Ryuutama vs Shadowrun
Compare Ryuutama and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Ryuutama | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Exploration, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven, Narrative, Family, Atmospheric, Low-Prep | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll two ability dice (d4–d12) and add them together vs. a target number. Four daily travel rolls (Condition, Travel, Direction, Camping) drive gameplay. Classes are travelers — farmers, merchants, healers, artisans — not warriors. The GM plays a Ryuujin (dragon person) who secretly guides the journey. Seasonal magic and terrain types shape encounters. | 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 | d4–d12 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Community | Low | High |
| License | Proprietary | No open license |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Kotodama Heavy Industries | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2015 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want cozy, travel-focused adventures where the journey itself is the story — minstrels, merchants, and healers exploring a gentle fantasy world. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Four daily travel rolls (Condition, Travel, Direction, Camping) make the journey the core gameplay loop, condition system tracks daily well-being mechanically, seven traveler classes (farmer, merchant, healer, etc.) instead of combat archetypes, seasonal magic system tied to terrain types | 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 | Limited random tables for generating travel encounters, Ryuujin GM character has benediction powers that direct the narrative, combat system is simplified compared to travel mechanics, setting assumes a gentle-fantasy tone with no built-in support for darker themes | 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. |