Mausritter vs Shadowdark RPG
Compare Mausritter and Shadowdark RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Mausritter | Shadowdark RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Inventory Management, Hexcrawl, Dungeon Crawl, Sandbox, Exploration, Deadly, Attacks Always Hit, Random Tables, CC-Licensed Rules | Deadly, Dungeon Crawl, Rules-Light, Theater of the Mind, Roll to Cast, Random Tables, Resource Management, Inventory Management, Random Character Creation, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d20 equal to or under STR, DEX, or WIL to avoid a risky consequence. Attacks deal weapon damage directly, reduced by armour. Items and conditions compete for limited inventory slots. | Roll a d20 plus the relevant stat modifier and meet or beat the difficulty class or Armor Class. Advantage and disadvantage use two rolls and keep the better or worse result. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0); Mausritter Third Party Licence | Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License Version 1.1 |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Mausritter Third Party Licence and Mausritter SRD | Commercial publishing allowed — Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Exalted Funeral | The Arcane Library |
| Year | 2020 | 2023 |
| Languages | English, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Czech, French, German | English, French, Italian, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want mouse-scale sandbox adventures where clever plans and careful supplies matter more than fighting. The rules support exploring dangerous ruins and returning treasure to a safe settlement. | Groups who want dangerous dungeon expeditions driven by resource choices and player ingenuity. Suits campaigns where recovering treasure matters more than defeating every monster. |
| Highlights | Condition cards occupy inventory slots, forcing a choice between carrying supplies and enduring setbacks. Spell tablets trade greater power for faster depletion and dangerous miscasts. Faction goals advance between sessions, letting the world change beyond the mice’s immediate adventures. | Torches burn for one hour of real time, putting a time limit on dungeon exploration. Gear slots make carrying treasure compete with supplies needed to survive the return trip. Procedural generators let the GM create dungeons and encounters during play. |
| Considerations | Damage beyond Hit Protection reduces Strength and can incapacitate a mouse after a single failed save. Depleted spell tablets require specific fictional tasks to recharge. Advancement improves attributes and endurance rather than offering classes or extensive ability choices. | Low starting hit points make a few successful attacks potentially fatal. Class talents are rolled at odd-numbered levels, limiting control over advancement. Social interaction relies mainly on spoken arguments and GM judgment rather than a dedicated conflict subsystem. |