I've done some reading on Cozy RPGs and honestly, I'm having trouble seeing the difference between them and other RPGs. Cozy roleplaying just seems to be more of a low stakes high roleplaying mode that can be used in any other RPG. Am I just not getting the point?

I can see this cozy mode being used where the characters are engaging in domain play for OSR and have to deal with other powers without bringing about an all-out war. For Traveller, I can see this as just shipboard life on a large ship with an extensive crew or when the PCs decide to build a base somewhere and settle down on a world. There would be more of a threat of discovery involved, but I can see this as a mode used in Star Wars when building a safe world for the families and friends of active members of the Rebel Alliance.

Am I wrong?

New, stupid, terms slapped on old styles of play and declared fresh and new. Storygamer news at 11.

Yeah its just good ol low combat adventuring and interaction. That thing storygames love to claim D&D never did. uh-huh. realllly?

TSR played around with some solo modules that were heavy on puzzles and interaction and low on combat. And a few that were the exact opposite. I think modules like the two Wonderland ones could be approached this way too. Just talking, or at least tryiing. In fact a couple of the early modules had that option. Even Keep on the Borderlands could be negotiated through some areas. Others not at all.

There were some city-centric ones too that felt low on the combat and higher on the interactions.

I think in most people's minds "cozy gaming" is as much an aesthetic thing as it is a mode of play.

As far as I can tell, the term got pulled over from the world of videogames. The standard "cozy" videogame is pastel colors, young protagonists, often with a "chibi" art style, and minimal combat or none at all. Usually the gameplay focuses around some kind of farming, shop keeping or other small business management. (Imagine something like Kiki's Delivery Service.) It's low stakes action combined with nostalgia and/or a "simple life" fantasy.

You could definitely do that with any roleplaying game rules; Arguably that's the vibe a lot of the more mocked 5e stuff is going for. But like any other style of roleplaying, I'm sure it's easier if you have rules designed for it.

You can do this with any rpg.  Some rpgs, like Golden Sky Stories, are built from the ground up to do this.  The system is written from scratch to support this kind of play.

It's dolls vs action figures. The first is about character relationships, while the other about achieving objectives.  The randomness in a cozy doesn't determine failure but surprising twists in the fiction. But as always this is a spectrum and not two absolutes.

Quote from: Anon Adderlan on September 11, 2024, 07:30:53 PMIt's dolls vs action figures.

I still don't know how I felt about CP3e...