Draw Steel vs Wanderhome
Compare Draw Steel and Wanderhome side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Draw Steel | Wanderhome | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Attacks Always Hit, Lore-Heavy | Cozy, Narrative, Diceless, GM-Less, Collaborative, Character-Driven, Atmospheric, Rules-Light, Roleplay-Heavy |
| 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. | No dice, no GM. Belonging Outside Belonging engine: earn tokens by inconveniencing yourself or stepping outside your comfort zone; spend tokens to help others, reveal secrets, or achieve difficult actions. Violence is explicitly absent. Playbooks define each character's nature through lists of things they can always do, things that earn tokens, and things that cost tokens. Seasons and nature guide the journey. |
| Dice | 2d10 | Diceless |
| Complexity | High | Very Low |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | High | Medium |
| License | Draw Steel Creator License | Proprietary |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | MCDM Productions | Possum Creek Games |
| Year | 2025 | 2021 |
| 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 gentle, non-violent storytelling about animal-folk journeying through a pastoral world: exploring themes of community, seasons, and small acts of kindness. |
| 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. | Best TTRPG 2021 from Polygon and Dicebreaker, token economy (earn tokens by stepping outside comfort zone, spend them to help others) mechanically enforces non-violent play, Belonging Outside Belonging engine removes dice and GM roles, seasonal calendar structures the journey |
| 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. | Token economy is the only pacing mechanism which can stall play, shared narrative authority can lead to uneven participation, playbook Natures may feel constraining over long sessions, limited published supplemental content |