Public Access vs Shadow of the Demon Lord
Compare Public Access and Shadow of the Demon Lord side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Public Access | Shadow of the Demon Lord | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Fantasy, Horror |
| Play Style | Investigation, Mystery, Collaborative, Player-Only Rolls, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Atmospheric, Corruption | Grimdark, Fast Sessions, Beginner-Friendly, GM-Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | When a move is triggered, roll 2d6 plus one of five ability modifiers. A 6 or less is a miss, while many moves split hits into 7–9, 10–11, and 12+ tiers. After a result is narrated, a player can turn a Key to raise it one tier and replace that outcome with a different timeline. | Roll d20 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) add or subtract from the roll, canceling each other out. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Low | High |
| License | Proprietary | Forbidden Rules SRD |
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | The Gauntlet | Schwalb Entertainment |
| Year | 2023 | 2015 |
| Best For | Groups seeking a finite collaborative analog-horror campaign where player-built theories, personal histories, and found-footage prompts shape the truth behind a small-town conspiracy | Groups who want fast, dark fantasy with streamlined d20 mechanics and a sense of impending doom. |
| Highlights | Clues have no fixed locations or canonical answers, so players assemble them into a theory and roll to establish whether it is true. Turning a Key raises a resolved roll by one tier and replaces the narrated failure with an alternate timeline. Odyssey tape prompts let players author uncanny broadcasts that become a campaign timer and feed connections back into Deep Lake. | Fast character creation, quick sessions, single boon/bane mechanic replaces most modifiers, 11 levels keep campaigns short |
| Considerations | Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Night must occur in order, which constrains free-form scene pacing. The Keeper must synthesize campaign discoveries into a custom final TV Odyssey mystery. The intended campaign engages childhood trauma, body horror, ritual sacrifice, and other dark material. | Dark horror tone limits genre range, setting tightly coupled to core rules |