Draw Steel vs Land of Eem
Compare Draw Steel and Land of Eem side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Draw Steel | Land of Eem | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy | Narrative, Exploration, Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Hexcrawl, Theater of the Mind, Fiction-First |
| 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 1d12 + skill modifier. Results on a 5-tier scale: Complete Failure (1–2), Failure with a Plus (3–5), Success with a Twist (6–8), Success (9–11), Complete Success (12+). Advantage/disadvantage rolls 2d12 take best/worst. |
| Dice | 2d10 | d12 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | Medium |
| License | Draw Steel Creator License | Proprietary |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | MCDM Productions | Exalted Funeral Press |
| Year | 2025 | 2023 |
| 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. | Groups who want lighthearted, story-driven fantasy adventure with whimsical tone, hex crawl exploration, and meaningful roleplay: where talking to monsters is often better than fighting them. |
| 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. | Whimsical tone encourages creativity, graduated success/failure keeps things interesting, detailed hex crawl and exploration rules, combat designed to be avoidable through parley, character story mechanics with relationships and personal quests |
| 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. | Whimsical tone won't suit every group, combat is intentionally simple and abstract, tightly tied to its own setting |