Every Playstyle In The 2024 DMG

Key Takeaways

• Hack and Slash play style focuses on combat challenges and creativity in D&D battles.
• Immersive Roleplaying encourages deep character exploration and inquisitiveness in-game.
• All Ages campaign styles make D&D accessible for all, while Mature Themes cater to serious players.

It may not come as a surprise to hear about different play styles in Dungeons & Dragons. Any player or Dungeon Master (DM) could tell you how they like to play or the kind of group they have the most fun with. Well, the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide has included a brief breakdown of these different styles and how to embrace The Rule Of Fun.

But which play style sounds the most like you and how you enjoy tabletop games? This list will go over all the differences in the sourcebook and why you most likely will enjoy some over others.

Although each play style is listed out below, that doesn’t mean there is only one that will apply to you or how you’d like to run your campaign.

14

Hack And Slash

The name of this play style most likely gives away a love of combat above all else in D&D. This can mean a variety of things: you really like to be challenged by powerful monsters and enemies and want every battle to be a war of wits.

It could also be for casual players who like the freedom that comes with combat in Dungeons & Dragons. In other games, you might have only a handful of combos or types of attacks you can use. In D&D, you can really think outside of the box and come up with the most interesting ways to deal with the problems your party faces.

13

Immersive Roleplaying

If your favorite part of games is getting lost in the world and the characters, then you would mesh well with a party that encourages and participates in immersive roleplay. This can take many forms, of course. You can have a campaign exploring dark themes or a light-hearted adventure, so long as you really get into your character.

Another way to know if this is the right kind of campaign for you is if you love the thought of being very inquisitive in-game, and wanting to dive into political intrigue or mysteries. If you’d rather explore the lore or find non-violent ways to handle things, then you also enjoy the immersion D&D can provide.

12

All Ages

This is ideal for younger players who are starting out, families who run campaigns on game nights, or people who want to ensure their table is a place where anyone can jump into the game, regardless of age or the types of stories they enjoy. Though, it doesn’t mean everything must be sunshine and rainbows either.

Think of your favorite animated films that have been rated for the enjoyment of all ages. As an example, the story of Mulan still goes over the topics of war, death as a punishment, and many other themes. It is told in a way that is accessible, no matter the age. D&D can be run the same way.

11

Mature Themes

Instead of a Disney animated film, think more Game Of Thrones. Campaigns that explore mature themes are intended for mature players. They also require that everyone at the table understands those themes or knows that topics could be triggering.

There has to be a level of respect and safety to really enjoy campaigns with darker, mature themes. So these campaigns would work best for those who want to explore those subjects and feel safe enough to do so with the DM leading them and the party as a whole. If you’re a fan of thrillers and dramas, this is a way to enjoy those kinds of stories hands-on.

If you are planning to explore dark or triggering themes, it is important to have a Session Zero with your players to ensure everyone is comfortable and on the same page.

10

Gritty

Do you want your campaign to feel realistic? Granted, with access to things like magic and otherworldly creatures, you do still need to suspend your belief a bit. But this is where the gloves come off and you and your party experience things as they are determined by the dice and the rules.

Now, you can mix this with cinematic moments. Or have portions of downtime where things are relaxed before rushing into another conflict, but it is always something you can ask a DM or ask yourself before you decide to run a game: how gritty do I want this to be?

9

Cinematic

Does it look like all hope is lost before there is a flash of light and something incredible happens? Players who enjoy cinematic campaigns like for there to be plot armor and room for things to work outside the way they are strictly described as in the rules.

That’s certainly not to say this is for DMs who completely chuck out the rules. Instead, it’s for those who don’t let the rules get in the way of telling the best possible story. It’s also for those who want their adventure to feel like an epic and, typically, want to see the full growth of their characters.

8

Serious

You want to tell or participate in a serious story. You want there to be consequences. You want there to be difficult situations that really challenge you and the others in the party. You don’t need there to be light-hearted moments and jokes that pull you out of the depths of the themes being explored.

Again, this doesn’t mean you can’t have light-hearted moments or breaks in the tension. It just means you prefer things to be serious more often than not, and you want to play with people who take the game and the elements of it seriously.

7

Silly

You want to have fun and tell jokes with your friends. You want scenarios that leave you laughing. Just like with serious campaigns, it certainly doesn’t mean everything has to be silly all the time, but you embrace the funniness that comes with D&D more often than getting down in the mud with the darker, heavier themes.

From goofy little one-shots to long-term campaigns that embrace the lighter side of telling these fantasy stories, you can bring silliness into it through your characters and creations, how you react to situations, or even by running a setting with very lax rules.

6

Preplanned

Fans of D&D might bring Dimension 20 to mind. This actual play show is planned out to follow a set schedule, their games are roughly two hours, and the campaigns resolve within a certain number of episodes. This isn’t a script, and it does still leave room for the players do what they want, but it does mean having more things figured out and fewer things left up to moment-based decisions.

This can be for the players and DMs who love organizing. Or for the busy groups that need to keep their game on a schedule to be able to meet up regularly. Specifically for DMs, there is some comfort in knowing what comes next, to have all your ducks in a row and ready to go. This is a good option for those with social anxiety as well, as you will feel more at ease if there’s a solid plan to back yourself up.

5

Improvised

You live for the thrill of letting the dice decide things. Some people work best without much of a plan and no script to go off of. And they enjoy the organic moments that come to life when they are in the moment with the players, getting swept up in what they’re doing and saying.

You can have a basic skeleton of a campaign. Knowing how the story starts, some major plot points you want to hit, and what the final conflicts will be like, but you like to leave the rest of the plan open for the players to develop through their responses and reactions. This can be such a rewarding way to DM if you like the spontaneity.

4

General

You enjoy that a campaign can be a mesh of things. You can explore numerous themes, and go through many storytelling arcs. Some of the campaigns that have gone on the longest are these generalized adventures that can just keep going.

This can range in several ways. Your group can literally walk up to a job posting list and just do task after task. Though, of course, you can have a large, intricate story that doesn’t let itself be boxed in by one genre or theme. It is a way to keep things fresh and to try out new stories and ideas without constantly starting and stopping campaigns.

3

Thematic

Maybe less of a play style as this relates more to your story and setting, but this can still explain those that like to explore one or two themes in great detail. The example given in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is that your campaign is all about horror.

If you want to tell a truly frightening horror story, you probably aren’t going to want to break from that to delve into sci-fi. There’s nothing wrong with blending themes or settings, but that might not be the direction of your story or where you want it to go. As for players, they can also be drawn to one, cohesive campaign following the same theme. Nothing wrong with having a favorite.

2

Morally Ambiguous

Are you a DM that invites your players to have any alignment? Or want to explore what it would be like to have a party filled with villains or evildoers? It’s not just about picking that extreme. But it’s at the very least something you’d be happy to do with your party.

But, naturally, this doesn’t even need to revolve around the kind of characters that are sitting at the table. This is for the DM who also likes to set up situations that don’t have one clear solution or outcome. To have the heroes make difficult choices, like sacrificing the few for the many or breaking laws for the greater good. Or bad.

1

Heroic

You want your players to feel like heroes. You want them to have a strong sense of justice and doing the right thing. Or at least trying their best in any given situation. If you like superhero movies, films where the good guys triumph over the baddies, and reward good or selfless deeds, this is your play style.

To help with this, you can always set up your campaign by having there be a wickedness that brings the characters together. Is there a tyrannical king the characters need to bring down? Are dragons destroying cities, killing thousands? From there, your players can grow into a team of heroes setting the wrongs of the world right.