The Road to Broadhurst - Learn to Play One-Shot for Draw Steel
Even the greatest of heroes have to start somewhere, and nothing says "starting out" like escorting a merchant and their wagon of medicine.
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$10.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Sunday - 6:00 PM UTC
Feb 15
Session Duration / 4–5 hours
2 / 6 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
2/6
About the adventure
Whether you're new to Draw Steel or have never played a TTRPG before, this is the place to get started! Draw Steel is a system designed to deliver a cinematic, heroic fantasy experience. With flashy, tactical combat and tense negotiations, this game makes you FEEL like a hero! The premise of this introductory one-shot is simple: you’ve been hired to escort a merchant and his associates to the small town of Broadhurst. They bring medicine to treat a terrible plague that is spreading rapidly through the town’s population… of goats. Won’t somebody think of the goats! Of course, getting the medicine there won’t be a walk in the park. The road is dangerous, the old forests unwelcoming to outsiders. Travelers have even sighted bands of roving goblins in the area. That’s where you come in. Whether by sword or by spell, it’s up to you to ensure the merchants and their wagon full of medicine reach their destination. The people–er, goats— of Broadhurst need heroes! If it wasn’t already clear, this adventure leans towards the light-hearted, while still packing plenty of action. Above table, so to speak, you can expect a laid back experience as we take the time to familiarize everyone with the rules. All levels of roleplay are welcome. You’ll witness me doing plenty of in-character voices, but you and your fellow players can do whatever’s most fun and comfortable for you.
Game style
Combat Heavy
Roleplay Lite
Rules as Written (RaW)
Tactical / Crunchy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(12)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
10 games hosted
Highly rated for: Sets the Mood, Teacher, Creativity
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
Hey everybody! You can call me Zee and I've been running TTRPGs for over a decade now. I first started playing TTRPGs back in high school when a friend invited me to play D&D 4th edition, and I immediately fell in love. 'You mean to say I can BE that ferocious beast-man with a giant sword who fights demons on Tuesdays and slays dragons on the weekends!? Sign me up!' But it didn't stop there. Before long, I got the craving to run my own game, to weave tales of villainy and heroism, to craft my own worlds, big and small, for my friends to explore and save! More than 10 years later and I've played and run games in many different systems (VtM, SW-Edge of the Empire, Starfinder, etc.), but D&D 5e has remained my bread and butter for most of that time. Lately though, I've been very excited to dive deeper into Draw Steel and Daggerheart! Last thing to mention is that I value communication and respect at my table. I work with safety tools to ensure that everyone is comfortable and has a good time. If you cannot show basic respect and kindness towards me or the other players at the table, then this is not the space for you. With all that said, I hope to see you on our next adventure!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
This one-shot uses pre-generated, level 1 characters, which you pick on a first come, first served basis. There are 9 options to choose from, each following the Ancestry - Class convention: -Dwarf Fury -High Elf Tactician -Human Censor -Human Null -Human Talent -Orc Conduit -Polder Elementalist -Polder Shadow -Wode Elf Troubadour If any or all of these terms are unfamiliar to you, I'm happy to explain. In case I'm slow to respond or if you enjoy listening to someone talk about stuff rather than reading it--Matt Colville, the head writer and designer behind the game, also has some nifty video guides for the ancestries and classes. They're not full explanations of the rules, more of a description of how the classes and ancestries work and what's cool about them. Links below. Lastly, these pregen characters are purely mechanical, with all of the stats and abilities pre-selected. You're free to put your own spin on the character's personality, backstory, goals, etc. Draw Steel Class Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO_VKjkGJ_Y Draw Steel Ancestry Guide - Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wxQueVXcc Part 2 yet to be released...
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will first need an account for Discord, which will be used for communications leading up to the session and voice call during it. It will also have channels with information you can look over but these are in no way required materials. The second thing you'll need is an account on Owlbear Rodeo as this is the VTT we'll be using.
What Zee brings to the table
I provide the PDFs of the pregenerated characters, as mentioned under Character Creation. I will also have a list of different options for tokens to represent your character in the VTT, so you can pick whichever one most closely matches your concept or tastes. As far as my style of running the game, I typically try to provide a fairly immersive experience with in-character voices and detailed descriptions, while still keeping things light above table. While normally I ascribe to the rule of cool, I will be sticking to the rules as written since this is a one-shot intended to help teach newcomers. Draw Steel is intended to be fairly tactical, but my goal here is not to overwhelm anyone, much less kill their character. I’ll also be playing ambient music and audio tracks to help immerse you into world of the game.
Homebrew rules
There will be no homebrew rules here.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Zee creates a safe table
Before the session, I will send out a link to a checklist of Lines and Veils on topics that might pop up in this one-shot. There will also be space for you to list any of your own lines and veils in case there are topics you don't want to see that I have not listed. There will be an Open Door policy during the session, meaning any player can step away, disconnect from the call, etc. and rejoin at any time without judgement. If you need to do so for your own safety and well-being, please do so. I will not tolerate any player harassing another should they chose to do this. Finally, at the end of the session, I will stick around for a bit in case anyone has questions or wants to offer feedback. I'd be curious to know what people think of the Draw Steel rules, whether they're interested in playing more with this ruleset, etc.
Content warnings
Safety tools used