13th Age vs Draw Steel
Compare 13th Age and Draw Steel side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| 13th Age | Draw Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, GM-Friendly, Heroic, Ascending AC | Tactical, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier vs. defense. The escalation die (a d6 that increases each combat round, adding to player attacks) builds momentum. One Unique Things and Icon Relationships tie characters to the setting and drive story. | Power Roll: roll 2d10 + characteristic and check which tier the result falls into: Tier 1 (11 or less), Tier 2 (12–16), or Tier 3 (17+). Every ability describes three outcomes by tier, so rolls always produce an effect, with no whiffed turns. Edges and banes (+2/−2, or tier shift at double) modify rolls situationally. Each class builds a unique heroic resource during combat, unlocking increasingly powerful abilities as momentum builds. Victories earned from combat and noncombat challenges accumulate across encounters and convert to XP during respites. |
| Dice | d20 | 2d10 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | ORC License | Draw Steel Creator License |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Pelgrane Press | MCDM Productions |
| Year | 2025 | 2025 |
| Best For | Groups who love d20 fantasy combat but want more narrative freedom, improvisational play, and story-driven character connections baked into the mechanics. | Groups who want deeply tactical, cinematic combat where every ability matters and no turn is wasted. Ideal for players who love build variety and dramatic, heroic battles. |
| Highlights | Escalation die keeps combat moving, One Unique Things and Icon Relationships create narrative hooks, streamlined monster design makes GM prep fast | Power Rolls resolve to one of three tiers, so every roll produces an effect and a turn is never wasted. Each of the nine classes builds a unique heroic resource during a fight, unlocking stronger abilities as momentum grows. A negotiation subsystem tracks an NPC's interest and patience, giving social scenes a structured back-and-forth like combat. |
| Considerations | Tightly coupled to its default setting through the Icon system, some classes have complex trigger systems | Heroes start with many abilities and options even at level 1, creating a steeper initial learning curve. Each combat turn juggles heroic resources, conditions, and edges and banes at once, so play carries real tracking overhead. The system targets heroic tactical fantasy specifically, so it provides no rules for dungeon crawling, hexcrawl exploration, or survival play. |