Genre preferences

[lugaid]

For me, I'm just going to ignore your categories. Feel free to apply them to these as you feel best.

1) Urban Fantasy - Specifically, hidden-magic, present-day, conspiratorial settings, like Voodoo: The Shadow War, Mage: The Ascension, Unknown Armies, Over the Edge, Kult, and the like. They don't have to be dark like those examples, though—a more optimistic type might be something like Sailor Moon.

2) Dieselpunk - I'm still sad that there was no Crimson Skies RPG. The aesthetic of WWI and the Interwar period combined with modern confrontational and inclusive sensibilities is a winner for me. Steampunk can go here too, I guess.

3) Deindustrial Future - Some people are still trying to pigeonhole this as postapocalyptic, and there is some small amount of similarity, but the genre was developed specifically to counter the apocalyptic narrative. It's more looking at how the Western Roman Empire slowly lost the ability to support ceramic factories and applying that sort of observation to our own future.

4) Old Solar System - A lot of crossover with steampunk and dieselpunk, this is the type of science fiction/fantasy that assumes the Solar System is like it was assumed to be prior to about 1960, with Martian canals, inhabitable worlds everywhere, and so on.

5) Imperial Space Opera - I can probably just say "like Traveller's Third Imperium" and most people will get what I mean.

6) Dark or Low Fantasy - I like other types of fantasy too, but these are my primary interests in traditional fantasy. I like to worldbuild away from European medieval assumptions, too. China and India are amazing models to work from, and bronze-age fantasy is great. I tried a mostly neolithic setting once, but the players weren't the right ones for the idea, I think. Or maybe I just sucked at presenting it. Renaissance fantasy is fun, too.

7) Cosmic Horror - You know, Lovecraft.

8) Hard SF - Cutting down on the superscience makes a different sort of challenge for both players and GM, but a sufficiently advanced technology can also be fun. Orion's Arm is a neat example on the higher-tech end, Transhuman Space or Terradyne on the lower.

9) Science Fantasy - High adventure with psionics, blasters, force fields, mostly humaniform aliens (GURPS Aliens largely presents the style of aliens for this type of genre setting), reactionless spaceships (that can't get to relativistic speeds because reasons), and usually none of the more modern SF ideas like nanotech machines. Star Wars, Forbidden Planet, original Star Trek, and such.

10) Old West/Weird West - I still want to make a fantasy setting where there are village gunsmiths crafting six-shooters, no trains or telegraphs, and the Pony Express still ties the coasts of a continent together, but I haven't gotten much further than that in building that world. Still, Deadlands, straight Old West along the lines of Deadwood or spaghetti westers, and so on are a ton of fun.

I've got more, but ten is a good round number. Anyway, they're in the order of preference I would put them in today, but that can change, and has done.

[Agemegos]

Hmm. Classification of campaign by genre is a bit tricky, because of gaps and overlaps and all that. I like SF with historical settings, Some of my historical fantasy involves PCs from urbanised cultures adventuring in un-urbanised areas. A lot of my favourite stuff would be classified as "thiller", "espionage", or "mystery", but you don't offer those genres so I suppose that most of it is "historical" and the rest "modern". I have actually run or played very little of "modern" in the sense of being set in the real world after September 2001 and very little of Western. But I would if a good chance offered. From there down the list we plumb successively more determined refusals.

1. Science fiction, ranging from Verne and Burroughs trips to Mars through 1950s gadget stories and technothrillers to sorta-cyberpunk to far future interstellar-travel planetary romances. It's a huge genre.
2. Historical, including hard-boiled and Noir detective stories in their original settings, and assorted espionage and clandestine ops stuff set in the Cold War (including James Bond 007).
3. Urban fantasy, including wainscot fantasy, "horror", and weird thrillers in the vein of Indiana Jones movies. I have a bit of a line in Alan Garneresque, but I don't like Lovecraft as much as most.
4. Other fantasy, including portal fantasy, intrusion fantasy, historical fantasy in pre-urban times, and some full-on independent world "high" fantasy.
5. Western.
6. Modern.
7. Post-apocalyptic.
8. Cross-world.
9. Supers.
10. Horror.

[Tymathee]

I've always enjoyed the tried and true lowercase dungeon fantasy. DnD really birthed the genre, and more or less still focuses on this genre to this day... I mean, it's literally in the name. GURPS's take on the genre is a bit of a dated, at least from what I know from the broader DF line (although this appears to be the case for DFRPG too). People like their "dungeons" certainly, but today's average young gamer might be interested in at least a bit more social roleplaying than what DF assumes by default.

Strangely enough, I love the Horror genre. I can never seem to find a GM willing to do it though, either because they lack confidence in being able to successfully run the genre right or because they're too squeamish for what it entails. Your average normie never experiences horror beyond what they see on the television through a show, film, or video game... or maybe a book. Being chased by an actual machete-wielding psychopath is utterly terrifying in real life... but roleplaying it at the table provides a comforting escape from the all too real horror in our own world. I struggle with PTSD and I feel that if I ever got to roleplay in a actual Horror campaign I'd get some therapeutic value out of the experience.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by the-croupier

5) Fantasy - I don't miss dungeon crawling, but I like how this genre gets re-invented a lot these days

Hmmm. That points at a relevant distinction. When I say that I like fantasy, I specifically do not mean dungeon fantasy, which I pretty much never run or play in.

I've played in a fantasy campaign set in Steven Brust's world of Dragaera.

I've run Lunar Empire citizens assigned to duties in heathen Balazar; covert operatives working to keep Burdigala safe in the late Roman Empire (the inspiration for Roma Arcana); avatars of God and Goddess coming to self-awareness in a Renaissance fantasy world without gunpowder (E.R. Eddison's Zimiamvia); Middle-Earth after Sauron's victory over Minas Tirith; an isolated ancient castle controlled by sorceror aristocrats; the newly formed police force of Lancre (Terry Pratchett's Discworld); Atlantean privateers sailing on the Pearl Bright Ocean (inspired by GURPS Cabal); 14-year-old boys entering a school for magic in medieval England (using GURPS Locations: Worminghall); merchant adventurers seeking their fortunes in a Bronze Age world with multiple humanoid races and animistic magic; and most recently, young adventurers in Dragon Pass (a second campaign based on RuneQuest II).

That's a lot of fantasy—ten campaigns I've run, and one I've played in—but there's nothing in it that you could call dungeon crawling. I've just played in and run enough dungeon fantasy, back in the 1970s and 1980s, not to be looking for more.

[bocephus]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Hmmm. That points at a relevant distinction. When I say that I like fantasy, I specifically do not mean dungeon fantasy, which I pretty much never run or play in.

This is my Fantasy answer as well.
Medieval Fantasy (there are occasionally ruins or caves to explore but its nothing like "Dungeon crawling" ) This is my go to, and it varies from High fantasy to pseudo historical with magic added. This is where Im most comfortable GMing and can run this off the cuff.

Post Apocalypse w/ twist - where that be post war, like 'The Book of Eli' with some kind of horror/magic twist or far distant where the Apocalypse is many generation in the past and something new is coming up but stumbling onto artifacts is possible.

Zombies are cool cause no one need feel bad killing the 'bad guy', its an easy genre to run.

Urban Fantasy - actual modern setting like in the last ~20 years, I'm playing one right now that is quite a enjoyable secret magic setting (can look up Magic Vegas here on the board).

Id be open to trying a sci-fi high tech/future tech opportunity but Id want to play the setting before attempting it as a GM.



I do not play or GM anything like Historical realism or Gritty realism. IE recreating WWII settings or trying to play a roman soldier in 100BC Rome or something. I play to escape to a place that's different than the real world, I dont like the idea of someone going "well you know in blah blah they didnt have blah blah so you really can't ......" so I avoid anything that attempts to simulate realism or accuracy. Its just not fun for me, and I like the surprise of the twist that lets PCs suspend disbelief to be in the world

[Emerikol]

I think one of the things I like about both Fantasy and Science Fiction is that they are world building genres. I like world building. I haven't played, but want to play, in many of the other genres now that I'm using GURPS. It's interesting to see.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by bocephus

I do not play or GM anything like Historical realism or Gritty realism. IE recreating WWII settings or trying to play a roman soldier in 100BC Rome or something. I play to escape to a place that's different than the real world, I dont like the idea of someone going "well you know in blah blah they didnt have blah blah so you really can't ......" so I avoid anything that attempts to simulate realism or accuracy. Its just not fun for me, and I like the surprise of the twist that lets PCs suspend disbelief to be in the world

You are not alone.

[Phantasm]

My preferences, in no particular order:

1. Bronze/Neo-Silver Age Superhero
2. Space Opera/Science Fantasy (more Star Wars/Babylon 5/classic Battlestar Galactica, less Star Trek, unless similar to DS9)
3. Cyberpunk
4. Modern-Day/Near-Past (TL7-8) Technothriller (the Action! line helps here!)
5. Modern-Day/Near-Past/Near-Future (TL6-9) Monster Hunting/Urban Fantasy (particularly vampire hunting). (Just not Nightbane. It does nothing for me.)
6. Old West, occasionally with Steampunk elements
7. Gaslamp Fantasy/Steampunk
8. Urban-oriented TL4-5 Swashbuckler Fantasy

(The only one near the order I prefer is #8.)


Sadly, with the exception of my Marvel Reboot: Shadowguard superhero game, my group prefers Planescape, Forgotten Realms/Faerun, Golarion, and similar D&D type dungeon crawl fantasy games. And I got roped into a Nightbane game, with one player who unironically used the phrase, "nothing low-powered like dragons". DRAGONS ARE NOT LOW-POWERED, DAMMIT!

[Kesendeja]

I found GURPS while looking for a Shadowrun replacement, and never looked back.

I prefer modern near future/past science fantasy. Most of it low key of hidden. The Action game I'm presently GMing pits a group of FBI agents against the forces of the supernatural. I have a feeling it's going to end post apocalypse if they aren't careful.

My second favorite is straight Sci/fi, though I like my future with a side of hope. (I've recently left Warhammer 40K because it was too dystopic. The struggle against evil is important, but give me a chance to win)

Fantasy, but not Dungeon Fantasy comes in next. I like more than Dungeon crawls.

Horror and mystery is often tied to one of the other genres. Like a fantasy game my gm is thinking on, I'll be playing a cook in a medieval fantasy court who solves crimes and goes on urban adventures. As for horror, I'm getting some mileage out of it in the modern fbi game.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

My preferences, in no particular order:

1. Bronze/Neo-Silver Age Superhero
2. Space Opera/Science Fantasy (more Star Wars/Babylon 5/classic Battlestar Galactica, less Star Trek, unless similar to DS9)
3. Cyberpunk
4. Modern-Day/Near-Past (TL7-8) Technothriller (the Action! line helps here!)
5. Modern-Day/Near-Past/Near-Future (TL6-9) Monster Hunting/Urban Fantasy (particularly vampire hunting). (Just not Nightbane. It does nothing for me.)
6. Old West, occasionally with Steampunk elements
7. Gaslamp Fantasy/Steampunk
8. Urban-oriented TL4-5 Swashbuckler Fantasy

(The only one near the order I prefer is #8.)


Sadly, with the exception of my Marvel Reboot: Shadowguard superhero game, my group prefers Planescape, Forgotten Realms/Faerun, Golarion, and similar D&D type dungeon crawl fantasy games. And I got roped into a Nightbane game, with one player who unironically used the phrase, "nothing low-powered like dragons". DRAGONS ARE NOT LOW-POWERED, DAMMIT!

I've always wanted to run a steampunk setting but never found the right players and the right time to do so.