Shadowrun vs The Dark Eye
Compare Shadowrun and The Dark Eye side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Shadowrun | The Dark Eye | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk, Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy | Crunchy, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Character Building, Simulation, Social Intrigue, High-Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d6s equal to attribute + skill, counting 5s and 6s as hits. Meet or exceed a threshold to succeed. Situational advantages generate Edge points rather than modifying dice pools directly; Edge is spent on tactical effects like rerolling dice, adding successes, or imposing penalties on opponents. | Skill checks require rolling a d20 three times, each against a different linked attribute (roll under). A pool of Skill Points can be spent to reduce individual rolls that exceed their target attribute. Remaining Skill Points after all three rolls determine the Quality Level of the success. Combat uses d20 roll-under for attacks, with separate Parry and Dodge defense rolls. Spellcasting costs Arcane Energy points and uses the same triple-check system. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | No open license | Scriptorium Aventuris (community content program) |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Catalyst Game Labs | Ulisses Spiele |
| Year | 2019 | 2017 |
| Best For | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. | Groups who want a detailed, skill-rich fantasy RPG with a deeply developed setting and mechanics that model character competence through point-based skill management rather than binary pass/fail. |
| Highlights | The setting fuses megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races, so a single team mixes street samurai, mages, and deckers. Distinct subsystems model Matrix hacking, spellcasting, drone rigging, and astral space, each carrying its own rules depth. The Edge economy converts situational advantages into a spendable resource for rerolls, extra hits, or penalties on opponents. | Triple d20 skill check system rewards investment in both attributes and skills, Aventuria is one of the most extensively detailed published RPG settings, free quickstart rules available |
| Considerations | Matrix hacking runs on its own timescale and can leave non-decker players idle during a run. Character creation spreads across attributes, skills, magic or resonance, gear, and lifestyle, making the first build long. Dice pools grow large at high skill, so counting hits on a fistful of d6s slows resolution. | Eight attributes and dozens of skills make character creation lengthy, triple d20 check resolution is slower than single-roll systems, core rulebook is dense and requires significant reading before play |