D&D alternative Draw Steel raises $1.5 million on BackerKit

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Draw Steel is getting a new class and a book of encounters

MCDM Productions’ tabletop role-playing game Draw Steel launched in July, providing a more tactical alternative to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, where all characters have a variety of powerful abilities starting at first level. Now the company is running a BackerKit campaign to fund its first expansion, and it’s already raised $1.5 million.

The ambitious campaign features seven different products with a digital delivery schedule running throughout 2026 and physical copies expected in late 2026 or 2027. Dark Heart of the Wood is a level 2 adventure focused on stopping a thorn dragon, and The Red Road pits adventurers against a rampaging horde of gnolls. Both are about 32 pages and expected to be available in the first quarter of 2026.

The Condemned is an adventure for level 3 characters inspired by The Suicide Squad where you play an anti-hero on death row sent on a mission for a chance to earn their freedom. It will be shared in the second quarter of 2026 along with rules for the Beastheart class. MCDM originally designed the class for 5E, and it gives pet lovers the option to play a hunter who teams up with an animal companion like a bear, dinosaur, or cockatrice.

The biggest components of the project are scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2026. Draw Steel: Encounters is an approximately 350-page hardcover book designed to make prepping games easier by providing dozens of scenarios that can be run in a single play session. It’s also packed with challenges to allow characters to use all their out-of-combat skills. The Between Sun and Shadow supplement gives players a host of new ancestry options, including shadow elves, gnomes, fairies, and goblins.

The new options are tied to Crack the Sun, a massive campaign where players have to stop hobgoblins and shadow elves from terraforming the world. The first half of the campaign will also be released in the third quarter of 2026, with the rest coming out at the end of the year.

The Draw Steel: Crack the Sun BackerKit campaign runs through Jan. 5, 2026. A free preview of Draw Steel: Encounters is available to download now.

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