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Switching from D&D 5e to MCDM's Draw Steel

· 3 min read
Brandon Poole
Brandon Poole
Culture Engineer

Those who know me know I'm a big Matt Colville fanboy. If you're unfamiliar with his work, he is (was?) one of the titans in the Dungeons & Dragons community, producing the Running the Game series on YouTube. When his publishing company, MCDM, announced they were making their own TTRPG, Draw Steel, I was very excited to try it out and instantly backed it on Kickstarter. Fast forward to the official publication and release of the game in late 2025, I started up a new TTRPG group with some friends to try it out.

Draw Steel sells itself as a "Tactical Heroic Cinematic Fantasy" RPG. It tackles some of the legacy issues with D&D, such as being a war of attrition on players' resources, the swing nature of the action economy, the lack of interesting choices in combat in 5e, and back-and-forth dice rolls versus stats that slow combat down. I was between choosing Draw Steel and Daggerheart by Darrington Press (Critical Role), but the focus on tactical combat catering to my Pathfinder roots won me over.

After reading the rules and directing (Draw Steel calls the Game Master the "Director") our first few sessions, it feels like a cousin to D&D, where many things feel familiar, but there are some key differences that make it its own unique experience.

Quick highlights of what I like about Draw Steel:

  • Focus on having fun when character building. The core rulebook itself emphasizes that the purpose of the game is to have fun and that if you end up not liking a character choice, such as which ability you chose, your class, etc., you can change it between sessions (just let your table know of more significant changes). This is a breath of fresh air compared to overthinking due to retraining (or lack thereof) rules in games.
  • 2d10 instead of d20 rolls, which gives a more centered distribution of results, reducing the swinginess of rolls.
  • Zipper initiative. Players can choose when to act in the round, alternating turns with monsters, allowing for more tactical choices and teamwork.
  • Tiered outcomes. Your actions always do something, but how well you do them varies. This keeps the game moving and players engaged.
  • No mundane equipment management. You just assume you have basic gear like torches or climbing gear. We're not playing Diablo or Skyrim equipment manager.
  • Tactical combat with a focus on positioning. Combat feels more dynamic and engaging. Lots of push, pull, and slide mechanics.
  • Edge/Bane system with Double Edge / Double Bane encouraging tactical choices instead of just cancelling out like D&D's advantage/disadvantage.
  • No limited ability management. No spellslots, N/day / N/rest abilities. Instead, you have a pool of Heroic Resource points to spend on your abilities that accumulate during combat.
    • As a resource hoarder myself, this is great for me as I'm not worried about wasting a powerful ability just because I might need it later before a rest.
  • Kits! Kits are amazing - you get to rework the focus of your martial characters during rests. Your Shadow isn't just the archetypal Cloak and Dagger rogue,; you can switch to a Shining Armor and be a mobile tank!
  • Titles give characters earned boons and abilities based on their actions in-game, encouraging roleplay and character development.

We haven't gotten to them yet, but the game also has Montage Tests which include the whole party in a series of scenes to complete a task. Also, I'm very excited to try out the Negotiation rules for social encounters.