Kids on Brooms vs Shadowrun
Compare Kids on Brooms and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Kids on Brooms | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Tags | Magic School, Freeform Magic, Roll to Cast, Collaborative, Worldbuilding, Rules-Light, Low-Prep, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Beginner-Friendly, Family-Friendly | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Each of six stats has a die from d4 to d20; roll the relevant die against a GM-set difficulty. A maximum die result that still misses triggers a Lucky Break reroll, adding the new result. Failed checks grant Adversity Tokens that players can later spend to raise 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 | d4–d20 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | No open license |
| Third-Party Publishing | No verified route found | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Hunters Entertainment / Renegade Game Studios | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2020 | 2019 |
| Languages | English, Italian | English, German, French, Italian |
| Best For | Groups that want to build a magical school together and tell adventures from its rumors and relationships. It suits tables that prefer a light check system and open-ended magic over tactical combat. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Players build their school together and seed its history with rumors that the GM can turn into adventures. Open-ended spells use the intended effect and scope to set a difficulty, letting students attempt magic without a fixed spell list. Relationship questions establish bonds among characters before play and give the GM personal story hooks. | 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 judges target numbers for ordinary checks using example anchors rather than a fixed formula. Spell difficulty depends on four effect categories, asking the GM to price each new magical attempt. Combat resolves through opposed checks and an injury chart without tactical positioning rules. | 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. |