Shadow of the Demon Lord vs The Derelict Speaks
Compare Shadow of the Demon Lord and The Derelict Speaks side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Shadow of the Demon Lord | The Derelict Speaks | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Horror | Scifi, Horror |
| Play Style | Grimdark, Fast Sessions, Beginner-Friendly, GM-Friendly | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Horror, Character-Driven, Deadly, Low-Prep, Theater of the Mind, Open Source |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) add or subtract from the roll, canceling each other out. | When a Speaker opposes a Responder, the player rolls 2d6 and assigns one die to Survival and the other to Sanity. Each die is read separately: 5–6 avoids the consequence, 3–4 causes a lesser consequence and transfers one Blood to the GM, and 1–2 causes a severe consequence and transfers two Blood. Aiding adds a third die and keeps the best two, but every participant suffers the final results. |
| Dice | d20 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Low | Very Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | Forbidden Rules SRD | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Schwalb Entertainment | Precision Chaos Machine |
| Year | 2015 | 2021 |
| Best For | Groups who want fast, dark fantasy with streamlined d20 mechanics and a sense of impending doom. | Groups seeking a semi-competitive science-fiction horror one-shot where player elimination becomes active antagonist play. |
| Highlights | Fast character creation, quick sessions, single boon/bane mechanic replaces most modifiers, 11 levels keep campaigns short | Assigning one die to Survival and one to Sanity makes each opposed roll threaten body and mind independently. A defeated Responder becomes a Speaker who spends Blood on manifestations, keeping eliminated players active as antagonists. Four Acts raise the Speakers' manifestation limits and Blood supply, producing a complete escalation arc from briefing to escape. |
| Considerations | Dark horror tone limits genre range, setting tightly coupled to core rules | The rules support one hostile-derelict scenario and contain no advancement or campaign procedure. Minor harm, serious harm, cracking under pressure, and meltdowns have no additional mechanical definitions, leaving their consequences to the table. The semi-competitive structure turns defeated characters into antagonists, changing play from cooperative survival to active opposition. |