Iron Valley vs Shadowrun
Compare Iron Valley and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Iron Valley | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Cozy, Solo-Friendly, Rules-Light, Narrative, Beginner-Friendly, Open Source, Random Tables | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 1d6 (action die) + stat against 2d10 (challenge dice). Beat both challenge dice for a strong hit, beat one for a weak hit, beat neither for a miss. A simplified hack of Ironsworn with only 10 moves. Promises replace vows, satisfaction replaces XP, and a favor economy drives gift-giving and relationships. Extensive oracle tables (50+ pages) generate characters, events, locations, and heart events for solo play. | 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 + 2d10 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Community | Very Low | High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | No open license |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | M. Kirin | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2023 | 2019 |
| Best For | Solo players who want a cozy, low-stakes RPG about building a life in a small town — farming, crafting, making friends, and maybe falling in love, with no combat or death mechanics. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Fills a cozy niche in TTRPGs — no combat, no death, just wholesome small-town life, extensive oracle tables support solo replayability, simple rules accessible to complete beginners, CC BY 4.0 license encourages sharing and hacking | 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 | Oracle tables can produce repetitive prompts over multiple sessions, minimal mechanical depth limits replay variety, no structured campaign or arc progression | 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. |