Draw Steel General Thread [+]

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I know Matt has said on stream that Draw Steel is sell well and selling hundreds of copies a day which is probably a pretty big success in the TTRPG space outside of DnD but at times it feels like the Draw Steel hype is weirdly muted. I don’t know if I can properly describe it and I just may be crazy.

I suspect Draw Steel would do great in an environment where a bunch of 4E or tactical game players gather. This isn't one of those spaces, though, so there's less conversation here. I don't know what those other forums would be, but I suspect they're out there -- hundreds of sales a day means the word is spreading through some avenues.

 

[overgeeked]

I suspect Draw Steel would do great in an environment where a bunch of 4E or tactical game players gather. This isn't one of those spaces, though, so there's less conversation here. I don't know what those other forums would be, but I suspect they're out there -- hundreds of sales a day means the word is spreading through some avenues.

There’s something like 700 messages using the phrase “Draw Steel” over on the 4E discord. So fans of 4E have been paying attention. But, as you say, this place isn’t really great for 4E discussion.

 

[HatWearingFool]

I agree this just isn’t the place for Drawsteel fans/discussion. It’s kind of like cosmere/daggerheart in that respect. The numbers tell us people are interested… just not the people here.

Crack the Sun has had an impressive crowd funding round so it definitely seems like MCDM/Drawsteel has developed an audience already.

 

[gnarlygninja]

For those of you running without using a prewritten adventure: how much time do you spend preparing for each session? In one game I'm in the director said he spends about 12 hours each week, which seems like far too much, but I've only run the playtest version The Fall of Blackbottom and The Delian tomb so I've never had to actually prep much.

 

[Reynard]

A smaller but rabidly dedicated fanbase can do amazing things.

 

[HatWearingFool]

For those of you running without using a prewritten adventure: how much time do you spend preparing for each session? In one game I'm in the director said he spends about 12 hours each week, which seems like far too much, but I've only run the playtest version The Fall of Blackbottom and The Delian tomb so I've never had to actually prep much.

Seems high. I guess first question Is he using one of the online encounter building tools? Like forge steel, stawl, or steel cauldron?

Also some GM’s really love prep and some some need/want less prep.

Is the time because they love word building or is it because they define building encounters difficult?

 

[zakael19]

For those of you running without using a prewritten adventure: how much time do you spend preparing for each session? In one game I'm in the director said he spends about 12 hours each week, which seems like far too much, but I've only run the playtest version The Fall of Blackbottom and The Delian tomb so I've never had to actually prep much.

Uhhhh, I guess everybody needs a hobby.

I spent a while preparing the campaign, but once it was rolling (and I grabbed and cropped a bunch of large maps into somewhat interesting looking arenas), I think 1hr per 3 sessions is my rolling average.

I'm really not sure that the juice of combat is worth the squeeze for me though. I keep thinking that I'd rather be running Daggerheart.

 

[gnarlygninja]

Seems high. I guess first question Is he using one of the online encounter building tools? Like forge steel, stawl, or steel cauldron?

Also some GM’s really love prep and some some need/want less prep.

Is the time because they love word building or is it because they define building encounters difficult?

I don't know the specifics. He seems to be making a lot of the tokens/maps we use but I think it's being done with an AI art generator, and as I don't use those things I have no idea how much time it would take.

Uhhhh, I guess everybody needs a hobby.

I spent a while preparing the campaign, but once it was rolling (and I grabbed and cropped a bunch of large maps into somewhat interesting looking arenas), I think 1hr per 3 sessions is my rolling average.

I'm really not sure that the juice of combat is worth the squeeze for me though. I keep thinking that I'd rather be running Daggerheart.

This seems more in line with what I'd expect in terms of prep. But I haven't made any encounters for this game, and back when I still ran DnD my DM friends seemed to do a lot more prep than I ever did so I wasn't sure.
I agree running combat can be a pain, there's a lot to keep track of. Although for me a lot of the more taxing bits come from my group being uh...not well suited for Draw Steel.

 

[overgeeked]

I'm really not sure that the juice of combat is worth the squeeze for me though. I keep thinking that I'd rather be running Daggerheart.

Yeah, that’s basically where I am with Draw Steel. I love everything about 4E except the combat, and doubling down on intricate rules for combat is the main focus of DS. It’s a great game for people who love that aspect of RPGs. But it’s just not for me.

 

[zakael19]

I don't know the specifics. He seems to be making a lot of the tokens/maps we use but I think it's being done with an AI art generator, and as I don't use those things I have no idea how much time it would take.


This seems more in line with what I'd expect in terms of prep. But I haven't made any encounters for this game, and back when I still ran DnD my DM friends seemed to do a lot more prep than I ever did so I wasn't sure.
I agree running combat can be a pain, there's a lot to keep track of. Although for me a lot of the more taxing bits come from my group being uh...not well suited for Draw Steel.

Yeah, encounter creation goes pretty fast in terms of laying out the creatures within the difficulty you want (at least using Forge Steel or another tool).

My group isn't quite as uhhh, interesting, as yours - but they're certainly not learning the rules on their own and with a game this complex that just doesn't work imo.We keep running in to questions and the quick reference pages dont have an answer so we have to go back into the rulebook...

It's a great system for people really into system mastery. I've got a player in another game who is at a 5e table of optimizers and combat-focused players and I think they'd have a blast with DS!

edit: the one frustrating bit is like the guy who posted from his long reddit game where they barely did any combat encounters, it actually works great via montages and stuff (I'm running almost entirely improvised on the fly skill challenges). But conflict/combat comes up a lot in the sort of heroic story the system wants to tell, and that means we need to engage with the combat system and there goes an hour.