The title is all -- what kinds of adventures have you run? Multiple options can be selected.

D&D has, historically, handled all of these. I was asked what the different genres are:

Space Fantasy |:| Spelljammer
Western Fantasy |:| Wild West influenced
Mystery Fantasy |:| Puzzles, challenges, questions, Lara Croft, Indiana Jones
Heist Fantasy |:| Keys from the Golden Vault
Spy Fantasy |:| Intrigue, spies, assassination
Detective/Noir Fantasy |:| Hardboiled, Detective
Comic Fantasy |:| Humor and comedy based
Nautical Fantasy |:| Pirate, Saltmarsh
Hopepunk Fantasy |:| Changing the world to something better
Magical Realism |:| Magic is soft, peculiar, subtle, but life is normal
Juvenile Fantasy |:| A game that emphasizes childlike, non-adult themes
Romantic Fantasy |:| Romance is a key part
Urban Fantasy |:| Adventures where the settlement is as much a character as the NCs
Cozy Fantasy |:| Comforting, friendly, low confrontation
Fairytale Fantasy |:| Emphasizes pre-1900 ideas about fantasy, fairy tales, Disney or Grimm
High Fantasy |:| Epic Fantasy, like Tolkien
Heroic Fantasy |:| The default basis for FR & Eberron
Sword & Sorcery |:| Conan
Low Fantasy |:| Non-magical, basically
Dark Fantasy |:| Ravenloft, Gaslamp, Gothic
Weird Fantasy |:| Cthulhu
Grimdark Fantasy |:| dystopian, amoral, and violent
Science Fantasy |:| Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
Alt_History Fantasy |:| Alternative Earth, historical
Retrofuturist Fantasy |:| Fallout, Steampunk

I have run a capmaign set in Ravnica, so i guess that falls under Urban. Then also one set in Kamigawa, that is kind of cyberpunk but more magical. Another campaign was a plane hopping one set in the MtG Multiverse. Lastly my homebrew world which is high fantasy.

I wrote an alternate history mini campaign that takes place on the Titanic and it was pretty fun! Also for free on drivethrurpg! (Shameless plug here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/492368/the-fall-of-the-titans)

I’m guessing you mean across all game systems, not just D&D. Or do you mean only using the D&D chassis?

Quote from Xalthu >>

I’m guessing you mean across all game systems, not just D&D. Or do you mean only using the D&D chassis?

Only D&D.

More specifically, only 5th edition D&D.

Oh, you -- so shameless! lol

I've never done an alt history, myself. But I've taken history and seen how it would it would layout in my worlds...

Wow, the answers are really kinda wild so far -- it excites me to see!

I am shocked about the dearth of Grimdark users, given the descriptions of some games I've seen here. And it is really interesting how Tolkienesque fantasy outweighs the traditional Heroic Fantasy that the game "was designed for".

Have run and played in games that fit the descriptions of almost half of the listed genres.

My favorite to run would probably be fantasy of the grittier persuasion and one set in a fantastical reimagining of some period of interest in the history of our own world. 

Quote from InfamousArchmage >>

Have run and played in games that fit the descriptions of almost half of the listed genres.

My favorite to run would probably be fantasy of the grittier persuasion and one set in a fantastical reimagining of some period of interest in the history of our own world. 

 
An alt-history world is fairly popular in some of the fantasy sub-genres that are currently being sold. I mean, ASOIAF is basically exactly what you describe — and can be either low fantasy or alt-fantasy. Depends on the emphasis.

I can say that I have done at least one Adventure in every one of those and a couple others I forgot while creating the poll. 

High Fantasy, or Epic Fantasy can tend to be the most boring for me, personally, to run, for a couple of personal reasons - the biggest one being that I tend to think of this genre as being better for a full campaign rather than a single adventure.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

The title is all -- what kinds of adventures have you run? Multiple options can be selected.

D&D has, historically, handled all of these. I was asked what the different genres are:

Space Fantasy |:| Spelljammer
Western Fantasy |:| Wild West influenced
Mystery Fantasy |:| Puzzles, challenges, questions, Lara Croft, Indiana Jones
Heist Fantasy |:| Keys from the Golden Vault
Spy Fantasy |:| Intrigue, spies, assassination
Detective/Noir Fantasy |:| Hardboiled, Detective
Comic Fantasy |:| Humor and comedy based
Nautical Fantasy |:| Pirate, Saltmarsh
Hopepunk Fantasy |:| Changing the world to something better
Magical Realism |:| Magic is soft, peculiar, subtle, but life is normal
Juvenile Fantasy |:| A game that emphasizes childlike, non-adult themes
Romantic Fantasy |:| Romance is a key part
Urban Fantasy |:| Adventures where the settlement is as much a character as the NCs
Cozy Fantasy |:| Comforting, friendly, low confrontation
Fairytale Fantasy |:| Emphasizes pre-1900 ideas about fantasy, fairy tales, Disney or Grimm
High Fantasy |:| Epic Fantasy, like Tolkien
Heroic Fantasy |:| The default basis for FR & Eberron
Sword & Sorcery |:| Conan
Low Fantasy |:| Non-magical, basically
Dark Fantasy |:| Ravenloft, Gaslamp, Gothic
Weird Fantasy |:| Cthulhu
Grimdark Fantasy |:| dystopian, amoral, and violent
Science Fantasy |:| Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
Alt_History Fantasy |:| Alternative Earth, historical
Retrofuturist Fantasy |:| Fallout, Steampunk

 Western Fantasy, Alt_History Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Weird Fantasy, SteamPunk Fantasy, Civil War Fantasy |:| Deadlands - Wild West with magic and alt history. Great setting, has been published in D20, GURPS, and Savage Worlds. There is a homebrew 5e project. 

Grimdark Fantasy, Low Magic, Heroic Fantasy, Sword and Planet, No Gods: Dark Sun: The OG Grimdark, dark fantasy setting. Just look up the Halflings of the setting  to understand how grimdark it is. 

Ok, a bit about Deadlands, and why it's one of my favorite settings. And who knows I may just run it as a 5e game next year. Although I should get the old D20 rules, and convert them to 5.5. 

The world history is more or less the same as our Earth until the mid 1850s (minor changes to set up factions and characters) 1863 first major paranormal event timeline changes a lot starting at this point, 1867 The Great Quake and the shattering of the west coast. 1868 Ghost Rock is discovered. 

Ghost rock allows for magic, and Steampunk inventions. All Hell on Earth happens at this point. The USA kind of never moves past the Civil War Borders, although the US did win and slavery was abolished.

It's a fantastic setting, had one of the most fun Collectable Card Games ever, it was based on Poker, and played like a Wargame. 

As a 5.5e setting it could work, with some tweaks. 

Gotta say, I am surprised at the urban fantasy contingent!

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Gotta say, I am surprised at the urban fantasy contingent!

 I’m wondering if people are reading urban fantasy as “Waterdeep” or “New York.”

Well, really, that's pretty accurate still.

Urban fantasy doesn't have a fixed time period or even a fixed location -- just like the rest of the fantasy genres.

Meanwhile, in a different location, which is much less friendly to this sort of poll, the comments were all "D&D is only good for one kind of game, the rest are stupid".

Seattle mostly... Shadowrun being a fairly amazing Urban Fantasy setting IMO, and easy to convert to 5.5e.  

Quote from gothicshark >>

Seattle mostly... Shadowrun being a fairly amazing Urban Fantasy setting IMO, and easy to convert to 5.5e.  

 Huh, I would not have said Shadowrun was easy to convert at all. How do you handle Drain? Or Essence? Or... Anything involving the Matrix?

As for the broader poll, I've tried to run plenty of these in D&D, but eventually I realized I was working too hard. Why run Cosmic Horror in D&D when Call of Cthulhu exists? Why run heist fantasy in D&D when Blades in the Dark is right there? TRPG players should be encouraged to reach for the right tool for the job; use systems for what they're good at, like D&D 5e is good at a narrow band of combat-forward fantasy with relatively prominent magic and high-powered heroes. If you're not doing that, in my opinion, you should look at another game that will likely suit your concept better and with far less backend work (and be less likely to burn out your Forever DM, to boot).

Quote from Mdhe >>

Quote from gothicshark >>

Seattle mostly... Shadowrun being a fairly amazing Urban Fantasy setting IMO, and easy to convert to 5.5e.  

 Huh, I would not have said Shadowrun was easy to convert at all. How do you handle Drain? Or Essence? Or... Anything involving the Matrix?

As for the broader poll, I've tried to run plenty of these in D&D, but eventually I realized I was working too hard. Why run Cosmic Horror in D&D when Call of Cthulhu exists? Why run heist fantasy in D&D when Blades in the Dark is right there? TRPG players should be encouraged to reach for the right tool for the job; use systems for what they're good at, like D&D 5e is good at a narrow band of combat-forward fantasy with relatively prominent magic and high-powered heroes. If you're not doing that, in my opinion, you should look at another game that will likely suit your concept better and with far less backend work (and be less likely to burn out your Forever DM, to boot).

 
In the last ten years alone, I have run all of the above, multiple times, and never — not once — found a system that was better, in any way, that D&D.

In 45 years of running games, with experience in hundreds of them, the only times I have found D&D to be lacking are exactly 3: Superhero, Mecha, and wholly modern.

I’m not just saying that to be contrary or argumentative. I am dead serious. CoC absolutely ******* sucks balls when it comes to weird fantasy. But it is okay for Cosmic Horror based on a racist’s nightmares, and games run in a kind of semi-modern style by people who are aware of that. I remember when it came out, originally, and probably still have that original set in a box somewhere.  Because it sucks at Weird Fantasy.

Blades in the Dark is the 20th attempt at something that is so much easier to do in D&D that I chuckle because most folks never even played the old Thieves Guild game from the book series, which did that whole thing with both more style and more practical awareness of the fantasy ideal.

D&D is, in my opinion, the right tool for the job for every single one of the options above. And has been since 1980. 

Now, before you haul out your pitchforks and torches, three points: 

• 1 - I think the worst version of D&D ever made was 3.5. Technically the entire 3rd edition, but that one in particular. The second worst is the entire Basic line.
• 2 - I am a game master who has worked off and on consulting for hundreds of games, and played a ton of them, and read all the books that everyone ever based stuff on prior to about 1990. That is, I am and old lady, a woman of color, a member of the lgbtq community, and I started playing D&D in an era and time when any single one of those things meant I was the least important kind of person there was. 
• 3 - Just like everything you said, everything I said is wholly a matter of opinion. There is no objective basis to make the determination for other individuals in either of them, and in both cases, it can be really, really insulting to express one’s heartfelt, personal opinion so bluntly.

What you think of as “working too hard”, I would think of as being lazy. When you say “right tool for the job”, and we are talking about Fantasy, the right tool is always going to be a fantasy game. When you say that whole bit in bold, you insult all the players of the games not just now, but that have ever and will ever play it.

I run 5e games. They are not combat forward — that is a play style. That is an interpretation. One I have never had for any edition of the game — and if you think they are all similar, then think again. The Rules As Written for 2014 (and I am very certain for 2024, in a few days) are explicit: your description of the game is inaccurate according to the people who wrote the damn game.

It is meant to be used with all of the above. And, oddly enough, look closely at the examples I gave. Several of them include popular published adventures, and I didn’t even have to reach out to 3rd party, because the game itself has given rules for all of those over the years.

Lastly, keep in mind that the Genre of Fantasy is, to quote a famous author, “****in huge”. I didn’t even touch on all the genres in fantasy. I only picked the ones that I knew, with my still limited knowledge, were being or had been run by people in 5e.

All of them are still fantasy. The differences between them? Most folks couldn’t tell you. But, equally, most folks don’t really understand that Star Wars is Fantasy. Fairytale fantasy, even, but they see the space ships and blank. They do the same with something like the pirate fantasy Treasure Planet — even though it has freaking schooners and galleons floating in space.

Telling people to “use a different system for that” is gatekeeping. Period. It is limiting who is allowed in the playhouse and saying that only this (insert bolted text in quote above) is permissible play.

Which is, in my opinion, not only wrong…

... it is hurtful.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

In 45 years of running games, with experience in hundreds of them, the only times I have found D&D to be lacking are exactly 3: Superhero, Mecha, and wholly modern.

 

I think you can easily run D&D with these 3 too.

Superhero and Mecha are the easiest out of these. All your PC stuff is simply the Mecha, with the pilot being a level 0 Character on the side, or for Superhero's your PC is a superhero as they are so much above a Commoner.

Modern, i assume modern fantasy, not mundane modern, is in a way covered with Acquisition Incorporated that gives us things like Franchises, but you don't need that stuff, as the only difference between low fantasy and modern is the time period. All else can be run the same.

Telling people to use a hammer to hit nails and a screwdriver to drive screws  isn't gatekeeping; it's advice. An RPG system is another kind of tool, and all of them are good at some things and bad at others. D&D 5e is good at *insert bolded text* and bad at most other things. I don't feel the need to defend that statement; it's obvious to most people who have played the game. Of course the people who wrote it say it's good at everything; they have a strong financial incentive for that to be the case.

It's not the case, though; you certainly can use D&D 5e to do all sorts of things it's bad at, like running low combat, high social, low magic games. You can use a hammer to drive a screw. You'll do an enormous amount of unnecessary work and the results will won't be as good as if you'd used the screwdriver, but you can do it.

You don't think Blades in the Dark or Call of Cthulhu are fantasy enough? I could also recommend Eureka, Mork Borg, ICON, Shadowrun (I prefer 5e, but pick your poison), BREAK!!, The Magical Land of Yeld, Wildsea, Wilderfeast, or Exalted, and those are just games I've played this year. I'll be honest; I don't really feel strongly about convincing you. But I do feel strongly about convincing the struggling GM who might be reading this thinking they're not good enough or they don't work hard enough because they can't make whatever style of game work at their D&D table. It's not your fault. Try a different tool for the job.

Quote from Enrif >>

Quote from AEDorsay >>

In 45 years of running games, with experience in hundreds of them, the only times I have found D&D to be lacking are exactly 3: Superhero, Mecha, and wholly modern.

 

 

I think you can easily run D&D with these 3 too.

Superhero and Mecha are the easiest out of these. All your PC stuff is simply the Mecha, with the pilot being a level 0 Character on the side, or for Superhero's your PC is a superhero as they are so much above a Commoner.

Modern, i assume modern fantasy, not mundane modern, is in a way covered with Acquisition Incorporated that gives us things like Franchises, but you don't need that stuff, as the only difference between low fantasy and modern is the time period. All else can be run the same.

 
That's accurate.

For my players, Superhero means creating characters with superpowers of the sort found in comic books (Marvel, DC, Image, etc), and not the sort of thing that D&D PCS do.  Mecha is more akin to a Battletech Style of thing -- and for us, that means the abilities o the vehicle have to be able to be modified and the main character is still the pilot -- not a 0 level. THen for Modern, I mean modern, but without the fantasy trappings in any way -- no spell casting, no special abilities, that kind of thing.

So for us, D&D doesn't work well for those things.