Four RPG Activity Categories

Over the last few years, I've spent too much time thinking about this. Without further ado...

Four RPG Activity Categories

The four categories are divided into two pairs of two based on these characteristics:

• Mechanics-driven activity relies primarily on the game's rules.
• Fiction-driven activity relies primarily on rulings that make sense within the game's fiction.
• Random means the activity's outcomes are determined through chance, like rolling the dice.
• Deterministic means the activity's outcomes are based on the rules, whether from the rulebook or the GM.

Depending on which end of the spectrum an activity is located in, it can fall into one of these four categories:

• Minigame (Random + Mechanics-driven) is a game within a game, where the players try to achieve a specific goal using the game's written rules.
• Examples: combat in D&D 5e, driving in Runehack: Express Deliveries and the Runehack RPG, Duel of Wits in Burning Wheel
• Clock (Random + Fiction-driven) uses the game's core resolution multiple times to determine the outcome of the current activity.
• Examples: skill challenges in 4e, clocks in Blades in the Dark
• Puzzle (Deterministic + Mechanics-driven) has rules that the players must navigate, whether they know them or not, to achieve some goal. This goal could also be "How can we make this happen?".
• Examples: puzzles in D&D, investigations in Gumshoe
• Freeform (Deterministic + Fiction-driven) is when things are simply happening without a clear goal. It's deterministic because many players' minor actions and the world's reactions are resolved using the GM fiat.
• Examples: most RPGs I can name, stealth in Mothership

These categories are not exclusive! A Freeform activity can easily feature multiple dice rolls. It would become a Clock only if these multiple rolls served the same goal. At the same time, even the most intense combat could feature moments when the GM makes up a ruling or something happens just because the rulebook says so instead of the dice. Bear in mind that Fiction-driven activities can feature mechanics, and that Mechanics-driven activities do serve the fiction, these are just the most fitting terms I could come up with so far. These activities don't always feature clean separations such as the "Roll the initiative!" moment of many D&D sessions. For example, a Freeform activity can turn into a Clock, or it could be interspersed with a Puzzle that the players are solving on a larger scale.

You might wonder why you should care. Game designers can use these terms to communicate what they seek to achieve with their rules.

Example: Social Interaction

How could you resolve the Social Interaction with each of these categories?

• Minigame. The conversation has specific rules, specific moves you can make on each turn, and a way to "win" the conversation (like making the opponent run out of Patience).
• Clock. You make several rolls using the core resolution mechanic until the debate reaches its natural conclusion.
• Puzzle. You need to say the right thing while avoiding saying the incorrect thing. Dice rolls are optional, you could resolve the discussion without any randomness involved.
• Freeform. Talking without any specific goal in mind.

How to Use This

From what I've seen and thought of so far, we tend to naturally switch up the styles now to keep the game interesting. Thus, I'd guess that most systems would need multiple types of activities. What types of activities one runs might depend on personal preferences, what's included in the system, how easy or difficult is it to prepare, and other possible factors I have yet to work out.

That's all for now. This opened my eyes, and it received very positive reactions from the people who helped me polish this. That's why I wanted to share it as quickly as possible. Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!