Dragonslayer RPG vs Shadowrun
Compare Dragonslayer RPG and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dragonslayer RPG | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Dungeon Crawl, Combat-Heavy, Gritty, Descending AC, Vancian Casting, Random Tables | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + attack bonus against descending Armour Class to hit in combat. Saving throws are roll-over by category (Breath, Death, Stone, Wand, Spell). Initiative is d6 per side each round. The GM (Maze Controller) tracks time, light, encounters, and resources — torches burn out, rations deplete, and random encounters escalate with noise and delay. | 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 | Medium | Very High |
| Accessibility | Low | Medium |
| Community | Very Low | High |
| License | Proprietary | No open license |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Greg Gillespie | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2024 | 2019 |
| Best For | OSR veterans who want a traditional dungeon-crawling experience with descending AC, strict resource management, and classic class-and-level gameplay — especially fans of Barrowmaze and megadungeon play. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Comprehensive old-school toolkit with 11 classes and 8 races, heavy emphasis on dungeon exploration procedures (marching order, light, time), critical hit/miss tables add combat drama, designed by a megadungeon expert, extensive spell lists and equipment | 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 | Descending AC and THAC0-adjacent math will alienate modern players, very large rulebook for an OSR game, tightly bound to classic dungeon fantasy, limited innovation beyond curating and polishing older mechanics | 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. |