Welcome back to the weekly Tabletop Games thread! This thread is where we can talk about all kinds of RPGs, card games, board games, etc. Whether you gather around a physical table in the real world, or use a virtual space to play with friends who may live far away from you, this is where you can discuss your favorites, ask for and/or receive recommendations, recap your recent adventures, or even find some people to play games with!

Discussion Prompt: 5.5e Dungeons and Dragons tries very hard to be setting agnostic. While the default world for D&D has always been largely Medieval European Fantasy Land (in the form of Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms), the game’s developers would like to think that D&D can be translated into many different settings and genres, ranging from Modern Urban Fantasy, to Space Opera, to Gothic Horror, to everything in between. The idea, I think, is to appeal to as many potential players as possible by not limiting the game to any particular feal. While I think it works to some degree, it also comes at a cost–when the 5e core rulebooks were revised to create 5.5e, a lot of the “lore” was stripped out of them. After all, who is WotC to say what the Elves or Goblins are like in your world?

On the other hand, some games are designed with a very specific setting in mind, and can’t really support a lot of deviation. This includes games like Cyberpunk Red, Candela Obscura, and Call of Cthulhu, not to mention games that are based on specific IP, like Star Trek Adventures, Alien RPG, or Avatar Legends.

Which kind of game do you prefer? One with a specific setting/genre that the mechanics support, or a game with mechanics that can be adapted to many different settings/genres?

If you would like to suggest a prompt or contribute a write-up or discussion topic of your own, let me know in the comments!