Draw Steel vs Mythras
Compare Draw Steel and Mythras side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Draw Steel | Mythras | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Universal |
| Play Style | Tactical, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy | Crunchy, Tactical, Simulation, Character Building, Deadly, Sandbox |
| 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 d100 under your skill percentage. In combat, degree of success vs. opponent determines Special Effects: tactical maneuvers like Disarm, Trip, Bypass Armor, and Bleed. Action Points govern actions per round, damage applies to hit locations. |
| Dice | 2d10 | d100 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | Draw Steel Creator License | ORC |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | MCDM Productions | The Design Mechanism |
| Year | 2025 | 2016 |
| 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 gritty, tactical, and realistic combat in a skill-based percentile system, particularly for historical, mythic, or low-fantasy settings. |
| 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. | Tactical Special Effects combat system, classless skill-based progression, five distinct magic systems, adaptable to many genres, free intro version (Mythras Imperative) |
| 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. | Steep learning curve for combat, analysis paralysis when choosing effects, large combats become unwieldy, lengthy character creation |