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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default your favorite genre

    What is your favorite genre when playing a tabletop RPG? Sword and sorcery Conan style stuff, the typical high fantasy D&D/Pathfinder stories, or maybe the cyberpunk of Shadowrun, horror like Call of Cthulhu?

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    Pixie in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    For me its high fantasy. I am and will always be a sucker for forgotten realms and middle earth like settings.

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Quote Originally Posted by Green.Grizzly View Post
    For me its high fantasy. I am and will always be a sucker for forgotten realms and middle earth like settings.
    But Middle-Earth is mostly low-fantasy.
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    Pixie in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    But Middle-Earth is mostly low-fantasy.
    Middle-Earth is normally the go to definition for high/epic fantasy? Low fantasy is where magic things intrude in an otherwise normal world. For example, in Pan's Labyrinth or Good Omens.

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Quote Originally Posted by Green.Grizzly View Post
    Middle-Earth is normally the go to definition for high/epic fantasy? Low fantasy is where magic things intrude in an otherwise normal world. For example, in Pan's Labyrinth or Good Omens.
    That's more urban fantasy. Low fantasy would be a fantastical world where magic is present but is still mysterious and rarely seen. In LotR seeing an Elf is a rare and wonderful experience and magically lighting a fire is like writing "Gandalf is here" for half a continent.

    Edit: looking into it, this seems to be a case of "there are several, conflicting, definitions to this term".
    Last edited by Fyraltari; 2021-01-26 at 09:29 AM.

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    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Middle Earth is, by Tolkien's own interpretation, just planet Earth in a very distant past. It's also mostly a regular world with magic occasionally intruding - The Shire, Rohan, Gondor, are all very ordinary until the conflict of the ring (a relic from long ago) begins to influence the lives of the inhabitants. Low fantasy seems like the best fit, from my perspective.

    To stop us from derailing too much with that argument: I'm partial to low fantasy and cyberpunk. I like character driven stories, and I'm partial to intrigue and politics. You can easily find those things in other genres, too, but I'd say they're more common in those genres.

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    For the sake of argument, shall we use these terms this way?

    High Fantasy / Epic Fantasy : heroes need to save the world. Example: LOTR , Belgariad

    Sword & Sorcery/ Heroic fantasy : heroes are out for fame, fortune : Conan , Sinbad

    Low / Dark Fantasy: gritty antiheroes, dark with adult themes : Sanctuary, Lankhmar

    If so, I prefer Heroic fantasy where my character becomes a legend by the time the game campaign ends, although I confess Epic fantasy to be a close second.
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    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I like sword and sorcery on the fantasy side, and classic science fiction on the SF. The latter being defined as settings inspired by such authors as Asimov, Heinlein, And Clarke.

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    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    GnomePirate

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    What a lot of interesting different definitions!
    The explanation of "high fantasy" I have always heard is fantasy that is obviously a different world from ours (like Middle-Earth), whereas "low fantasy" is clearly our world with additions.

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    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I don't have a "favorite genre" as much as I want the game to fit the genre.

    My favorites are:

    D&D or Fantasy Hero for fantasy.
    Champions for superhero
    Flashing Blades for 17th century musketeers in Paris
    TOON for cartoon characters
    Pendragon for the Arthurian mythos

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    Troll in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I've had the most fun with gritty survival/adventure games, science fiction (preferably hard) and noir + horror.
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    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Quote Originally Posted by Murk View Post
    What a lot of interesting different definitions!
    The explanation of "high fantasy" I have always heard is fantasy that is obviously a different world from ours (like Middle-Earth)
    Quote Originally Posted by Mephit View Post
    Middle Earth is, by Tolkien's own interpretation, just planet Earth in a very distant past.
    Soooo.......
    Quote Originally Posted by Scarlet Knight View Post
    For the sake of argument, shall we use these terms this way?

    High Fantasy / Epic Fantasy : heroes need to save the world. Example: LOTR , Belgariad

    Sword & Sorcery/ Heroic fantasy : heroes are out for fame, fortune : Conan , Sinbad

    Low / Dark Fantasy: gritty antiheroes, dark with adult themes : Sanctuary, Lankhmar

    If so, I prefer Heroic fantasy where my character becomes a legend by the time the game campaign ends, although I confess Epic fantasy to be a close second.
    None of those really tackle D&D, which is usually more defined by the scale of magic (eg Forgotten Realms is high magic while LotR is very low magic). In fact, those definitions seem more concerned with how the players act and the theme of the game as opposed to the actual setting.

    Anyway, to answer the question, my favorite genres for RPGs are D&D and Star Wars.
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  13. - Top - End - #13
    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    None of those really tackle D&D, which is usually more defined by the scale of magic (eg Forgotten Realms is high magic while LotR is very low magic). In fact, those definitions seem more concerned with how the players act and the theme of the game as opposed to the actual setting.
    But those are how those terms are generally used. Low/High Fantasy weren't invented as terms to take about the scale of power or the presence of magic but about how they're different from our world or not. It is about setting but the setting in relation to how closely it comports with the "primary" or real world. Dungeons and Dragons isn't a genre, it's a rule system where you can tell a wide range of genres but the various worlds used by Wizards would all be High Fantasy. People get hung up on the usage of High and Low part and think that applies to the setting having a lot of magic or the setting having low to no magic or supernatural stuff. Using the other terms the creator coined would probably be better. Epic Fantasy rather than High Fantasy and Intrusion Fantasy rather than Low Fantasy.

    The Wikipedia article on Low Fantasy has a good explanation for all of this.

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    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Quote Originally Posted by Razade View Post
    But those are how those terms are generally used. Low/High Fantasy weren't invented as terms to take about the scale of power or the presence of magic but about how they're different from our world or not. It is about setting but the setting in relation to how closely it comports with the "primary" or real world. Dungeons and Dragons isn't a genre, it's a rule system where you can tell a wide range of genres but the various worlds used by Wizards would all be High Fantasy. People get hung up on the usage of High and Low part and think that applies to the setting having a lot of magic or the setting having low to no magic or supernatural stuff. Using the other terms the creator coined would probably be better. Epic Fantasy rather than High Fantasy and Intrusion Fantasy rather than Low Fantasy.

    The Wikipedia article on Low Fantasy has a good explanation for all of this.
    I'll totally cop to my experience probably differing from the standard experience, then. Appreciate it!
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    magitech-punk science fiction deconstructive action anime with humorous elements mixed with espionage, political drama and occasional horrific and warm fuzzy moments to round it out.

    But superheroes is a good second.
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  16. - Top - End - #16
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I would absolutely love a world / time / dimension hopping game with various types of technology and magic!

    You can then visit different themes!

    The TV show The Magicians hits what I want 90%!
    Last edited by darkrose50; 2021-02-04 at 02:00 PM.

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    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Really liking some of the modern fantasy out there. Although it feels like I either love it or hate it.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Waterdeep Merch View Post
    Use your smite bite to fight the plight right. Fill the site with light and give fright to wights as a knight of the night, teeth white; mission forthright, evil in flight. Despite the blight within, you perform the rite, ignore any contrite slight, fangs alight, soul bright.

    That sight is dynamite.

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    Pixie in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I started playing dota
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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Fantasy is my usual choice of genre when it comes to RPGs over a number of game systems. I don't like the terms high/low fantasy since even this thread shows that people think about those terms differently and the actual game and setting can effect those types of choices.
    I've played and/or run Shadowrun, Star Wars (d6), Gamma World, and Call of Cthulhu. I don't really like horror as a genre, so CoC games I run are typically low-horror unless it's a one-off game where no-one is greatly concerned whether they are insane or dead at the end.

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Quote Originally Posted by Green.Grizzly View Post
    Middle-Earth is normally the go to definition for high/epic fantasy? Low fantasy is where magic things intrude in an otherwise normal world. For example, in Pan's Labyrinth or Good Omens.
    I think there's multiple definitions of both
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  21. - Top - End - #21
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I'm a huge fan of cyberpunk, but in general, I like any genre with a bit of downplayed supernatural elements. Especially slice of life or science fiction (hard science fiction stories with ghosts are like catnip to me).
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    Quote Originally Posted by BisectedBrioche View Post
    hard science fiction stories with ghosts
    Like "brain-scans of dead" people or like "hard science-fiction except there are ghosts too"?
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  23. - Top - End - #23
    Troll in the Playground
     
    BisectedBrioche's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    Like "brain-scans of dead" people or like "hard science-fiction except there are ghosts too"?
    The latter. I guess I just like the idea of supernatural elements that are minor enough they're never explained or left ambiguous.

    Keeps you thinking.
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  24. - Top - End - #24
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Lizardfolk

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Yeah I think it's a little hard because in terms of whether I like a book or not.. genre seems like almost a secondary characteristic.. Like, how good is the plot?, how interesting are the characters? But yeah aside from that, I really like fantasy as a whole, but it often seems a little hard to find good fantasy novels that aren't say.. the classic Narnia, LOTR, etc. Although saying that, I did find The Cruel and it's sequels by Holly Black, though that's modern fantasy.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Waterdeep Merch View Post
    Use your smite bite to fight the plight right. Fill the site with light and give fright to wights as a knight of the night, teeth white; mission forthright, evil in flight. Despite the blight within, you perform the rite, ignore any contrite slight, fangs alight, soul bright.

    That sight is dynamite.

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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I really like high-fantasy biology with low-fantasy magic, or in a better way: multitudes of species with uncommon magic. Games where like, magic really only hits the strength that D&D-based classes hit at 6th level spells is about as powerful as I like it. Makes it much easier to write a setting as a GM when I'm able to make champions at level 15-20. Realistically, those levels in every D&D-like game should have those NPCs solving every major problem.

    But setting genres aren't really the same as gameplay genres. As a GM, I like writing campaigns that take place during war, whether it be the phases that build to war or the actual ongoing war. As an independent unit, the party can easily be used like a Special-Ops mercenary whose job it is to disrupt the enemy with some measure of plausible deniability.

    As a player, I generally like the same kinda thing, maybe leaning towards a West-Marches style. Such games usually offer me the freedom I like my characters to have while still giving them really challenging obstacles.

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    I'm a big fan of cyberpunk and supernatural horror/fantasy. :>

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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Low fantasy, urban fantasy and cyberpunk. Though I do prefer it if the low fantasy is "minor magic but omnipresent throughout society/world" rather than LotR's "normal world until you go looking for the magic/the magic finds you". I've also noticed that it's gotten harder for me to suspend my disbelief with masquerade settings, especially those set in a modern world-equivalent.

    Essentially, Shadowrun's setting is my perfect playground, but I'd have to somehow change the mechanics to fully enjoy play in it.

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    GnomePirate

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Low fantasy like Middle earth were magic exists, but most people will never see it in action, maybe there is something fantastic in the shadows, but mostly dark and gritty.

    I am also a fan of Shadowruns world, just wish it was easier to run.

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    Lord of the Rings is High Fantasy.

    Low/High Fantasy is not in reference to magic or fantastical elements. Low/High Fantasy is a term to determine the primary setting of the world. If it's Earth, it's Low Fantasy. If it's anywhere but Earth, it's High Fantasy. Low Fantasy can have magic or fantastical elements so long as they intrude on the primary world (our world). Harry Potter is Low Fantasy. Even if Lord of the Rings is technically Earth, it is so divergent from the primary world that it still counts as High Fantasy.
    Last edited by Razade; 2021-03-29 at 03:31 PM.

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    Pixie in the Playground
     
    MonkGirl

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    Default Re: your favorite genre

    I prefer high fantasy too
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