Hogwarts: An RPG vs Shadowrun
Compare Hogwarts: An RPG and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Hogwarts: An RPG | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Magic School, Licensed IP, Family, Mystery, Rules-Light, Roll to Cast, One-Shot Friendly | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + trait (Bravery, Cunning, Intellect, Loyalty, or Magic). On 10+, full success. On 7–9, success with a cost or complication. On 6 or less, fail but mark Experience. Moves are triggered by the fiction: Basic Moves cover danger, stealth, persuasion, and knowledge; Magic Moves handle spellcasting, potions, dueling, and magical creatures; Quidditch Moves resolve matches. | 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 | 2d6 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | No open license |
| Cost | Free | $$$ |
| Publisher | David Brunell-Brutman | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2020 | 2019 |
| Best For | Harry Potter fans who want a rules-light, narrative RPG for playing out original stories at Hogwarts: especially groups with younger or first-time players | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Complete 16-page game with character sheets, spell lists organized by school year, Quidditch match rules, and setting reference: all free. Mysteries mechanic drives story forward with player-generated questions. Friends & Rivals system creates immediate inter-character drama. Conditions track both emotional and physical harm with distinct recovery paths. | 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 | Unlicensed fan game with no official support from the IP holders. No structured character classes or playbooks: characters differ mainly by trait scores and House. Advancement is slow, tied to accumulating four Experience. No rules for combat beyond the Duel magic move: physical conflicts use the same basic moves as everything else. | 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. |