Broaden Your Horizons - Why you should try other TTRPGs

Like many people out there, Dungeons & Dragons brought me into the TTRPG hobby. Starting off during high school lunch, I noticed a group of people playing a fascinating-looking game. I would later come to know that they were playing D&D, specifically edition 3.5. Getting to cut my teeth on this system as a player was equal parts confusing and exhilarating. It allowed me to enter a hobby that, over 20 years later, I am happy to be a part of. But Dungeons & Dragons is not the only tabletop game out there. In fact, I would say it is just one large fish in an ocean of choices. Just because it is the biggest does not mean that you have to stick with just Dungeons & Dragons. Trying out other systems can give you a different experience than what you are used to. So when you can, broaden your horizons.

It makes sense to try the variety of the games out there. While current events have really pushed in this direction, there are many other reasons on why you should do so.

Not Always the Best Tool

Dungeons & Dragons does a great job of creating powerful characters. Magic users can bend reality to their will or hurl fireballs at their enemies. Martial Fighters can do a flurry of attacks in a blink of an eye and, occasionally, do it a second time. As a player there are plenty of times where you feel that power. However, that inherent feeling of power can make other focuses of gameplay hard to express. Horror, for example, excels when a group of individuals is low on resources. A group exploring a haunted house might have flashlights, but those batteries are quickly going out. The monster hunter is tracking his prey, but he only has a few more bullets remaining, and has to be careful. While we can accomplish this with some optional rules and careful planning, the Resource Pools available to players will ultimately get in the way more often than not. 

Not that you cannot run horror in 5e. I have with splendid success. Imagine, however, you are trying to tighten a bolt on your car. Looking at your toolbox, you have a few options available. You first come across a pair of pliers. These pliers will get the job done on this job, as well as many other jobs. It is why you keep them close. However, they slip on the bolt. As you dig deeper in your toolbox, however, you come across a wrench. This wrench is made specifically for bolts. Using the wrench for this job will work much better than the pliers. Similarly to this example other systems, like Call of Cthulhu or Mothership, do a better job of simulating horror. These systems are built specifically to run horror games, and will do a better job at it. They might not simulate the same levels of combat and power fantasy as Dungeons & Dragons, but that is okay. Every tool has its purpose, and some tools will work better at specific jobs than others.

Crunch

Dungeons & Dragons has a detailed set of rules on how the party can interact with the world around them. When a player wants their character to deceive the local merchant to get a better price, the DM can call for a Charisma (Deception) check. This will either be a contested check against the merchant’s Wisdom (Insight), or a flat score (DC). Looking at combat we have even more rules and structure on how it occurs. Rounds of combat, where each player gets a turn that allows them to do a certain amount of actions. This structure, however, can make spontaneous choices a bit more difficult to simulate. This comes down to what is often called the “level of crunch”.

Crunch refers to the complexity of rules in place in a system, and how far it goes to simulate reality. While the current version of D&D has what I would call a medium level of crunch, older systems would definitely be much more crunchy. 3.5 and Pathfinder can be considered heavily crunchy in comparison. These systems will take more mechanics to simulate an action, but will often give a bit more precise control. You have more variables to take into consideration, and that can make the game more complex. 

Other systems will aim to have lighter crunch, such as Savage Worlds, the current edition referred to as SWADE. This game boasts “quick, simple, yet comprehensive rules for everything from combat to Dramatic Tasks, Chases, and Interludes.” Savage Worlds moves much faster than Dungeons & Dragons. Combat often takes much less time, and you can move through a campaign faster because of it. That being said, it will not have as many options and bonuses as a system like Dungeons & Dragons. 

Both options have their merits and are worth trying out. Having a crunchier game can be very satisfying for individuals looking to really lean into the numbers. I played Pathfinder 1E for a few campaigns and it was fun to look at the mechanical side of the game and how you could build a strong character. Alternatively, games with lighter crunch will provide a more streamlined experience. This can allow players who want to focus on the roleplay side of the game more space to spread their metaphorical wings, not having to feel bogged down by too many rolls if they want to try an action. 

A Different Perspective

When you play Dungeons & Dragons, there is often a specific approach to challenges. When the party throws down with some bandits, combat will proceed in a certain way. The Dungeon Master creates the world that the players interact in, which they do through rolling dice. Sometimes worlds are built together, but ultimately the system of Dungeons and Dragons will remain the same. While this can have its benefits, sometimes a different perspective at the table can help you improve your abilities overall.

Playing a unique system can help you break up that thought process by getting a new perspective. The game Ironsworn, by Shawn Tomkin, has a very different approach to creating and interacting in the world, especially since the system does not require a Game Master. In place of a GM, Ironsworn provides “Oracle Tables” that allow for some direction when making game play decisions. One or more players will work together to build out the world, the characters, and the hardships they might face together. When a random chance needs to come into play, the Oracle Tables provide just that. I played Ironsworn for a bit, and found the whole experience to make me think differently about how I approach my TTRPG creation.

Other Game Options

So at this point you have decided you want to try some other games. Maybe you want to try a different genre than fantasy. Whatever the choice you have decided on, there is an ocean of games out there to choose from. Here are just a few suggestions.

Horror Games

If you have followed me for any time, you know I like horror. I even helped release a horror book. A lot of the adventures I have run at my table lean towards horror. Some games out there put horror at the front and center of their games. One of the more well-known systems out there is Call of Cthulhu. Based on Lovecraftian Horror, this d100 game has players take on the roll of folks caught in the chaos. In many of these adventures, character death is both likely and not the worst conclusion as the Elder Gods slowly try to enter the current world.

Another game that recently started work on their 1E version is Mothership. If you enjoyed (or were terrified by) space horror media like Alien or Event Horizon, Mothership will scratch that itch. It focuses on the space elements with a fairly lightweight system. I backed their recent Kickstarter and had time to scoop up a lot of material for the system. Hopefully, when my current Curse of Strahd game is over, I will have time to delve into it.

Lighter Games

Maybe all this time spent playing 5E makes you want something a bit more lightweight. Something that either plays swiffer, requires less GM prep, or a mixture of both. While not the crunchiest game out there, 5E has a decent amount of math to it. No matter how much I try to optimize combat, I find it will soak up a lot of time. With my current schedule, which has shorter weekly games, this can make pacing slow. Luckily there are some faster games out there.

Savage World (or SWADE) was first introduced to me when they had a Kickstarter looking to adopt a lot of the Pathfinder adventures. I got back into TTRPGs by playing Pathfinder, but found the system especially crunchy. SWADE promised a system that would streamline adventures and mentioned that combat would be shorter. While I enjoy combat, fitting an Adventuring Day worth can take a lot just to drain party resources. The potential to have a system that flies through combat means that I could instead focus on the important elements of the story.

Another option, if you like giant robots as much as I do, is the game Mecha Hack by Absolute Tabletop. The creator built this game on The Black Hack, and advertises it as a rules-lite RPG. The manual comes at 40 pages on A5 size paper and puts the focus more on narrative driven story than crunchy, simulationist mechanics. But that does not mean the game lacks options. The Mecha Hack, you have a variety of different customizations for both your pilot and your mech, as well as a decent amount of enemies built in. Coming from a system like Dungeons & Dragons means you will need to get used to the lack of specific rules, but from my experience playing I quite enjoyed it.

Different Perspective

If you play Dungeons & Dragons long enough, the setup might feel a bit too familiar to you. The setup of DM, players, and how you progress through the world can sometimes feel a bit hampering creativity. There are many systems out there that provide a different approach to the tabletop system.

Ironsworn, by Shawn Tomkin, can function as a solo or GM-less game through the use of the Oracle Tables. These tables help players decide choices by giving directions that then are interpreted at the table. This creates for a much more flexible game, where you take on the role of Game Master as well as played often. From building the world to running adventures, Ironsworn puts you in the middle of everything. In my time trying out the system, I found the setup to feel quite liberating. The structure meant that I and anyone I played with could take the suggestions in directions that made sense to us, and made our experience solely its own.

Final Thoughts

The elephant in the room when writing out this post has been the current state of the TTRPG community, specifically the state of the OGL. For those not caught up with the current events, there are some detailed sources online that break down what has happened. I recommend starting here and here. The short version is that Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are looking to change up some core parts of the D&D license which creators have been relying on for the past 20 years to make 3rd party content. Regardless of the arguments on the OGL, this situation has been exhausting for many people, myself included. As someone who primarily plays as well as creates content for 5E, the news took the wind out of my sails for 2023. But something to remember is that while Dungeon & Dragons might be the most popular TTRPG out there, it is not the only one. 

Conclusion

Broaden your horizons by playing more TTRPG systems than just Dungeons & Dragons. While 5E does some things well, it is not the best system at everything. The game simulates a great deal well, but certain types of genres do not fit into the power fantasy that D&D builds. It also has a great deal of crunch, which can feel stifling if you want a more narratively focused game. The perspective the game provides through its structure of DM, player, and skill check rolling can feel repetitive if you spend a lot of time playing through the game itself. But there are other systems out there that can help you scratch that itch. Horror-centric games like Call of Cthulhu and Mothership will have a stronger focus on building up that fright to make the perfect table atmosphere more obtainable. Lighter games such as SWADE and The Mecha Hack choose lighter rules to either make the game move more quickly or to help focus on a more narrative driven story. While these games are not D&D, they will provide a unique experience. Even if you do not stick with any of these games, broadening your horizons will give you fresh eyes and a new perspective when you return to Dungeons & Dragons.

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