Hero Kids vs Shadowrun
Compare Hero Kids and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Hero Kids | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Beginner-Friendly, One-Shot Friendly, Grid-Based, Family, Low-Prep, Heroic | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d6 dice pool (pool size from hero card stats). Attacker's highest die vs. defender's highest die — equal or higher hits. Ability tests roll pool vs. target number (4/5/6). | 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 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Community | Low | High |
| License | Proprietary | No open license |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Hero Forge Games | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2012 | 2019 |
| Best For | Parents introducing kids aged 4–10 to tabletop RPGs. Simple enough for young children, with grid combat and pre-made hero cards. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Genuinely playable by young children, print-and-play hero cards and stand-ups, included introductory adventure, lots of expansion adventures available | 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 | Too simple for older players, no character progression system, fantasy-only, requires printing materials | 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. |