Shadowdark RPG vs Troika!
Compare Shadowdark RPG and Troika! side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Shadowdark RPG | Troika! | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Sci-Fi |
| Tags | Deadly, Dungeon Crawl, Rules-Light, Theater of the Mind, Roll to Cast, Random Tables, Resource Management, Inventory Management, Random Character Creation, Strong GM Support | Rules-Light, Weird, Random Character Creation, Low-Prep, Improvisation, Deadly, Random Tables |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d20 plus the relevant stat modifier and meet or beat the difficulty class or Armor Class. Advantage and disadvantage use two rolls and keep the better or worse result. | Three stats: Skill, Stamina, Luck. Roll 2d6 under Skill + Advanced Skill to succeed. Initiative uses a random token-draw stack: unpredictable turn order. Luck is a consumable resource that depletes with each test. |
| Dice | d20 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 2 of 5 book tools |
| License | Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License Version 1.1 | Open (Troika! SRD) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | The Arcane Library | Melsonian Arts Council |
| Year | 2023 | 2019 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, Portuguese | English |
| Best For | Groups who want dangerous dungeon expeditions driven by resource choices and player ingenuity. Suits campaigns where recovering treasure matters more than defeating every monster. | Fast, surreal science-fantasy adventures with minimal rules and random character generation. Ideal for one-shots and improvisational play. |
| Highlights | Torches burn for one hour of real time, putting a time limit on dungeon exploration. Gear slots make carrying treasure compete with supplies needed to survive the return trip. Procedural generators let the GM create dungeons and encounters during play. | Simple rules, creative backgrounds double as setting material, chaotic token-draw initiative creates unpredictable turn order, consumable Luck depletes with each test |
| Considerations | Low starting hit points make a few successful attacks potentially fatal. Class talents are rolled at odd-numbered levels, limiting control over advancement. Social interaction relies mainly on spoken arguments and GM judgment rather than a dedicated conflict subsystem. | Initiative stack can leave players unable to act for long stretches, mixed roll-under/roll-over mechanics confuse new players, setting is implied rather than described, minimal tactical depth |