Shadow of the Demon Lord vs The Witcher TRPG
Compare Shadow of the Demon Lord and The Witcher TRPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Shadow of the Demon Lord | The Witcher TRPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Horror | Fantasy |
| Tags | Dark Fantasy, Gritty, Deadly, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Corruption, Character Building, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Atmospheric, Strong GM Support | Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Tactical, Character Building, Skill-Based, Social Combat, Dark Fantasy, Gritty, Deadly, Licensed IP |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 plus an attribute modifier against 10 for a challenge or the target’s Defense or attribute for an attack. Boons and banes cancel one for one. Roll the remaining d6s and add the highest boon or subtract the highest bane. | Roll a d10 and add the relevant statistic and skill. You succeed by exceeding the difficulty or the opposing roll. Natural 10s add another roll, while natural 1s subtract another roll from the statistic and skill total. |
| Dice | d20, d6 | d10 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Community content program | Noncommercial only — Publisher homebrew policy |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Schwalb Entertainment | R. Talsorian Games |
| Year | 2015 | 2018 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Chinese | English, Polish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian |
| Best For | Groups who want lethal fantasy horror with flexible character paths and campaigns built around eleven adventures. | Groups who want dangerous Witcher adventures with detailed character options. |
| Highlights | Novice, expert and master paths combine freely to create specialized characters. Fast turns trade movement for an earlier action. Insanity and Corruption give frightening encounters and forbidden acts lasting mechanical consequences. | Nine professions develop through branching skill trees. Monster knowledge helps characters prepare equipment against specific vulnerabilities. An optional verbal combat system gives social conflicts their own resolve track. |
| Considerations | Starting characters can die from a single strong hit. The rules include graphic body horror and disturbing effects of forbidden magic. Advancement ends at level 10 after the campaign’s final adventure. | Combat combines several calculations and reference tables. Critical wounds can leave lasting penalties even after treatment. Graphic violence and social prejudice are central to the setting. |