MCDM’s Draw Steel: Because We Deserve More Than Just Missing (and Maybe a Bit of 4E Magic)
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
MCDM Productions, known for their D&D 5E supplements, has launched *Draw Steel*, a new TTRPG born from the 2023 OGL drama and a desire for a 'better game' with more action and less frustrating 'misses,' drawing inspiration from D&D 4th Edition's combat design principles.
Alright, so you know that feeling when you're playing a tabletop RPG, you spend ages setting up the perfect dramatic moment, you roll the die... and it just sails past your target? Yeah, that whiff. The infamous 'miss' that makes you question your life choices. Well, it seems Matt Colville and the clever wizards at MCDM Productions felt the same way, because they've just launched their own TTRPG, *Draw Steel*, and by golly, it’s designed to fix that exact problem and then some. This fascinating dive into what makes *Draw Steel* tick comes courtesy of a recent chat over at Polygon, and let me tell you, it's wilder than it first appeared.
For yonks, MCDM Productions has been a bit of a legend in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition community, churning out some seriously stellar supplements that loads of us probably have scattered across our gaming tables. They knew 5E inside out, upside down, and probably sideways. But then, remember that whole kerfuffle in 2023 when Wizards of the Coast started mucking about with the Open Gaming License (OGL)? Bloody hell, that was a proper digital dragon in the room. It felt like someone tried to pull the rug out from under the very community that made D&D what it is today.
And that, mate, was the catalyst. MCDM founder and lead game designer Matt Colville, alongside lead game designer James Introcaso, basically looked at each other and said, “Right, if they’re going to shake the foundations, maybe it’s time we build our own damn castle.” By the end of last year, they’d launched a BackerKit campaign for their very own RPG, and the community absolutely *responded*. They pulled in a whopping $4.6 million. That’s not just a successful crowdfunding campaign; that’s a whole legion of gamers saying, “Yeah, we trust these folks. Build us something good.” Introcaso told Polygon that seeing the community's engagement – people talking about and even playing early versions – was a massive morale boost when the design process felt like pushing a particularly stubborn boulder uphill. “Oh wait, it already does work. We’re already OK. We can keep going,” he recalled thinking. Fair dinkum, that’s the spirit.
*Draw Steel* officially rolled out on July 31st, bringing us *Draw Steel Heroes* for players, *Draw Steel Monsters* for GMs (or 'Directors' as they call them, a nice nod to the game’s cinematic aspirations), and a starter adventure called *The Delian Tomb* designed to get you playing as you learn. And here’s the kicker: while a lot of other D&D alternatives try to swing to the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Colville isn't trying to tear down the D&D house. “But that’s not where we came from. We love D&D. We love the culture of it. We love the core ideas behind the gameplay. We just felt like people deserved a better game,” he told Polygon. That’s a crucial bit of context, isn’t it? It’s not a rejection; it’s an evolution, built from a place of genuine affection for the genre.
So, what’s different? Well, for starters, chuck that d20 out the window. *Draw Steel* uses 2d10s, adding one of five characteristics (Might, Agility, Reason, Intuition, or Presence). The clever bit? You almost never completely miss. Roll less than 11? You still get a minimal result – a bit of damage, maybe a minor effect. Roll a 12-16? Standard success. 17 or higher? Exceptional. Colville nails it when he talks about the d20 as the “‘do I get to take my turn?’ die.” Imagine a game where every roll actually *does something*. No more turns wasted by a solitary, heartbreaking 1. Initial testers were apparently hooked, with folks who’d been running D&D for ages saying, “I can’t go back.” That’s a powerful endorsement, mate.
Combat, it seems, is still very much at the heart of *Draw Steel*. While you can make basic attacks, the game really leans into class-specific abilities. Think about it: a first-level Null might zip around the battlefield with psionic powers, or a sneaky Shadow could leverage an ally’s position for extra damage. Sound familiar? If you’re a long-time TTRPG player, a particular edition of D&D might be springing to mind: 4th Edition. Yep, the one that famously split the fanbase back in 2008 because it dared to be different. It gave martial classes more powers, less 'I swing my sword again' monotony, but 5E largely rolled that back, restoring the caster/martial divide. But 4E’s mechanics have found a resurgence in love, especially with designers like Isaac Childres (of *Gloomhaven* fame) embracing its philosophy.
Colville reckons this resurgence is partly because a new generation of players – those who got into D&D via *Critical Role* or *Stranger Things* – simply don’t know the hobby’s full history. They only know 5E, and discovering 4E is like finding a hidden chamber in a dungeon that’s full of surprisingly good loot. *Draw Steel* takes a page from that book, giving all classes powers they can always use. But instead of the old 'once per encounter/day' limits, *Draw Steel* balances things with 'heroic resources' that vary by class. You start a combat with some, and gain more each turn. Introcaso’s vision? “We want the battle to get more interesting rather than at the beginning of the battle, I do my cool thing, and now I just shoot fire bolts for the rest of the battle because I don’t want to waste the rest of my spell slots. […] What if instead you had to build up like a *Street Fighter* game?” An absolutely brilliant comparison, that.
This system means fights get more intense as they go on. And it’s not just players getting juiced up. Directors gain 'Malice,' a resource that builds over combat, letting them empower villains and keep things spicy. Colville amusingly refers to it as the 'Conservation of Ninjutsu' trope, straight out of Marvel or John Wick. The fewer bad guys, the deadlier they become. “It’s the third round of combat, and there’s only one goblin left, and the director gets 12 malice, and the players are like, ‘Oh my god, what is this goblin gonna do?’ That feeling is amazing,” he mused. Honestly, that sounds like a proper gut punch of a good time.
*Draw Steel* launched with nine classes and twelve ancestries, from the familiar dwarves and humans to the intriguing Vulcan-esque Memonek from the Plane of Law. (Yes, they’re leaning into a multiverse, appealing to the Planescape and Spelljammer fans out there.) They’re already cooking up two new classes (Summoner and Beast Heart) and six more ancestries, including shadow elves, gnomes, goblins, and even a dragonfly-like species. Plus, there’s talk of a *Suicide Squad*-esque adventure where players are criminals on death row. A virtual tabletop is on the way, and a new crowdfunding campaign for an encounter book (ideas for dungeon delving, negotiations, and skill use) is set for December.
Ultimately, MCDM wants to empower game masters and players, making prep fun and running the game “the most fun you can have” if you’re into tactical, cinematic, heroic roleplaying games. And honestly, after digging into this, I reckon they’re on the right track. Sounds like a cracking good time for anyone who loves D&D but just wanted a bit more action and a lot less missing. You can grab *Draw Steel Heroes* and *Draw Steel Monsters* right now at mcdmproductions.com. Go on, give it a squiz.
(Original reporting by Samantha Nelson for Polygon.)
Tags: TTRPG, D&D Alternatives, Game Design, MCDM, Tabletop Gaming
Original article: Polygon