Draw Steel Combat cheat sheet
Turn order, actions, and reminders. At-the-table reference for Draw Steel.
Draw Steel combat: 2d10 + characteristic, read against tier 1/2/3 outcomes. Main action + maneuver + move each turn. Heroic resources power your best abilities.
Initiative
- Heroes act as a team on their turn; enemies act on the Director's turn.
- At the start of combat, determine which side goes first (narrative or test).
- Within a side's turn, characters can act in any order.
Action economy
- Each turn: 1 Main Action + 1 Maneuver + Move (up to your speed).
- Main actions: Attack, use an ability, Defend (gain temporary HP), Aid (grant an ally an edge on their next power roll).
- Maneuvers: Catch Breath (spend a Recovery to heal), Grab, Knockback, Make or Assist a Test, Hide, Search, Drink a Potion, Stand Up.
- Free maneuvers: some abilities grant free maneuvers (costs no maneuver slot).
- Free strikes: triggered when an enemy moves out of your reach (like opportunity attacks). Uses your reaction.
Power roll (attack)
- Roll
- 2d10 + characteristic
- Tier 1
- Total ≤ 11: weakest outcome
- Tier 2
- Total 12-16: moderate outcome
- Tier 3
- Total 17+: strongest outcome
- Critical
- Natural 19-20 on the 2d10: automatic tier 3 + extra benefit
- A single edge adds +2 to the roll; a single bane subtracts 2 (from advantages, abilities, terrain, conditions).
- Edges and banes cancel 1:1 first.
- A double edge (net two edges) raises the result one tier instead of adding more; a double bane lowers it one tier.
Damage
- Each ability tier lists its damage. Higher tier = more damage + secondary effects.
- Damage types: fire, cold, lightning, poison, psychic, holy, corruption, untyped.
- Resistances and immunities reduce or negate specific damage types.
- Forced movement (push, pull, slide) does not provoke free strikes.
Stamina, Winded, and Dying
- Winded
- Stamina drops to half or less: some abilities become unavailable; enemies may gain bonuses
- 0 Stamina or lower
- Dying: you gain the Bleeding condition and can still act, but you die if Stamina reaches negative your Winded value
- No death saves: a dying hero can still act, taking main actions and triggered actions, but is Bleeding until healed back above 0 Stamina.
- You die when your Stamina reaches negative your Winded value, not at 0.
- A dying hero can't Catch Breath (that maneuver is unavailable while dying); an ally's heal or ability restoring your Stamina is what ends the dying state.
Heroic resources
- Each class has its own resource: Censor Wrath, Conduit Piety, Elementalist Essence, Fury Ferocity, Null Discipline, Shadow Insight, Tactician Focus, Talent Clarity, Troubadour Drama.
- Gained at the start of each turn, plus class-specific triggers during play.
- Spent to power your strongest abilities.
Conditions quick reference
See the conditions table below for all status effects and their one-line rules.
| Condition | Effect |
|---|---|
| Bleeding | Lose 1d6 + your level Stamina after you take a main action, a triggered action, or a Might/Agility roll, until treated or you die |
| Dazed | Cannot take triggered actions or free triggered actions |
| Frightened | Cannot willingly move closer to the source; power rolls against the source take a bane |
| Grabbed | Speed is 0; the grabber can move you with them |
| Prone | Melee attacks against you gain an edge; standing up is a maneuver |
| Restrained | Speed is 0; attacks against you gain an edge; your power rolls take a bane |
| Slowed | Speed can't exceed 2 |
| Taunted | Double bane on power rolls against targets other than the taunter |
| Weakened | Power rolls take a bane |
Common mistakes
- Heroes rarely whiff: even tier 1 usually does something. Do not treat tier 1 as a miss.
- A single edge or bane is +2/-2, not advantage/disadvantage. They cancel 1:1, and a double edge or bane shifts the tier instead of adding more.
- Critical hits (natural 19-20 on the 2d10) are automatic tier 3, not extra damage on a lower tier.
- Winded is a real state with mechanical consequences, not flavor text. Track it.
- Forced movement never provokes free strikes.
- Recoveries are limited per day: do not let players spam Catch Breath without tracking.