Do you have a default TTRPG gaming mode?

[Joshua Randall]

Do we fighter because we want power, or do we want power so that we can fight?!

Yes.

 

[Orius]

Ben from Questing Beast did a recent video that gives a fairly clear explanation of these gaming mode terms:


I don't think these are great terms though. For one, the closest I come to any of those would be "Classic", yet I like newer systems like 3e, and "Classic" seems to indicate older rules (maybe not, but whatever). I'm not really OSR, while I follow some of their ideas, a lot of what they do is a reaction against 3e, so naturally I'm not part of that. Everything else seems to be some variation of narrative games, and I'm definitely not in that crowd. But these terms seem to have arisen out of narrative theorycrafting in the first place, and I think there's a bias towards narrative gaming in the first place.

 

[payn]

Ben from Questing Beast did a recent video that gives a fairly clear explanation of these gaming mode terms:


I don't think these are great terms though. For one, the closest I come to any of those would be "Classic", yet I like newer systems like 3e, and "Classic" seems to indicate older rules (maybe not, but whatever). I'm not really OSR, while I follow some of their ideas, a lot of what they do is a reaction against 3e, so naturally I'm not part of that. Everything else seems to be some variation of narrative games, and I'm definitely not in that crowd. But these terms seem to have arisen out of narrative theorycrafting in the first place, and I think there's a bias towards narrative gaming in the first place.

I purposely tried not to get into the nit and gritty terminology because I wanted folks to explain in their own terms. I just used traditional as the starting path. I'm pretty happy that until now, nobody has brought it up. Its fine that you did, but im pleasantly surprised folks just dove in and answered on their own terms.

 

[pawsplay]

My general preference is for a trad gaming style, with some intrusions from the players as far as elements pertaining mainly to them. So, some slightly meta abilities are okay with me.

 

[aramis erak]

Greetings,

I've been mulling the idea of game modes in my head for awhile. All the jargon floating around in discussions about game design and play has got me thinking about my experiences. I understand what is often called traditional (Trad) is that the GM has full control of setting with players having control of their individual characters. Other modes, share the setting responsibility for the setting across all players equally. Of course, you have hybrid styles too that work as traditional, but offer moments for players to step into the GM role momentarily.

My general preference is pretty firmly in the hybrid space. Specifically, metacurrency moderated player input and metacurrency limited mid-scene GM input.

Sample games in that space: Cortex Plus/Cortex Prime, FFG/Edge Star Wars, FFG/Edge Legend of the Five Rings, Modiphius Dune, Modiphius Star Trek Adventures, Fate.

Non-storable metacurrency with "say yes (and | but)...": most Year Zero engine games. (skills have spends for excess successes, but you don't get to keep the extras for later use.)

My comfort zone, however, is much wider. From seriously little known trad to the above hybrids. plus Burning Wheel and various John Wick roll-for-control like Blood and Honor.

 

[John Dallman]

Fairly traditional, but I'm always willing to take suggestions from the players about how things might be. Filling in all the gaps myself is impossible, and plausible ideas will get used.

 

[schneeland]

I think I have two default modes: modern trad and OSR.

Characteristics of modern trad would be:

• GM controls the world, players control their characters; however players can contribute to world building either through the lens of their characters background (e.g. recounting stories from their place of origin, the religious order they were part of, etc.) or through suggestions, typically in the form of leading question, influencing the current scene (e.g. "there most have been trade between this town and the now-derelict dwarven strong hold back then - do we find any traces of an old trade route we could follow?")
• There is a overarching story/plot that players follow, though there might be branches and also side plots relating to the PCs' backgrounds
• Pre-written campaigns exist and contain such stories
• The game is typically not very deadly and the focus is on experiencing the story, not overcoming challenge (as a player)
• Challenges are typically resolved based on character stats and dice rolls, though the GM might grant bonuses based on player ideas or decisions
• Mechanics-wise, dice rolls are used for task resolution; however, there is often a meta currency or luck mechanic that allows players to influence the results or do re-rolls

Examples for this sort of game would be Savage Worlds or Call of Cthulhu 7e and a larger number of Free League games. D&D 5e would be a border case here and would probably fall into the classic trad bucket for me, since it doesn't have any meta currency or luck mechanic by default.

Characteristics of OSR would be:

• GM controls the world, players control their character as well as a number of retainers; players can contribute to world building through in-game decisions and their outcomes
• There is typically no overarching plot, though smaller plot lines might exist; emergent stories based on random tables play a larger role as do changes in the world brought about by the players
• Pre-written modules ex
• The game is typically deadly, at least early one, and overcoming challenges as a player is part of the motivation to play
• While challenges are resolved with dice rolls, overcoming them through cautiousness and clever tactics is part of the motivation to play
• Mechanics-wise, dice rolls are used for task resolution; dice rolls are typically not adjusted afterwards

Examples for this sort of game would be Old-School Essentials/ B/X D&D, but also newer OSR titles like Into the Odd, Mausritter, Knave or Cairn. Dungeon Crawl Classics would probably also fit despite having a luck mechanic.

I sometime deliberately seek out games beyond these default modes, which works better if they are really distinct from said two. E.g. Trophy Dark made it easier for me to get into a different mindset than Dungeon World or The Sprawl (both PbtA games).

 

[thullgrim]

I’d say I run a pretty traditional table. I tend to run pre written adventures/adventure paths with player buy in. The game systems I run tend to be geared towards more traditional play modes as well I run a lot of PF1, Savage Worlds, and other more traditional games.

 

[aramis erak]

I think I have two default modes: modern trad and OSR.

Characteristics of modern trad would be:

• GM controls the world, players control their characters; however players can contribute to world building either through the lens of their characters background (e.g. recounting stories from their place of origin, the religious order they were part of, etc.) or through suggestions, typically in the form of leading question, influencing the current scene (e.g. "there most have been trade between this town and the now-derelict dwarven strong hold back then - do we find any traces of an old trade route we could follow?")
• There is a overarching story/plot that players follow, though there might be branches and also side plots relating to the PCs' backgrounds
• Pre-written campaigns exist and contain such stories
• The game is typically not very deadly and the focus is on experiencing the story, not overcoming challenge (as a player)
• Challenges are typically resolved based on character stats and dice rolls, though the GM might grant bonuses based on player ideas or decisions
• Mechanics-wise, dice rolls are used for task resolution; however, there is often a meta currency or luck mechanic that allows players to influence the results or do re-rolls

Examples for this sort of game would be Savage Worlds or Call of Cthulhu 7e and a larger number of Free League games. D&D 5e would be a border case here and would probably fall into the classic trad bucket for me, since it doesn't have any meta currency or luck mechanic by default.

spoken like someone whose never played a Free League game... or only Tales from the Loop and TOR 2e.

Having run a bunch, they are some of the most brutal combat systems out there, directly on par with Rolemaster for how bad crits get and in frequency of crits.
I started Dragonbane early this quarter. 6 player party. So far 6 characters dead. Constant risk of death and/or disfigurement of characters. And, due to the way experience works, that's not going to get much less deadly in play.
I've run ALIEN cinematics 5 times; less than half the PCs made it out; in Chariots, 1/4, 1/6, 2/6; in Destroyer, 1/4, and that was a replacement PC. Heart: 4/5 players got characters out, but 2 of those were replacement characters, one of which was a cat. My campaigns: 1st space trucker: faded to black on 1 shot remaining in pistol couple as warrior Xenomorph came down to them; other 4 PCs already dead at that point. 2nd space trucker: ended at cliffhanger due to human malware¹ making it hit too close to home. 1st mercs: sudden end due to human malware.
Twilight 2000 4th: Run 2: 5 players, 7 dead player characters over 3 months. Run 1: 3 dead PCs of 7 players and 9 total PCs, one of whom was a gut-punch to the party - as they were taking to the air in a barely functional helo, the character who had been the coleader took the crew hit... blown through the front window by a howitzer round. The Doc was missing an arm, Capitaine Duprée was missing a leg, the mechanic had brain damage (resulting in a delusion), Gunny died via a knife to the head... and the 4 NPC kids? 3 wounded in the raid for fuel. All four kids made it out in the UH-60... (Compared with 1st ed, 4th is much much more brutal.)
Even in Vaesen - 5 PCs, 2 deaths. Both by drowning due to a specific adventure triggered even.

Of the ones I've read, only Tales from the Loopisn't a potential death & dismemberment engine. TOR 2E can be potentially deadly, but wound up not in play; the NPCs just weren't hitting. (I've not read Things from the Flood, tho' I have it. I've read MYZ, Forbidden Lands, and Coriolis, run ALIEN, T2K, Blade Runner, Dragonbane - all have very similarly brutal combat effects.)


1: colorful term for the COVID-19 pandemic; term acquired from Adrian Black via Youtube.

 

[schneeland]

spoken like someone whose never played a Free League game... or only Tales from the Loop and TOR 2e.

I‘m sure you noticed the „typically“, so how about being a bit less confrontational? Yes, I am aware that Alien is quite deadly. But Forbidden Lands is already less deadly once your characters get solid gear.
And more generally, creating large buckets requires a bit of generalisation. So if you feel the categories don’t fit 100%, that's not incorrect, but they're also not actually meant to.