Let's Go to Magic School vs Shadowrun
Compare Let's Go to Magic School and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Let's Go to Magic School | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Collaborative, Worldbuilding, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Narrative, Freeform Magic, Roleplay-Heavy, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Magic School | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + stat. On a 10+, full hit. On a 7-9, partial hit with complications or limited choices. On a 6-, miss — the GM makes a Reaction. Five stats: Virtue, Ambition, Learning, Heart, and Worldliness. Inspiration is gained on missed rolls; five Inspiration unlocks an advancement from the playbook. | 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 | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Low | Medium |
| License | All Rights Reserved | No open license |
| Cost | Free | $$$ |
| Publisher | Holothuroid | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2025 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want to collaboratively build a magic school setting and play out the social drama of student life — friendships, rivalries, classes, and mastering spells — in a flexible, setting-agnostic fantasy framework. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Collaborative worldbuilding during setup defines the school, its magic system, principles, limits, and laws. 17 magic subjects organized into five tiers (Basic, Elective, Advanced, Forbidden, Lost) shape the school's curriculum. Spells are defined collaboratively during play rather than from a fixed list. Scrutiny system tracks institutional consequences for rule-breaking students. | 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 | Requires investment in collaborative worldbuilding during setup; sample settings are provided but no full pre-built setting. | 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. |