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 | Exploration, Hexcrawl, Dungeon Crawl, Dark Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Atmospheric, Faction Play, Deadly, Resource Management, Inventory Management, Random Character Creation, Journey, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, 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 | Medium | Medium |
| Community | Medium | 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 | Unique cyberpunk-fantasy setting blending megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races. Dedicated subsystems for Matrix hacking, magic, rigging, and astral space. Edge system replaces many situational modifiers with a spendable tactical resource. Decades of published lore spanning in-world history from 2011 to the 2080s. |
| 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 as a parallel subsystem that can leave non-decker players waiting. Multiple supplemental rulebooks needed for full coverage of magic, Matrix, and rigging. Published books have documented editing and layout issues. |