Shadow of the Demon Lord vs Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Compare Shadow of the Demon Lord and Werewolf: The Apocalypse side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Shadow of the Demon Lord | Werewolf: The Apocalypse | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Horror | Horror, Modern, Fantasy |
| Tags | Grimdark, Short Sessions, Beginner-Friendly, Strong GM Support | Atmospheric, Base-Building, Character Building, Character-Driven, Corruption, Drama, Lore-Heavy, Strong GM Support, Superpowers, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) add or subtract from the roll, canceling each other out. | Build a d10 dice pool, usually from an Attribute plus a Skill. Each 6 or higher is a success, and meeting the Storyteller-set Difficulty wins. Each pair of 10s counts as four successes. Rage dice replace regular dice up to current Rage and can cause Brutal outcomes. |
| Dice | d20 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | High |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | Forbidden Rules SRD | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Schwalb Entertainment | Renegade Game Studios |
| Year | 2015 | 2023 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want fast, dark fantasy with streamlined d20 mechanics and a sense of impending doom. | Groups who want long-form modern horror about shapeshifter packs defending communities from ecological and spiritual threats, with violent power constrained by moral and social consequences. |
| Highlights | Fast character creation, quick sessions, single boon/bane mechanic replaces most modifiers, 11 levels keep campaigns short | Brutal outcomes can force destructive failures or add four successes to actions the Storyteller judges can benefit from Rage. Choosing a Garou form changes a character's capabilities, creating tactical and narrative options. Caerns give the pack an improvable spiritual home whose traits connect campaign advancement to territory and community. |
| Considerations | Dark horror tone limits genre range, setting tightly coupled to core rules | A Crinos-form Garou who did not kill in the previous turn must spend Willpower at the start of the next turn or enter frenzy, making the war form difficult to sustain outside violent scenes. Harano and Hauglosk can remove a Garou from play when despair or absolutism fills either track, making moral decline a campaign-level consequence. The game centers mature environmental and spiritual horror, including graphic violence and themes of exploitation and extremism that require deliberate table boundaries. |