I got the 1.0 Draw Steel (formerly the MCDM RPG) PDFs today, and wow, what a beautiful game. That four million dollars poured into crowdfunding was put to great use. The art is consistently outstanding, and much of it is better than that of their competitors. Art-wise, this beats Daggerheart.
These are my first impressions of the game, based on a quick flip-through.
"This is a game about fighting monsters. About larger-than-life, extraordinary heroes plunging into battle against terrifying, monstrous enemies." - Draw Steel, Heroes, page vii.
The game is ambitious. They aim straight for D&D 5E, Daggerheart, and Pathfinder 2E. The page with the above quote is very enlightening. They say the same is not about dungeon crawling, wilderness exploration, horror, comedy, combat-less conflict resolution, or anything else. They go on to recommend Shadowdark, Forbidden Lands, Call of Cthulhu, Paranoia, and Daggerheart by name. They say that if you are a fan of those genres, you should go play those games.
They then use the four words to describe what they were aiming for:
- Tactical
- Heroic
- Cinematic
- Fantasy
This sounds like the same goals of D&D 4E. And this definitely puts Draw Steel in Pathfinder 2E's wheelhouse. They then go to print a 6-page glossary index after that intro, with page after page of game terms explained. I did not expect that. Okay, rules-light players, please add Old School Essentials and Nimble 5e to that game list. This is not a rules-light game. This hits on the level of a Pathfinder 2E, and there are even special symbols and notation for different rolls, with edges, banes, and tiers of rolls. There is a huge dialect and language in this game that may turn off some.
I didn't expect this game to go to the tactical wargame level of depth and complexity. I expected a more damage-based system, similar to Tunnels & Trolls with a damage versus damage system. This is a combat-focused game that feels like a miniatures game.
The class powers are heavily map-based tactical abilities, which reminds me of D&D 4E. There are push, rugged terrain, slowed, slide, restrained, and all sorts of other conditions abilities inflict upon foes. The focus of this game is on tactical combat, and the game goes into wargame-like detail in that regard.
The game targets D&D 5E's weaknesses, specifically how sloppy combat becomes at higher levels. To be fair, Pathfinder 2E does the same thing, and those high-level, TPK or total snooze fest 5E combats are an easy target to design against. Story, exploration, dungeons - blah, blah, blah - if you can't get combat right, you might as well be playing FATE and fa-la-la-ing your way to the next story part. Who really cares about 5E stats and character sheets if all we are playing is a narrative game?
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| I said no more AI, but this is hilarious. |
I could make "the ultimate narrative game" with a single d6. Class abilities are a 3+, and non-class abilities are a 5+. Most monsters take one hit and die. Bosses and characters have three hits. Now, excuse me while I write 400 pages of rules for narrative play. Somewhere in here will be a die result of one, "fails with hate," and a 6 "succeeds with love." Players get all the love points, and the referee gets all the hate points. Given how narrative games load the referee with all sorts of expanded systems and resource tracking, giving them all the hate feels about right for these games.
I still love you, Daggerheart. And I kid, but you are a lot of work for me as a referee.
Draw Steel is not like that. They deliver a great combat engine, ensuring that play loops are fun and that different roles have unique ways to contribute. If you can't make a compelling combat engine, you don't have a game. The engine can't break at level 10 (like D&D), and it can't be a sloppy mess at level 20. Pathfinder 2E knew this and did a great job at making that a reality. Draw Steel aims to achieve this by eliminating the frustrating whiff factor that d20 games are notorious for, and by making a bad roll feel like "waste your turn."
Where this competes with Pathfinder 2E is that the Paizo game does try to "do it all." As a result, PF 2E is a huge game. Many OSR games appear unfocused, content to be "just rules" and not bring anything new to the table, nor focus on a key group play dynamic. D&D 5E is even worse off, as it tries to be everything to everyone and exclude nobody or any playstyle, and it fails at just about everything it tries to do (and often ends up telling you to "make it all up yourself" in the DMG).
The era of these "please everyone" junk drawer games is hopefully coming to an end, and we are now going into an era where games focus on one or two areas to excel in, while pushing the fringe stuff to the side.
Design is important and matters.
Especially when you have clear goals.
And you communicate these goals up front.
Shadowdark drills in and focuses on the play at the table, with those ticking clocks and tight rules based around light. If all you did was read the Shadowdark rules, you don't know the game. You have to play Shadowdark with others to understand it, preferably with people you don't know.
I am hopeful for Draw Steel. A game that knows what it is and is not trying to please everyone is a good thing for the hobby. I initially felt negative about this game, as if I would read about it but never play, but the designers' tight focus gives me a reason to care.
Focused designs are far more compelling because they aim to deliver a tangible experience.
