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<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 8595637" data-attributes="member: 50987">That might be one of the biggest ways that D&amp;D has changed over the decades: the styles of play have changed.&nbsp; How many different ways to play D&amp;D are popular these days?1.&nbsp; Beer &amp; Pretzels Play:&nbsp; A game that nobody takes too seriously, it's just another game on the shelf that you and your friends play sometimes, or something to do on a Friday night with your friends.&nbsp; Super-casual, half the time nobody remembers the over-arching story (if there even IS such a thing.)&nbsp; &quot;What are we doing tonight?&quot;&nbsp; &quot;Who cares, my rogue heads to the nearest tavern...&quot;2.&nbsp; Kick In The Door: The roots of our hobby.&nbsp; The game is played as a series of battles, with only enough story and dialogue to string them together.&nbsp; Lots of emphasis on stats and math, players have their character &quot;builds&quot; mapped out to 20 levels but can't remember whether their characters' parents are alive or dead.&nbsp; (Just kidding, they're always dead.)&nbsp; Kick in the door, kill the orc, take its stuff, rest, move to the next door.3.&nbsp; The Interactive Novel: The characters are the stars, and the campaign setting is theirs to walk over.&nbsp; Every gaming session is another chapter of a long story about great evils that are overcome, ordinary people who become heroes, and terrible villains who rise to power.&nbsp; The story might be heavily-scripted and inflexible (railroad), or it might be malleable and fluid (sandbox), but it is always the most important thing at the table.&nbsp; The story is king.4.&nbsp; Dress Rehearsal: The focus is on deep roleplaying.&nbsp; Combat (if any) is hand-waved, rushed, or muted so as to not steal the spotlight or pull focus.&nbsp; The players dress in character, speak in character, and behave in-character on the way to the fridge to get another flagon of mead.&nbsp; Because you serve mead at your gaming session.&nbsp; Because it's setting-appropriate.&nbsp; Everyone expects to be playing these same characters for many months, or even years.&nbsp; Lots of overlap with cosplay and LARPing.5.&nbsp; Internet Influencer:&nbsp; The game is carefully orchestrated to resemble a radio/television program.&nbsp; You have elaborate setting pieces and character stories, monsters of your own invention, and everything is filmed in 4K HD on a Twitch stream or YouTube channel.&nbsp; The game is more about having a large fan base and marketable product, gaining followers, and generating buzz.&nbsp; It's easy for us to look down on this style of play, but it is the single-largest reason why the hobby has grown (and continues to grow) by leaps and bounds.&nbsp; Much respect.6.&nbsp; The One-Shot: Nobody is heavily invested in their characters, the adventure, or the story.&nbsp; Chances are, nobody at the table will ever play these characters (or campaign setting, or rules, or game) ever again.&nbsp; Anything goes, consequences are rarely weighed, and even the most wild suggestions are entertained with a shrug and &quot;why not?&quot; from the GM.&nbsp; Very similar to &quot;Beer &amp; Pretzels,&quot; but FAR more gonzo.I'm sure there are others.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 8595637, member: 50987"] That might be one of the biggest ways that D&D has changed over the decades: the [I]styles of play [/I]have changed. How many different ways to play D&D are popular these days? [B]1. Beer & Pretzels Play:[/B] A game that nobody takes too seriously, it's just another game on the shelf that you and your friends play sometimes, or something to do on a Friday night with your friends. Super-casual, half the time nobody remembers the over-arching story (if there even IS such a thing.) "What are we doing tonight?" "Who cares, my rogue heads to the nearest tavern..." [B]2. Kick In The Door: [/B] The roots of our hobby. The game is played as a series of battles, with only enough story and dialogue to string them together. Lots of emphasis on stats and math, players have their character "builds" mapped out to 20 levels but can't remember whether their characters' parents are alive or dead. (Just kidding, they're always dead.) Kick in the door, kill the orc, take its stuff, rest, move to the next door. [B]3. The Interactive Novel:[/B] The characters are the stars, and the campaign setting is theirs to walk over. Every gaming session is another chapter of a long story about great evils that are overcome, ordinary people who become heroes, and terrible villains who rise to power. The story might be heavily-scripted and inflexible (railroad), or it might be malleable and fluid (sandbox), but it is always the most important thing at the table. The story is king. [B]4. Dress Rehearsal: [/B]The focus is on deep roleplaying. Combat (if any) is hand-waved, rushed, or muted so as to not steal the spotlight or pull focus. The players dress in character, speak in character, and behave in-character on the way to the fridge to get another flagon of mead. Because you serve mead at your gaming session. Because it's setting-appropriate. Everyone expects to be playing these same characters for many months, or even years. Lots of overlap with cosplay and LARPing. [B]5. Internet Influencer:[/B] The game is carefully orchestrated to resemble a radio/television program. You have elaborate setting pieces and character stories, monsters of your own invention, and everything is filmed in 4K HD on a Twitch stream or YouTube channel. The game is more about having a large fan base and marketable product, gaining followers, and generating buzz. It's easy for us to look down on this style of play, but it is the single-largest reason why the hobby has grown (and continues to grow) by leaps and bounds. Much respect. [B]6. The One-Shot: [/B]Nobody is heavily invested in their characters, the adventure, or the story. Chances are, nobody at the table will ever play these characters (or campaign setting, or rules, or game) ever again. Anything goes, consequences are rarely weighed, and even the most wild suggestions are entertained with a shrug and "why not?" from the GM. Very similar to "Beer & Pretzels," but FAR more gonzo. I'm sure there are others. [/QUOTE]

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