“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

“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)

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)

“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

“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.

Kate

My preferences