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, Combat-Heavy, 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 | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | High | Medium |
| 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 | 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 | 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 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. |