Shadowrun vs The Last Book
Compare Shadowrun and The Last Book side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Shadowrun | The Last Book | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk, Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy | Crunchy, Tactical, Simulation, Character Building, Classless, Deadly, Sword & Sorcery |
| 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. | The Last Book uses two resolution systems. Skill and attribute checks roll d100 under a calculated success chance, and how far under the number sets the success margin. Combat is an opposed contest where each side rolls 2d6 and adds a maneuver rating, and the higher total wins the exchange. The margin of victory, called Strike Severity, is added as bonus damage. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d100, 2d6 |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | No open license | All Rights Reserved |
| Cost | $$$ | Free / $ |
| Publisher | Catalyst Game Labs | Patrick White |
| Year | 2019 | 2026 |
| Best For | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. | Groups who enjoy 1980s-style point-buy character building and granular, location-based tactical combat, and want that level of crunch set in a violent sword and sorcery desert world. |
| 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. | The margin by which a 2d6 attack contest beats the defense becomes Strike Severity and is added to damage, so cleanly won exchanges hit harder rather than only landing. Attackers can aim for a specific body location such as the head or vitals, trading an accuracy penalty for effects like multiplied damage or a chance to cripple a limb. Esoteric Alchemy builds potions from five reagent types that each carry their own laws and effects, letting an alchemist mix custom concoctions instead of drawing from a fixed list. |
| 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. | The game runs on two separate resolution engines, a d100 roll-under for skills and a 2d6 opposed contest for combat, so players learn and switch between two different systems. Resolving one attack can involve wound level, strike location, vulnerability and status, encumbrance, and lighting at the same time, which keeps combat deliberate and slow. Character death is largely permanent and crippling injuries can persist well beyond a fight, so losing a heavily built character is a real risk. |