Dungeon Crawl Classics vs Shadowrun
Compare Dungeon Crawl Classics and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeon Crawl Classics | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Deadly, Exploration, Gonzo, Dungeon Crawl, One-Shot Friendly, Theater of the Mind, Fast-Paced, Ascending AC, Roll to Cast, Random Tables | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifiers. Unique dice chain shifts die size up/down. Mercurial magic tables. | 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 | d3–d30 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Very High |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | 3rd Party License | No open license |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Goodman Games | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2012 | 2019 |
| Best For | Old-school dungeon crawls with unpredictable magic, character funnels, and a sense of wonder. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Character funnels are distinctive, unpredictable magic system, Appendix N aesthetic | 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 | Requires unusual dice (d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, d30), spell result tables slow play at higher levels, funnel adventures require many disposable characters | 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. |