Bunnies & Burrows vs Draw Steel
Compare Bunnies & Burrows and Draw Steel side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Bunnies & Burrows | Draw Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Career-Based, Deadly, Exploration, Grid-Based, Gritty, Hexcrawl, Random Character Creation, Resource Management, Survival | Tactical, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 1d6 + Trait Rating against a Difficulty Value (DV) for skill checks. Eight traits (Strength, Speed, Intelligence, Agility, Constitution, Mysticism, Smell, Charisma) each have a genetic base value set at character creation via 3d6, plus a Level that increases through Advancement Points. Combat uses hex-based battleboards with Attack and Defend dice, comparing Attack Score (attack die plus modifiers) to Defense Score (SPD Rating plus defend die), with tactical choices selected secretly each round via Combat Tactics Cards. | 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 | 2d10 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | Proprietary (licensed from Steve Jackson Games) | Draw Steel Creator License |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Frog God Games | MCDM Productions |
| Year | 2019 | 2025 |
| Best For | Groups who want a survival-focused campaign from a non-human perspective, solving problems as small prey animals in a realistically dangerous ecosystem. | 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 | Fully realized herbalism system serves as the game's analog to magic, with herb searching, recognition, preparation, and remodeling mechanics. Pursuit phase models predator chases as a distinct tactical minigame before combat begins. Extensive bestiary details real-world predators and prey with ecologically grounded behavior. Nine playable species (rabbit plus eight others) each with a unique profession and trait distribution. | 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 | No free quickstart or SRD: the $1 B&B Light folio is the cheapest entry point. Battleboard combat with tokens and tactics cards requires physical components or digital substitutes. Rules are spread across multiple subsystems (pursuit, combat, herbalism, diseases, pests) that take time to internalize. | 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. |