Shadow of the Demon Lord vs Shadow of the Weird Wizard: which TTRPG fits your group?
Shadow of the Demon Lord and Shadow of the Weird Wizard side by side: dice, rules weight, prep, playstyle and what each game is about. Still split? Put both to a group vote.
| Shadow of the Demon Lord | Shadow of the Weird Wizard | |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Schwalb Entertainment | Schwalb Entertainment |
| Dice | d20 + boons/banes (d6) | d20 + boons/banes (d6) |
| Players | 3–5 | 3–5 |
| Complexity | ||
| Prep | ~30 min | ~30 min |
| Foundry VTT | Community | Community |
| Free version | No | No |
| Playstyle | Horror Combat Survival | Combat Exploration Tactical |
| Setting | Fantasy | Fantasy |
Send both games to your players as one vote: everyone votes from their own phone, no signup.
What Shadow of the Demon Lord is
Grim horror fantasy from D&D veteran Robert J. Schwalb. A d20 engine stripped to the wiring and rebuilt: d6 boons and banes instead of stacks of modifiers, fast and slow turns, Insanity and Corruption. Characters, rules, bestiary and a region of the world all fit in one book. Campaigns are short and brutal: level 0 to level 10 in about eleven sessions.
- you want grim horror fantasy in a world on the brink of ending
- you want short, brutal campaigns: level 0 to 10 in about eleven sessions
- your group enjoys Insanity and Corruption as the price of power
- you want hopeful heroics — its sibling Shadow of the Weird Wizard fits better
- your table is uncomfortable with gross-out horror and bleak themes
- you plan a long, open-ended campaign
- Boons and banes on d6
- Fast and slow turns
- Insanity
- Corruption
What Shadow of the Weird Wizard is
The brighter sibling of Shadow of the Demon Lord: the same fast d20 engine with d6 boons and banes, minus the apocalypse and the gross-out. Characters are real heroes who start competent and grow quest by quest. Three paths stack into a class of your own, and a whole campaign fits into about ten short quests.
- you want Demon Lord's fast d20 engine without the apocalypse and gore
- you want competent heroes taming a monster-haunted frontier
- your group likes stacking three paths into a class of their own
- you want horror, corruption and a world on the brink — try Shadow of the Demon Lord
- you want an endless campaign rather than about ten quests
- Boons and banes on d6
- Three paths, one hero
- Monsters go first
- Quests, not endless campaigns
Send both games to your players as one vote: everyone votes from their own phone, no signup.
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