Pathfinder vs Shadowdark RPG
Compare Pathfinder and Shadowdark RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Pathfinder | Shadowdark RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy | Deadly, Dungeon Crawl, Rules-Light, Low-Prep, Gritty, Fast-Paced, Theater of the Mind, Ascending AC, Roll to Cast, Random Tables |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. | Roll d20 + ability modifier vs. DC/AC. Real-time torch tracking (1 real-world hour per torch), risky spellcasting (fail a check and lose the spell for the day), and randomized character generation (3d6 down the line). |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Very Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | ORC | Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License |
| Cost | Free (ORC) | $$ |
| Publisher | Paizo | The Arcane Library |
| Year | 2023 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. | Tense, fast-paced dungeon crawling where resource management and player ingenuity matter more than character builds. Ideal for groups wanting old-school lethality with a modern, 5e-familiar ruleset. |
| Highlights | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. | Real-time torch mechanic adds tension, near-zero prep with built-in random tables, 5e-familiar so easy to learn, fast combat |
| Considerations | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. | Limited character customization at creation, random talent progression removes some player agency, real-time torch tracking requires consistent timekeeping, carousing is the only XP path |