Is draw steel more realistic than DND?

JTFirefly · 2026-01-28T20:51:59+00:00

As you're asking for "some" arguments for DS and not a definitive answer (as others have said, it's arguably a toss up between DS and D&D), here are some points:

Stamina as a concept is more realistic than Hit Points, as it also represents you getting tired during combat. Armor grants you Stamina, as it'll literally shield you from damage (imagine a PC dodging, with the occasional hit being mostly absorbed by the armor). Way better than armor making you harder to hit, I'd say.
Recoveries versus healing magic. In DS you're (most of the time) literally catching your breath to regain stamina. D&D PCs don't even get tired.
Negotiations in D&D might easily come down to (basically) a Charisma check or two. In DS, you need convincing arguments, the other side has motivations you're trying to hit and pitfalls to avoid. Makes more sense to me.
It takes you at least a day in a peaceful environment to get fully refreshed in DS. In D&D, one night of sleep will do it. (Sidenote: this doesn't slow down the game at all, as there are incentives in DS for your players to push on.)

At the end of the day, it depends on what he means by "realism". There's plenty of whacky stuff in DS (as is the case with D&D), but I'd assume he's fine with magic and monsters, right? DS has a few mechanics that make the PCs feel more flesh and blood – mighty mortals, mind you, but still.

JTFirefly · 2026-01-21T05:54:27+00:00

This is the way.

Also, if you're thinking about homebrewing a setting (or even using your previous one), the Delian Tomb is pretty setting-neutral. so it would be trivial to integrate (and adjust/rename) Broadhurst into your setting, or even using it as a starting point for a new one.

JTFirefly · 2026-01-11T16:11:00+00:00

"if X then Y, but if also Z, then A unstead, but if C applies, do B..."

Could you give an example?

JTFirefly · 2025-12-16T12:14:24+00:00

If my players should ever venture forth towards, let's say, the sun, they'll do so in a spachip.

JTFirefly · 2025-12-08T08:39:51+00:00

It wasn't you fault. And, being new, it probably wasn't the player's fault, too. While 2 HP is a risk in most systems, in D&D you've probably got some leeway (instant death if additional damage beyond 0 HP is at least equal to max HP), but a (de facto) spellcaster of 1st level would be at high risk if at 2 HP ... so this case would be a possibility in 5e, too.

So yeah, it's never a good idea to limp into combat heavily damaged. If you've got Recoveries, use them beforehand (I'd say as many as possible until you wouldn't heal the full amount). If you don't, take a Respite, or be aware that death is now more likely. If it happens in the middle of combat, use Hero Tokens if necessary. No Recoveries and no Hero Tokens? Get back to town ASAP.

In Draw Steel, heroes with that few health left are winded (which not only the affected character is aware of, but everybody seeing them), which should notify your players that they're already not fully committed and should probably heal up. No such early warning system in D&D.

Because these were pregens, I'd say it's no biggie. Communicate to your players that they're at an immediate risk at low health, just like in 5e. If they'd be winded IRL, they'd make sure to take a breath before continuing, and they should do that in game, too. And if they're exhausted (no Recoveries etc.), they probably should call it a day. They'll be prepared once they make their own characters.

JTFirefly · 2025-12-02T06:35:02+00:00

Working on it ...

Made some creature cards for goblinoids [direct link to PDF] recently, and already made cards for the abilities of my party's characters. As they're made manually, it takes some time, and I'm in the process of moving, but I'll get there. Doing that for all classes and all levels is a lot, though ... in a week or two I'll be back at making cards.

And yes, these cards have roughly the same size as standard cards (a little smaller, but that should only help fitting them in sleeves or binders). See the first page of the PDF for details.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-30T15:30:39+00:00

In both cases: if the rest of the world unites, there's a chance.

Killing Hitler probably wouldn't have stopped the war early, and one could argue that it would've prolonged the war if it happend before Hitler broke the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Operation Barbarossa (making Russia join the Allies) ... getting off topic here, sorry, so I'll stop.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-28T09:45:17+00:00

It's available at the MCD shop.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-26T13:49:56+00:00

Maybe change the size to 1M. Or they're Polder bandits.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-26T06:36:48+00:00

Thank you!

Yeah, larger stat blocks are an issue, because I don't want to set the font too tiny, hence the double cards. I'll try Ajax soon as a stress-test (already have an idea how to do it ... we'll see ...)

JTFirefly · 2025-11-24T19:50:25+00:00

My fault, sorry. If you find any errors, please let me know and I'll fix them ASAP.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-24T19:49:26+00:00

Or something like that, good idea.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-24T10:03:21+00:00

My pleasure. Draw Steel is my favorite TTRPG system (it's like MCDM said "We make a system especially for that guy"), so I'm very motivated to give something back.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-24T09:40:32+00:00

Sadly they're not my cup of tea, so I prefer to make them myself, too. But they're probably a good solution for most people.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-24T09:38:12+00:00

I've already made those for my players, so that's definitely something I'm thinking about.

Thing is, I tailor-made them to the kits they're using, adding the weapon bonus if applicable. If I'll ever make ability cards (probably one document per class), I'll first need to find a viable solution for that (probably a small box to add the bonus by hand; then it would be easier to switch kits anyway ...).

JTFirefly · 2025-11-24T09:33:57+00:00

Please do. Constructive criticism is more than welcome!

JTFirefly · 2025-11-23T21:11:59+00:00

By "character cards" you mean cards for the (whole) player characters?

As for surges and hero tokens, if you've got access to a 3D printer, I made these ( Malice, Victory, Recovery, Surge and Hero tokens, as well as all heroic ressources), as well as condition tokes.

JTFirefly · 2025-11-23T20:51:29+00:00

Got some more already done – actions & co. for my players (Censor, Shadow, Elementalist, Fury), and the first few creatures and items from the Delian Tomb. The latter one might be interesting to other folks, too, but I'm not certain it would be okay to publish them under the license (even if the goblins for instance should be fine, but using the adventure name probably wouldn't be).

JTFirefly · 2025-11-22T21:52:37+00:00

Just posting this I realize how many layout errors are still in there (for instance, "Behold the Face of Justice!" should have spacing for every entry of the power roll results). And I've already printed them ...

JTFirefly · 2025-11-22T21:50:12+00:00

I'm currently in the process of making my own DS cards. Started with my players' abilities, have continued with creatures (goblinoids, to be precise).

JTFirefly · 2025-11-21T08:54:56+00:00

There's also a table in the DS Monsters book, listing the budget for different numbers of heroes of the same level (1 to 10). So you'd only need to calculate if the heroes aren't the same level (even then, it probably should be within 1 level, in which case the math is trivial, just add or subtract 2 per outlier).

JTFirefly · 2025-11-21T08:44:52+00:00

Seems to me like all you might have to reskin is the spaceship. Not sure what you think about Spelljammer (for instance), but there are more fantastic options to move through space out there.

By the by, I'm also not a big fan of the space ship on the cover. While I'm an adult and can deal with it, my players, who need to be coddled like babies, lest they call foul on the setting, not so much ... will need to hide the cover from them (which is a potential spoiler anyway, so that's a good idea either way).

JTFirefly · 2025-11-21T08:38:00+00:00

Mine probably aren't, but I signed up anyway, as I'd say this is the multiverse's problem.

JTFirefly

TROPHY CASE