Draw Steel vs Dungeon Crawl Classics
Compare Draw Steel and Dungeon Crawl Classics side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Draw Steel | Dungeon Crawl Classics | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy | Deadly, Exploration, Gonzo, Dungeon Crawl, One-Shot Friendly, Theater of the Mind, Fast-Paced, Ascending AC, Roll to Cast, Random Tables |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | Roll d20 + modifiers. Unique dice chain shifts die size up/down. Mercurial magic tables. |
| Dice | 2d10 | d3–d30 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | Draw Steel Creator License | 3rd Party License |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | MCDM Productions | Goodman Games |
| Year | 2025 | 2012 |
| Best For | 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. | Old-school dungeon crawls with unpredictable magic, character funnels, and a sense of wonder. |
| Highlights | 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. | Character funnels are distinctive, unpredictable magic system, Appendix N aesthetic |
| Considerations | 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. | Requires unusual dice (d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, d30), spell result tables slow play at higher levels, funnel adventures require many disposable characters |