KULT: Divinity Lost vs Shadow of the Demon Lord
Compare KULT: Divinity Lost and Shadow of the Demon Lord side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| KULT: Divinity Lost | Shadow of the Demon Lord | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Fantasy, Horror |
| Tags | Atmospheric, Character-Driven, Dark Fantasy, Deadly, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Fiction-First, Investigation, Lore-Heavy, Playbook-Driven, Player-Only Rolls | Grimdark, Short Sessions, Beginner-Friendly, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | When a Move triggers, roll 2d10 plus the named Attribute. A total of 15 or more is a complete success, 10–14 succeeds with complications, and 9 or less lets the GM make a Move. The GM never rolls dice. | Roll d20 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) add or subtract from the roll, canceling each other out. |
| Dice | 2d10 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Forbidden Rules SRD |
| Third-Party Publishing | Noncommercial only — Helmgast Fan Content Policy | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Helmgast AB | Schwalb Entertainment |
| Year | 2018 | 2015 |
| Best For | Groups seeking adult modern occult horror where personal secrets drive investigation and dangerous confrontations. It suits a GM ready to build evolving threats and a table committed to explicit boundaries. | Groups who want fast, dark fantasy with streamlined d20 mechanics and a sense of impending doom. |
| Highlights | Dark Secrets link each character's traumatic or occult past to the GM's Intrigue Map, turning backstory into campaign pressure. Stability turns horror exposure into persistent conditions, culminating in a powerful GM Move when a character is Broken. Threat write-ups and milestone procedures give the GM a concrete engine for escalating a conspiracy. | Fast character creation, quick sessions, single boon/bane mechanic replaces most modifiers, 11 levels keep campaigns short |
| Considerations | The game deliberately addresses sexual violence, torture, and psychological harm, so a group should agree on boundaries before play. Campaign play asks the GM to tie each character's history into an Intrigue Map and keep it developing between sessions. The extensive cosmology and the optional rules for magic and Enlightened characters create a large reference load. | Dark horror tone limits genre range, setting tightly coupled to core rules |