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, 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 | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | Very 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 | The setting fuses megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races, so a single team mixes street samurai, mages, and deckers. Distinct subsystems model Matrix hacking, spellcasting, drone rigging, and astral space, each carrying its own rules depth. The Edge economy converts situational advantages into a spendable resource for rerolls, extra hits, or penalties on opponents. |
| 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 on its own timescale and can leave non-decker players idle during a run. Character creation spreads across attributes, skills, magic or resonance, gear, and lifestyle, making the first build long. Dice pools grow large at high skill, so counting hits on a fistful of d6s slows resolution. |