The Four Scales of Playstyle Evaluation

Nearly two years have passed since my first public attempt at a music band TTRPG. At first, I joked that it would be included in the Runehack as a new focus of the system in the April Fools post a year ago, ... and then I did it anyway. Well, kind of. These rules are included in the Seeker minigame of the Jobs pillar of experience.

Why am I talking about my games when I promised you with the title that I'd discuss the playstyle evaluation? Because the four stats used for the musical performances (as well as other creative performances) could be used to evaluate a group's playstyle, with a bit of interpretation here and there. Let's have a look!

Look, two people playing a board game! That counts as relevant art, right?
Promotional art from the Cavern Tavern Kickstarter. I'm in no way affiliated with them, I just needed an artpiece for the article, so in exchange, they get a tiny bit of free advertising on a blog barely anyone reads.

Intensity - Difficulty

How hard is your game? This stat required some reinterpretation, since "loudness" or "physical strength" don't make sense in most TTRPGs. Low intensity means you're playing a casual, non-difficult game, while a high intensity game suggests that players have to optimize their characters and play smart to succeed.

Tempo - ... this one's self-explanatory

How fast do you want your game to proceed? Low tempo stands for a slow game, where everyone takes their time with things, be it by processing them emotionally or mentally. A fast tempo represents a game in which stuff happens. Bear in mind, this doesn't suggest that every fast tempo game is a speedrun and every slow tempo game is a still life. Games in general should have their fast and slow moments. This only discusses their frequency.

Authenticity - Emotional Depth

How emotional do you want your game to be? Low authenticity game is there just to amuse the players, with jokes and humorous happenings, and cool moments. High authenticity game is a game that tries to evoke more emotions in the players: sadness, fury, fear, perhaps even awe.

Creativity - Adherence to the Rules

How much do you stray from the rules? This one's simple - low creativity means RAW/RAI is preferred, resorting to house rules and rulings only when necessary, while high creativity games are full of rulings, Rule of Cool, house rules, and homebrew.

Important note: A good game can exist on either end of these scales. No, you are not any worse for enjoying a "low authenticity low creativity" game, and you are not cool just because you are into a "high intensity high tempo high authenticity high creativity" game.

While these scales talk about playstyles mainly, some rulesets lean towards supporting one end of the spectrum over another. A difficult game leans more to the high Intensity playstyle. A crunchy game will have a hard time being played at a high Tempo (or so I assume). And a soup stone game would probably suck without high Creativity, since that's what makes it good.

Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!