Grimwild vs Shadowrun
Compare Grimwild and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Grimwild | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Narrative, Fiction-First, Cinematic, Character-Driven, Heroic, Low-Prep, Random Tables, Player-Only Rolls, Open Source | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d6 stat dice and take the highest: 6 is a perfect, 4–5 is messy (you succeed with trouble), 1–3 is grim. Two or more 6s is a critical. For harder tasks the GM adds d8 thorns, which can cut a high die down a tier. Players spend spark to boost rolls; the GM spends suspense to complicate them. The GM never rolls. | 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 dice pool, d8 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | No open license |
| Cost | Free / $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Oddity Press | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2025 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want fast, cinematic heroic fantasy that leans on dramatic story beats and character arcs rather than tactical grid combat. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Action rolls take the highest of a d6 stat pool for a perfect, messy, or grim result, so every roll lands on a three-tier outcome rather than pass/fail. The GM raises difficulty by adding d8 thorns that can cut an otherwise good result, scaling danger without changing the dice you roll. Pools of d6 track resources, threats, and clocks by dropping dice as they deplete, unifying hit points, supplies, and looming dangers into one countdown. | 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 | The GM never rolls dice, so all pacing and threat escalation rest on GM judgment and spent suspense. Outcomes are deliberately cinematic rather than simulationist, abstracting away tactical positioning and precise resource accounting. Advancement is tied to resolving story and character arcs, so groups that skip arc play get little mechanical progression. | 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. |