a new name for the “typical 5E” playstyle

 

The taxonomy of RPGs is a favorite and frequent (I assume favorite, because it is so frequent) topic on the Sly Flourish Discord, and, judging by the number of blogs I’ve seen linked that amount to “clarifying the OSR?”, I would say that it is a common topic outside of the Lazy DM community, as well. Several points that came up in our discussions this week got me thinking:

What do we call the current “culture of play” that is purportedly the most common for D&D 5E, and other RPGs, today?

I think that in order to come up with an appropriate nomenclature, we must first define the playstyle and the games that support it, or perhaps the games that are often used when playing RPGs in this style. I’ll borrow from Mike Shea’s (the Lazy DM, Sly Flourish) method of trying to use a tag system to better describe a playstyle and classification of games, which he outlined in his Lazy RPG Talk Show: What is the OSR?. I’m also quite familiar with using a tag system to identify video games on Steam, and I’ll use some parallels to video games in describing how the design of certain RPG games and products may influence this style of play. Add on to that, I am deeply ingrained in the extreme granularity of metal subgenres (Black’n’Roll vs Death’n’Roll, anyone?), so I find great value in both broad and granular classification of music and games.

I think that such classifications are primarily useful to those entrenched in the hobby being discussed, but they can also expand our vocabulary for relaying these ideas to the lay person. This was a skill which I found particularly useful when selling alcohol in a retail environment; I was able to translate the taste experience of a wide variety of beverages so that other people with far less experience could understand what a drink may offer. This was accomplished through “study and practice, years of it”, but I will freely admit that I don’t have the same level of experience, or vocabulary, when it comes to RPGs and so I will rely on these other sources of knowledge and hope to start a conversation rather than offer a definitive answer.

Which brings me back around to the question above, and my answer as it currently exists…

DESTINED HEROES PLAYSTYLE

…and what this playstyle entails that sets it apart from other styles of RPG gaming that groups may employ at their table. Other names or descriptors I’ve seen applied to this style of RPG gameplay include – traditional (or trad), OC, NeoTrad, corporate and depressing, modern, skill-based super-heroic, and finally, just 5E. I’m sure there must be other names floating around, but these are the ones that come to mind.

I’m aware that “trad” is the main term that people would use to label the games and playstyle detailed below, but I think that this is lacking in description and a bit of a loaded term today. I also think that trad, as a label for RPGs, is not especially well known, but I could certainly be wrong on that point.

What makes a Destined Heroes Game, and why call it that?

            I think that the central pillar of this playstyle, and the reason I have landed on the name “Destined Heroes”, is the assumption that the characters (heroes) chosen at the start of the adventure or campaign will live to complete their character arc or see the climax of the adventure, and the GM builds the game to serve the fun of all players at the table. In this context, I don’t mean that the Destined Heroes are The Chosen Ones ordained by some higher power as the only people in the story capable of fulfilling a destiny of saving the world (or whatever the game is about); rather, the Destined Heroes are simply the characters that the players created when the game began, and there is an assumed social contract that these characters will not be killed by a random encounter rolled during exploration or a poison dart trap in a dungeon that is not tied directly to the campaigns central narrative. If one of the characters does perish, then it would likely be during a climactic faceoff against an important enemy or some other centrally dramatic scene, and the demise of a character will typically only happen with the player’s consent. The GM is assumed to create encounters balanced to be appropriately challenging for the characters, and the cultural assumption is that the GM may even pull their punches to ensure an exciting and dramatic scene which falls short of being deadly to the heroes. Lastly, the games played in this style will almost always have a means to restore a fallen hero to life, if the worst should come to pass. These are the heroes that the table has collectively granted the destiny of finishing the game.

What games fit the Destined Heroes playstyle?

The most obvious and dominant answer would be D&D 5E (also the most maligned by some in the RPG hobby). That’s not to say that 5E can only be played in this style, but it does seem to be assumed that this is the way 5E will be played. Obvious answer out of the way, other games that come to mind for this style of play would be – the major 5E variants like Tales of the Valiant and Level Up Advanced 5E, Pathfinder, Daggerheart, Draw Steel, Shield Maidens, D&D 3.X and 4E. I’m sure there must be tons of other games that I either don’t know of or I’m forgetting at this moment (addendum below).

Aside from the definition above, regarding playstyle, what are some of the other qualities these games share? Time for a list of “tags”!

·         Skills – abilities of the characters which the players can use to interface with the world. “I want to use [SKILL] to attempt [ACTION].” Alternatively, the GM can declare that the action proposed by the player requires the use of a specific Skill. The Skills give actions a reference point for all the players at the table.

·         Modes of Gameplay – heavy or light-handed rules and game mechanics to give the players structure for engaging in Role Play, Exploration, Combat, Equipment, Crafting, etc.

·         Heroic or Super Heroic Capabilities – powers possessed by the characters which firmly mark them as being different from the normal citizenry of the worlds they inhabit.

·         Balance – an approach to character design which ensures all options are viable, and a system for matching challenges to the characters which are appropriate for the current level of the characters.

·         Variety – lots of options for all the players at the table. GMs have a wide range of tools and elements they can use to craft the adventures they want to play, and Players have a wide range of character options they can use to create the hero they want to embody or control while doing cool things.

·         Healing & Resurrection – plentiful options to heal injuries at every level of play and even restore a character to life, up to and including advice for the GM to allow for divine intervention if their plans lead to an inadvertent TPK.

Why do people play this way?

Where did the Destined Heroes playstyle come from?

            I have a few thoughts on these questions, which I believe may offer useful perspective; however, I will again admit my ignorance of the deep history of RPGs and the genealogy of games and playstyles. I know a bit about the history of the industry, and I’ve seen some theories among the community, but I have no doubt that there are others far more qualified to answer these questions.

·         People like to play games which have a known conclusion, and the conclusion is something which can be reached if they put in the time required.

o   This applies to almost any kind of game, not just tabletop role playing games. Winning is not a requirement for all players, but finishing a session or playthrough should give satisfying sense of completion.

·         “Approachable” play experience.

o   Not approachable in the sense of being simple or accessible from a rules and game design standpoint, but approachable in the sense that the game and Game Master are collaborating with the players to provide a fun and accomplishable experience. Elden Ring was a breakout success because it felt approachable despite being extremely challenging in many ways, it cracked the code of bringing the very video game-y systems (it shifted some elements from opaque to at least slightly translucent) and legendary difficulty of the Dark Souls game to a wider audience.

o   This element of approachability is best illustrated by the common characteristics of game design (tags) listed above. Many of these are flexible enough to allow for many interpretations in the fiction of the game, and for the players in the game to modify the systems to suit their taste in balancing ease of play and the simulation of living beings in a real world.

§  Skills – “push a button” to have your character perform an action in the game. Easy to understand, easy to repeat.

§  Modes of Gameplay – lean into the systems that suit the players in the game, back off on the ones that aren’t fun or don’t serve the story being created.

§  Heroic Abilities – experience the fantasy of being exceptional and wielding awesome powers. The characters can face any challenge, even ones that serve as a proxy to the players’, or their society’s, issues.

§  Balance – everyone gets to feel awesome, and hopefully no one is made to feel lesser in comparison. Challenges always feel appropriate.

§  Variety – play what you want to play, not what you have to play. The other systems in the game will support the choice, and the thing you want to play has been provided by the game’s designers or a third party.

§  Healing – make a mistake? No problem, we can fix it!

·         Published adventures provide an understandable “plot” for the GM and Players, as well as incentivizing the completion of the adventure due to the investment of monetary and time resources.

o   My original thought concerning this point revolved around the large, hardback adventure books published by WotC for 5E, but a blog post I read recently tipped me off that this probably has a much older origin (when the author references “tournament style modules”). If the group agrees to play an adventure published in a book with a high price tag and a significant investment of time on the part of the GM and the Players, then it follows that the player-characters should be considered as a part of that investment. Especially if the story of the adventure will take the characters from levels 1-12.

I think it is likely that a combination of all these elements lead to the development of this playstyle over the course of many years and countless games all around the world.

As with video games, the RPGs with the broadest appeal tend to be the ones with the rough edges filed down to create a smooth experience. Blizzard Entertainment has built an absurdly successful business model from refining and polishing gameplay experiences to create approachable games and serve the widest possible customer base. If someone wants to play a game which prominently features climbing mechanics, they are much more likely to enjoy Assassins Creed than Jusant. Microsoft’s flagship racing title replaced itself with a more casual version in a spinoff series. Many people, not all, like to play games which easily enable them to do the thing the game is designed to do by lowering the skill floor and reducing friction points.

Conclusion: Can’t we all just play the games we like to play?

Yes, and understanding the reasons we like those games can enrich the experience.

I have endeavored to present these points without a value judgement, because I don’t think that there is any one right way to enjoy games. The destined heroes in my 5E game can’t hurt the OSR blorb any more than the strange adventurers in Dolmenwood can clearcut the Wildsea. I fully appreciate the inclinations of OSR games, and that community, to embrace the friction of their systems as a source of enjoyment and good game design (I was almost immediately bored by Diablo 4, but will gladly spend many hours in Path of Exile); however, I also love the crunchy yet approachable systems of D&D’24.

 

ADDENDUM: When I asked the members of my chosen community for examples of other games which might fit the Destined Heroes moniker, these are the games they suggested. I chose not to include them above because I’m not confident if these games include the tags I used to illustrate the game design style. The games - Vampire: The Masquerade and its descendants, Shadowrun, Cypher System (Numenara), Savage Worlds, most Super Hero themed RPGs (whether generic or based on an IP), Traveller (can be played OSR or Destined Heroes), Warhammer Fantasy RP. And probably many more indie games or lesser known titles.