Shadow of the Weird Wizard vs The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Compare Shadow of the Weird Wizard and The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Shadow of the Weird Wizard | The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Historical, Fantasy |
| Tags | Heroic, Beginner-Friendly, Short Sessions, Strong GM Support, Character Building | GM-Less, Diceless, Comedy, Narrative, Improvisation, Rules-Light, Gonzo, Beginner-Friendly, One-Shot Friendly, Short Sessions |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) modify the roll. Luck replaces traditional experience, driving both advancement and dramatic moments. | There are no dice. Each player starts with a purse of coins equal to the number of players, or five each with fewer than five players. In turn, a player tells a first-person tale of about five minutes on a subject another player names just before it starts. A listener with a coin may interrupt by staking one coin on an objection. The teller either keeps the coin and works the objection into the story, or pushes it back with a coin of their own. A refused objection normally goes back and forth, one coin and one insult at a time, until one side backs down and takes the pile. A teller who backs down must then use the objection. After everyone has told a story, each player gives their whole remaining purse to the story they liked best, never their own, and the largest pile wins. |
| Dice | d20 | Diceless |
| Complexity | Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Paid |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | 2 of 5 book tools |
| License | Weird Wizard SRD | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Schwalb Entertainment | Fantasy Flight Games |
| Year | 2024 | 2016 |
| Languages | English | English, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who want a lighter, heroic take on the Shadow of the Demon Lord engine with fast play and deep character options. | Groups who want a short, GM-less party game of competitive boasting that needs only a handful of coins and quick wits, including tables new to roleplaying. |
| Highlights | Streamlined rules with few exceptions, novice/expert/master path system offers deep character combinations, Luck mechanic doubles as advancement and resource currency | Objections are wagers, so a sharp teller invites interruptions that can be woven in and pockets each accepted stake. Appendix One gives 186 ready-made story subjects that a player can hand to the next teller. Two coin-free versions for online play let the game run asynchronously over email or a forum, or live in text chat. |
| Considerations | Setting tightly coupled to core rules, shares most mechanics with Shadow of the Demon Lord | A storyteller normally improvises a tale of around five minutes on a subject named moments before, which can put hesitant players on the spot. There are no advancement or campaign rules, so play suits one-off evenings rather than long campaigns. The core game assumes drinks are flowing, and a player who declines to tell a story must buy the company a round. |