Every game is a mystery, unless you’re playing a meatgrinder.

I do believe that. When an adventure begins and there is a hook, usually the characters do not know what’s going on. There may be powers at play that they are not aware of, and they definitely don’t know the whole story. That’s why we play and figure out what’s going on. This is one of my favourite parts of play. That’s probably because I have a huge thing for lore and worldbuilding, and my brain makes a connection towards them.

Of course, however, there is a difference in the type of mystery and its depth among RPGs.

D&D is more of a combat-focused game. While you can do a mystery, when a ton of the rules focus on combat, there is a higher chance that some things will be solved with violence. Vaesen, on the other hand, has rules for combat but heavily focuses on investigation and solving situations without violence. Call of Cthulhu is the same.

RPGs that focus on investigation have a toolkit more focused on that. The same goes for other aspects other than combat. So if you are really interested in a specific element of play, it’s worth investing in a different RPG than a generic one. I have seen a lot of people asking or talking about converting D&D 5e for horror or sci-fi. I have seen an equal number of people complaining about the first group. And, to be honest, they are a bit right.

D&D is a great gateway to our hobby, but people need to be aware of the rest of the RPG space. I’m not saying don’t play D&D. I like D&D. I’m saying that if I want a postapocalyptic space survival campaign, I will use Death in Space and not D&D. The ENNIES this year showed me there has been progress in this area, and that makes me happy.

And I’m done with mystery. I’d like to know some of your go-to RPGs for specific genres or types of play. The next prompt is “deceive”. By the way, if you are reading this in August of 2025, you may have noticed I’m not doing this day by day. That’s because I am following my own advice and taking things slowly. This week is my week off, and I am trying to rest as much as possible.

And until next time, have fun!

P.S.: You can find all of my posts for this year’s RPGaDay here. Thanks to AUTOCRATIK and Casting Shadows for hosting another year of the event.