Shadowrun vs Tiny Taverns
Compare Shadowrun and Tiny Taverns side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Shadowrun | Tiny Taverns | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk, Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy | Cozy, Rules-Light, Narrative, Beginner-Friendly, Slice-of-Life, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Low-Prep, Tag-Based |
| 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. | Roll 2d6: if any die shows 5 or 6, you succeed. Advantage grants 3d6; Disadvantage drops to 1d6. Focus expands success to 4+. Tavern chores, cooking minigames, and emotional wellness mechanics replace dungeon crawling. Fortune points bend the story. Built on the TinyD6 engine from Tiny Dungeon 2e. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Very High | Very Low |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | No open license | Proprietary (TinyD6) |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Catalyst Game Labs | Gallant Knight Games |
| Year | 2019 | 2020 |
| Best For | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. | Groups who want cozy, low-stakes fantasy focused on running a tavern, building relationships, and exploring everyday life in a magical 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. | Fills a niche no other RPG covers with slice-of-life play, gentle tone with built-in safety tools, tavern creation and cooking minigames, emotional wellness system adds depth, TinyD6 core is simple to learn |
| 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. | Very niche: must want low-stakes tavern life, limited combat and adventure content, limited appeal for action-oriented groups |