Styles

Roleplay Heavy

“Roleplay Heavy” games place the focus on the story, the characters, and the world they live within, and tend to lean hard into the various roleplaying elements of the game. These games will frequently find the party talking with NPCs, exploring the personal elements of their backstories, or even having emotional moments around the camp fire.

Rule of Cool (RoC)

“Rule of Cool” emphasizes creative story beats over sticking to a system’s rules as written. Players have the ability to push the limits of the rules or even break core rule mechanics at times if the Game Master thinks it is interesting, fun, or cool enough.

Theater of the Mind

“Theater of the Mind” uses little to no visuals for scene settings and combat. Instead, the narrative imagery comes from the Game Master’s descriptions and character action and movement comes from Players’ descriptions.

Combat Heavy

“Combat Heavy” games emphasize the combat mechanics within their systems over roleplay or puzzle solving. There are frequent and longer battles with enemies and a greater emphasis on tactical game play.

Rules as Written (RaW)

Games that are ran “Rules as Written” emphasize realism and stick to the letter of the rules, allowing players to explore creative solutions while still operating under a consistent rule set. Players have the ability to utilize the rules in creative ways to create awesome characters and moments in the game.

Sandbox / Open World

In "Sandbox" or "Open World" games, players are given a tremendous amount of freedom to pursue their stories without the restrictions of a more linear game style. Players are encouraged to explore and engage with the world, and find their own story as they do so. These games offer the players the opportunity to help drive the narrative, and allow for the story to evolve organically through the choices they make.

Dungeon Crawl

A “Dungeon Crawl” is a scenario where players navigate a dungeon or labyrinth-like environment for the entirety of the adventure. It emphasizes battling monsters, collecting loot, and avoiding traps to survive to the end!

Play By Post

Play By Post refers to a game in which players interact with the story through messages and text posts. These games are typically played asynchronously throughout the week, which gives players time to consider what they want to do next, and engage with the story at their own pace.

Organized Play

Organized Play uses a standardized ruleset for character creation, leveling, and rewards. Every character plays by the same rules. Its strength is flexibility: bring your character to any table and jump right in. With tight rule adherence, every game feels consistent, fair, and ready for adventure.

West Marches

West Marches games are typically ran as “drop-in / drop-out” campaigns, where a pool of players hop into sessions as they are available or as sessions align with their schedules. These games focus on a player-led story and exploration, with each session acting as a self contained adventure, allowing for players to experience a variety of stories within an overarching campaign.