D&D Beyond

“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

“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.

Rule of Cool (RoC)

“Roleplay Lite” games typically include some story and character interactions but keep the emphasis on other gameplay elements like exploration or combat. While these games can still feature character-driven moments, they tend to favor quicker scenes with less focus on extensive backstories or dramatic roleplay.

Roleplay Lite

“Combat Lite” games typically focus less on combat encounters and more on roleplay, storytelling, and exploration. Combat tends to be shorter, less frequent, resolved in a more narrative style, or absent altogether, while keeping the story as the primary focus.

Combat Lite

“Hexcrawl / Exploration” games are all about the journey. Whether you're uncovering ancient ruins, navigating dangerous terrain, or charting new territory, the focus is on discovery and player-driven adventure. Hexcrawls add additional structure by using a map where each hex holds new surprises, challenges, or story hooks.

Hexcrawl / Exploration

Dungeons & Dragons 5e

Steve

Played D&D alot back in middle school and high school in the early-mid 80s. Stepped away for many years, then have gotten back in to playing in person the last 4-5 years, mostly using 2014 5e.

Steve

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