Fabula Ultima vs Shadowrun
Compare Fabula Ultima and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Fabula Ultima | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | JRPG, Narrative, Tactical, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven, Collaborative, Freeform Magic | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll two attribute dice (d6/d8/d10/d12) paired from different attributes, sum them vs. a difficulty number. 15 mix-and-match classes (Arcanist, Elementalist, Fury, Guardian, etc.) let players multiclass freely. Fabula Points let players add story details. Bonds between characters unlock powerful combo effects. Villains have their own Ultima Points to fuel dramatic abilities. Clocks track escalating threats. | 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 | d6–d12 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Very High |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Community | Medium | High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | No open license |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Need Games / Rooster Games | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2023 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want to play a Final Fantasy-style adventure with dramatic boss fights, multiclass heroes, and collaborative worldbuilding — ENnies 2023 Best Game winner. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Flexible multiclass system with 15 classes, collaborative worldbuilding via Eight Pillars, Fabula Points give players narrative agency, boss fights emulate JRPG encounters, ENnies 2023 Best Game winner | 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 | Collaborative worldbuilding via Eight Pillars requires full group buy-in, Fabula Points can create pacing issues if spent unevenly, villain design relies heavily on GM improvisation | 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. |