Mythras vs Shadowrun
Compare Mythras and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mythras | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Universal | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Tactical, Realistic, Simulation, Character Building, Deadly, Sandbox | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 under your skill percentage. In combat, degree of success vs. opponent determines Special Effects — tactical maneuvers like Disarm, Trip, Bypass Armor, and Bleed. Action Points govern actions per round, damage applies to hit locations. | 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 | d100 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Community | Medium | High |
| License | ORC | No open license |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | The Design Mechanism | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2016 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want gritty, tactical, and realistic combat in a skill-based percentile system, particularly for historical, mythic, or low-fantasy settings. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Tactical Special Effects combat system, classless skill-based progression, five distinct magic systems, adaptable to many genres, free intro version (Mythras Imperative) | 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 | Steep learning curve for combat, analysis paralysis when choosing effects, large combats become unwieldy, lengthy character creation | 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. |