D&D Beyond

Discord

Foundry VTT

Owlbear Rodeo

Text/Play by Post

“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. 

Roleplay 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.

Combat Heavy

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!

Dungeon Crawl

“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. 

Theater of the Mind

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.

Rules as Written (RaW)

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.

Play By Post

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.

Sandbox / Open World

“Realm Building” games focus on the development, expansion, and management of something bigger than a single party, where the characters may find themselves in charge of a kingdom, faction, settlement, or organization. Over the course of gameplay, players might manage resources, make decisions that shape nations, or even guide large-scale conflicts as part of the ongoing story.

Ren

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