Shadowrun vs VI·VIII·X
Compare Shadowrun and VI·VIII·X side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Shadowrun | VI·VIII·X | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk, Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Classless, Espionage | Skill-Based, Career-Based, Freeform Magic, Roll to Cast, Deadly, Gritty, Experimental |
| 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. | Action Resolution Check (ARC): roll the die set by your Exclusive Skill score (d4 at skill 1–2 up to d12 at skill 9–10); rolling at or under the skill adds that result while rolling over subtracts the difference. Add the governing Character Stat and your Morality Index, then beat a hidden GM threshold (ARCT) or an opponent's roll (ARCO), with ties going to the defender. Because the Morality Index feeds every check, how closely a character follows their chosen moral Path constantly raises or lowers all their rolls. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d4–d12 |
| Complexity | Very High | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Low |
| License | All Rights Reserved | VI·VIII·X Third Party License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Community content program | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | Free |
| Publisher | Catalyst Game Labs | Knight of the Lake Games |
| Year | 2019 | 2025 |
| Languages | English, German, French, Portuguese, Russian | English |
| Best For | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists and enjoy mastering specialist rules together across a continuing campaign. | Experienced GMs running morally grounded fantasy who want player choices to carry hidden mechanical weight, and tables that prefer immersion and information asymmetry over full rules transparency. |
| 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. | A character's Morality Index adds to every check, so holding to a chosen moral Path lifts all rolls while drifting from it imposes a growing penalty until the character returns, and the GM tracks the grid position in secret so players feel the swing without seeing its cause. Secret Sorcery, the arcane tradition, pairs one element word with one principle word from twelve Magic Circles to declare any effect the GM prices by scope, removing spell lists and preparation and pushing magic toward improvised problem-solving. Characters have no hit points, so damage lowers the relevant Character Stat, and a stat reduced to zero starts a countdown of stat-plus-level turns during which healing can still reverse it before death locks in. |
| 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. | The Keep Uneducated Paradigm places the morality grid, hidden thresholds, growth points, and State of Mind tracking entirely on the GM, a parallel bookkeeping load that grows with the party. Resting recovers only one or two stat points per day and any real activity reverses healing, while magical healing ages the character a week per point restored, forcing long downtime between fights. Social interaction has no mechanical subsystem and defaults to the player's own roleplaying, so persuasion, intimidation, and negotiation rely on the generic check rather than any dedicated social rules. |