I read and play a lot of tabletop game systems. I started with D&D 3e when it was new, and since then, I’ve dabbled in a little bit of a lot of stuff.
In 2020, I started playing D&D 5e with my friends online—like so many people did. The year after that, I started up an in-person group at my FLGS.
Since then, we swapped from 5e to Dragonbane for a year, then went to Starfinder 2e for over a year after that. Now, we’re mid-Pathfinder 2e, and between all of it, we’ve dabbled in Daggerheart, Pirate Borg, Vaesen, Fallout 2d20, and a bunch of others.
We’ve tried a lot because of me needing to playtest content I write or do some sessions for a review. Because of that, it always made me wonder if there was something better we could have been playing instead of what we were deep into.
Is the Grass Greener? Not Always
I do love to try out new shiny things. Sometimes, those new shiny things are a huge hit. Dragonbane, for instance. Everyone who played it adored it. It is still my favorite TTRPG overall, hands down, above all others.
In the past year and a half, we moved from DB to me GMing Starfinder. And I always felt like I was a little off in my style. I don’t know what it was, but even though I love the system and setting, I never felt like I really fell into it like I did 5e or Dragonbane.
I think that’s because my GM style doesn’t align as well with games where you don’t take as many liberties with the rules.
Now another member of the group is taking over my group with Pathfinder 2e and I’m going to finally get to play in a campaign of “Gatewalkers.” I’m so excited.
It’s also going to let me really see if my preference for rules-lite games and rules without as much crunch is a GM thing for me, or if it’s just an overall preference.
Because I genuinely don’t think I’d be able to continue GMing PF/SF at this point because of the cognitive load it requires to “always get it right.” I love rules, and I love abiding by them and getting them right.
But, like I said, something feels off in my style when running a rules-heavy game. I never feel the freedom in a -finder game, for instance, to adjudicate the rules and move on, as I do in some of the other games.
Going Back to What’s Comfortable
When I get back into GMing after “Gatewalkers,” I am going to pull for Dragonbane again, and if not that, go back to the old standby—D&D 5e.
It’s been a long time, and after playing both of Paizo’s -finder games for a while, I know it will feel overly simple (it almost did when we did the review testing of the Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set).
But I think I’ve learned that in terms of running games, even though I love the ideas of rules over rulings, it doesn’t work for me. I definitely prefer rulings over rules, but with a solid structure that I can logically base my decisions on.
Whether that’s 5e or Dragonbane, Daggerheart, or even Shadowdark, I think rules-lite to rules-medium with a lot of room for GM-level improv is my sweet spot. And I’ve had a hell of a lot of fun figuring that out, in the meantime.
What about you? What’s your preferred style of game to GM and play?