Age of Adventure RPG vs Draw Steel
Compare Age of Adventure RPG and Draw Steel side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Age of Adventure RPG | Draw Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Heroic, Player-Only Rolls, Roll to Cast, One-Shot Friendly, Low-Prep, Theater of the Mind, Random Tables, Open Source | Tactical, Heroic, Combat-Heavy, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Each Hero picks a single Proficiency number from 2 to 5. MIGHT actions (physical, martial) count d6 results equal to or under that number as Successes; MIND actions (mental, complex) count results equal to or over it. Roll 1d6 by default and add bonus dice for being Skilled, Prepared, Helped, or carrying the right Item. Rolling the Proficiency number exactly on a successful check earns a Hero Point, spendable for extra dice, rerolls, +1 damage, or a true in-world answer from the GM. Only players ever roll: enemy attacks resolve as automatic player Reaction Checks against the same Proficiency, with Block (1 less damage) or Dodge (no damage) chosen by the defender. | 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 | d6 dice pool | 2d10 |
| Complexity | Low | High |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Medium | High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | Draw Steel Creator License |
| Cost | Free / $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Adrian Young Games | MCDM Productions |
| Year | 2025 | 2025 |
| Best For | Groups who want a complete heroic fantasy game they can start playing the same night: everything from character creation to campaign play fits in a twelve-page zine, with classic fantasy races and class archetypes already built in. | 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 | A single Proficiency number from 2 to 5 defines a character's physical-versus-mental lean in one decision, so building a Hero is a thirty-second commitment rather than a stat-by-stat exercise: high favors MIGHT (roll under), low favors MIND (roll over). Only players roll dice, even on defense: every enemy attack triggers an automatic Reaction Check from the targeted Hero, so the GM is free to narrate threats while every die at the table belongs to a player. Encounter Levels are calculated as Size × Actions × Challenge plus armor and shield bonuses, then summed across the party, giving the GM an at-a-glance balance number to scale opposition without writing statblocks. | Every turn offers multiple meaningful choices with no wasted turns thanks to tiered outcomes, nine classes each with a unique heroic resource and distinct tactical identity, forced movement and positioning are central to combat tactics, full negotiation subsystem with NPC interest and patience tracking for structured social encounters |
| Considerations | Magic is limited to six Arcane and six Holy spells that Wizards and Clerics know in full from creation, with no spell progression, new spells, or list customization across a campaign. Damage caps at 2 points per hit and Stamina maxes at the Proficiency number plus armor, so combats resolve in a few rounds without granular HP attrition or extended tactical play. Character advancement between adventures is limited to gold rewards and a +1 starting Hero Points carryover: there are no levels, experience tracks, or stat increases that meaningfully change a Hero over the course of a campaign. | Heroes start with many abilities and options even at level 1, creating a steeper initial learning curve. Significant tracking overhead during combat with heroic resources, victories, conditions, edges, and banes. Explicitly designed for heroic tactical fantasy: the rules do not support dungeon crawling, hex exploration, or survival gameplay |