Shadowrun vs Tenra Bansho Zero
Compare Shadowrun and Tenra Bansho Zero side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Shadowrun | Tenra Bansho Zero | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk, Fantasy | Fantasy, Scifi |
| Tags | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Classless, Espionage | Drama, Character-Driven, Roleplay-Heavy, Corruption, One-Shot Friendly, Anime, Mecha, Cinematic, High-Power, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d6s equal to an attribute plus a skill, counting 5s and 6s as hits. Reach the required threshold to succeed, or compare hits in an opposed test. Situational advantages generate Edge points that can fund rerolls or extra hits. Dice pool modifiers still apply alongside Edge. | Roll a number of d6 equal to an attribute. Each die showing the skill level or lower counts as a success. The GM announces how many successes are needed, usually between 1 and 6, before the roll. In an opposed roll, the defender's successes set the number the attacker must beat. Kiai points can add dice or raise a general skill before a roll, or buy extra successes after it. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Community content program | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | $ |
| Publisher | Catalyst Game Labs | Kotodama Heavy Industries |
| Year | 2019 | 2013 |
| Languages | English, German, French, Portuguese, Russian | English, Japanese, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists and enjoy mastering specialist rules together across a continuing campaign. | Groups who want a complete anime-style drama of samurai, sorcerers and mecha pilots in one long session, with the whole table rewarding memorable performances. |
| Highlights | Specialist roles divide a heist across physical security, hacking, and magic, giving the team several ways into the same target. Edge turns situational advantages into a spendable resource for tactical choices. Reputation and Heat carry the consequences of conspicuous jobs into later missions. | Aiki chits awarded by the table for memorable in-character play convert into the Kiai that buys dice and successes. Spent Kiai builds up as Karma, which players pay down by rewriting or sublimating their character's Fates. The Zero Act gives each character an opening scene and a GM-assigned Destiny, setting up a story meant to finish in one 4 to 6 hour session. |
| Considerations | Character creation requires coordinating priority choices with detailed gear purchases. Cyberware reduces Essence, which limits magical development. Wireless equipment bonuses expose connected gear to hacking. | A character whose Karma is still above 108 at the end of an intermission normally becomes a GM-controlled Asura and leaves play. The book has no dedicated army-scale battle rules, though individual combat and Strategy rolls can still matter within a war. Scenes usually include only two or three PCs, so players spend much of the session as the audience or voicing NPCs. |