Knave vs Shadowrun
Compare Knave and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Knave | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Classless, Rules-Light, Dungeon Crawl, Hackable, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting, Random Tables | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + ability score (1–10) vs. 11 + difficulty modifier. No classes: your abilities come from what you carry. Item slot inventory means every piece of gear is a meaningful choice. Spellbooks occupy an item slot and can be cast once per day (INT times per day total). 100 random careers provide starting equipment and flavor. Wounds reduce ability scores directly. | 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 | d20 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | No open license |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Questing Beast LLC | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2024 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want a classless, inventory-driven OSR game where characters are defined entirely by their equipment: with brilliant random tables and a full worldbuilding toolkit. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Classless: gear defines the character, item slot inventory makes every choice meaningful, extensive random tables for worldbuilding, CC BY license allows free modification, fits in a small book | 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 | No character classes may feel directionless for some players, very swingy d20 rolls with low ability scores, minimal rules means heavy GM improvisation, combat is basic by design | 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. |