TTRPGs that have a "small fish in a big pond" feel? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by naught101@lemmy.world to c/rpg@ttrpg.network

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There are games that have a "big fish in a big pond" feel - e.g. sandbox D&D games, or a "big fish in a small pond" feel, e.g. games with contained campaigns/missions.

There are also games that do a "small fish in a small pond" feel really well, e.g. Fiasco.

Are there any games that do a "small fish in a big pond" feel well? e.g. games where the players are not outstanding heros, and where the world feels big - not only spatially, but also socially and politically?

Edit: lots of good suggestions so far, but maybe I could have added:

it's fine and good if the small fish somehow end up having a big effect
it would be amazing if the big-world had well fleshed out other goings-on. Ideally some mechanics that let all players contribute to this feeling, so it doesn't depend entirely on the quality of the DMing

Edit 2: title, to avoid all the computer game suggestions. I guess the community name isn't hint enough, huh?

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[-] dumples@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago

Old school DND and OSR clones would do great with their high chance of dying.

If you really need to stay with 5e you could cap player levels at 6 and scale the world. But that might not be worth it

this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2025

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