with their own spell lists | The setting fuses megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races, so a single team mixes street samurai, mages, and deckers. Distinct subsystems model Matrix hacking, spellcasting, drone rigging, and astral space, each carrying its own rules depth. The Edge economy converts situational advantages into a spendable resource for rerolls, extra hits, or penalties on opponents. |
| Considerations | Full experience requires three core books (Player's Book, Campaign Book, Monster Book), setting-specific: not a generic OSR toolkit, GM needs the Campaign Book and Monster Book which are sold separately from the Player's Book | Matrix hacking runs on its own timescale and can leave non-decker players idle during a run. Character creation spreads across attributes, skills, magic or resonance, gear, and lifestyle, making the first build long. Dice pools grow large at high skill, so counting hits on a fistful of d6s slows resolution. |