Basically, I'm taking a trip soon, and one of the FLGSs I'm looking at has some Genesys stuff. I'm interested in the system (I already have the base book and some dice), and according to my budget, I've got enough cash to buy another set of dice and either Realms or Shadow. So, my question is, as far as getting "more bang for my buck", which sourcebook is the best? What I mean is, in terms of getting more variant rules or equipment or ideas, or seeing ways to apply things towards my own hacks, which sourcebook is "meatier"? There is a chance, in the future, I'll end up buying the other sourcebook anyway (say, in October or at Christmas, but that's far in the future), but, which one is juicier now? My intention is to pitch a Genesys game in the near-ish future (around the end of summer really).

Folks? Your thoughts and convictions?

So, which book introduces more crunch? That's a tough call. RoT introduces Heroic Abilities, which are pretty useful for emulating superpowers, unique powers, and the like. Other than that, it has lots of new combat-related talents that would be helpful in a setting with a lot of melee combat. SotB, on the other hand, introduces the Favors system, which adds both a new resource for PCs ("I'm going to call in my favor with the police department to see if they can't run these prints for me...") and a new source of GM hooks ("Your contact at the PD sends you a message and asks you to come down to station for some questioning..."). There are also a bunch of new talents that, while geared toward sci-fi, could be reskinned for most settings. New equipment will vary, too, from low-tech in RoT to high-tech in SotB.

So, a super-power system or a narrative favor system is what I'd boil it down to.

What type of game you're planning to run will determine that more then anything.

But in general I would pick Shadow of the Beanstalk. The fantasy genre has a boatload of resources available for free (many of them even on this forum). There just isn't as much for Shadow. I also personally prefer the crunch Shadow adds compared to Terrinoth.

Can you skip the extra dice and get one of them as a PDF? Otherwise I would decide if you want a Fantasy or Sci-fi game and pick the appropriate book.

Personally I love Realms, but I have all the Star Wars books so plenty of Sci-Fi inspiration material.

Both eventually for sure (and probably the Android non-Genesys reference book too, see the Android page)

But when it's a choice:

RoT is dragons and other fantasy monsters, wizards, castles, dungeons, elves etc etc with plenty of lore to dive into, a bit of horror/ medieval society/ questing and adventuring overlap (has things like crafting and magic rules too)

Android is hi tech cyber/web society futuristic sci fi feel, seems to have quite a conspiracies/ corruption/ people vs corporations vs each other flavour to it from what I've picked up from overviews

Sure you could probably cross the two and end up with something quite weird and wonderful, should you wish!

The fantasy aspects could then be a sort of semi-real, semi-illusory form of the code/tech....

That's my post-10 hour work shift summary

PS think the PDF's are reduced still.

I'd say it really depends on the kind of game you want to run. If you want a fantasy or sci-fi game, the choice is pretty easy. If you have something else in mind, then I'd ask what kind of tone you want the game to have. If it's going to be more light-hearted or a classic good vs. evil story, I'd go with RoT. If you want a grittier, more realistic feel with moral grey areas, I'd go with SotB. If you really can't choose, get the PDFs.

Also, share your ideas with us! We all love this system because of the fun of creating new settings, so we'd love to hear about what you're doing. And, we'll have better suggestions if we know what lines your thinking along. There are also a lot of homebrew settings that have been shared already in the Genesys Master Resource List and the Your Settings subforum .

I found Realms more useful in adding to the system than Shadow.