Ars Magica vs Draw Steel
Compare Ars Magica and Draw Steel side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Ars Magica | Draw Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Historical | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Freeform Magic, Collaborative, Simulation, Open Source, Roll to Cast, Domain Management, Social Intrigue | Tactical, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d10 + Characteristic + Ability against an Ease Factor. Simple die rolls count the result at face value; stress die rolls on a 1 double the next roll (cascading), while a 0 risks a botch by rolling additional botch dice. Magic uses Technique + Form (five verbs like Creo, Perdo combined with ten nouns like Ignem, Corpus) to define any spell effect. Formulaic spells are pre-learned, spontaneous spells can attempt any Technique + Form combination by halving the casting total, and ritual spells handle large-scale or permanent effects. | 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 | d10 | 2d10 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Draw Steel Creator License |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Atlas Games | MCDM Productions |
| Year | 2004 | 2025 |
| Best For | Groups who want a deeply researched medieval European setting with the most flexible magic system in tabletop RPGs and troupe-style play where multiple characters share the spotlight across seasons of game time. | 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 | Technique + Form magic system allows freeform spell creation by combining five verbs with ten nouns. Troupe-style play rotates magi, companions, and grogs so every player has multiple characters. Covenant management adds strategic play between adventures. Mythic Europe setting blends historical accuracy with medieval folklore and theology. | 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 | Core rulebook is dense at 240 pages with extensive magic subsystems that require study before play. Laboratory rules, seasonal advancement, and covenant management demand significant bookkeeping. The troupe-style format requires buy-in from the whole group. Combat is deliberately secondary to magic and social play. | 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. |