The idea for this post came when I was researching TTRPGs and ran across what was originally called the Threefold Model, later refined into GNS theory. In a nutshell, the influential and somewhat controversial GNS theory suggests that RPG play tends to emphasize some combination of three priorities: Gamism, Narrativism, and Simulation. I’ll give a definition of each first.
For clarity: I’m not using GNS as a way to categorize players or to claim that entire games are Gamist, Narrativist, or Simulationist. I’m using the terms as to talk about what kinds of decisions a system pushes to matter during play, and how tightly different pressures are integrated. Most games involve all three to some degree, often within the same session.
Gamism means, essentially, “this is a game and our goal is to win it.” You care about overcoming challenges, optimizing characters and tactics, and celebrating when you outwit the GM’s encounter. Some clear examples of gamism-forward RPGs are Hero System, D&D 4e, and Lancer. Hero System is the purest case: mathematical precision, optimization-mandatory design, and a strong emphasis on balance and fairness over simulation.
Narrativism means it’s all about the story. You’re less concerned with “winning” or the crunch of the rules and more about telling a meaningful tale. You might willingly give your character a tragic flaw because it’ll pay off later, or jump off a roof just to make things more dramatic. The purest examples of RPG narrativism are Hillfolk and the Powered by the Apocalypse family, especially Apocalypse World and Thirsty Sword Lesbians (yowza!). Hillfolk epitomizes this approach: the rules exist to create drama, not to simulate the world or optimize tactics, and they force characters into dilemmas that can’t be solved by numbers.
Simulation, as I’m using it here, is about commitment to in-world causality and consequences. The game world behaves consistently, and outcomes follow from established fictional and mechanical rules, whether or not they’re “realistic” in a literal sense. You don’t succeed just because you rolled a 20; what happens has to make sense in the fiction. The simulation purists are Phoenix Command, HarnMaster, and GURPS. Phoenix Command is the extreme extreme, but what they all share is a desire to make the game world behave like a real one.
Okay, if that all makes sense, here’s where we take it up a level. While most RPGs lean into one of these priorities, some do a good job at more than one, and a select few are very good at all three. That doesn’t make them “better”, but it does mean they’re exceptionally well designed to let you take the game in different directions without the system fighting you.
There are four games that really stand out here, and I’ll present them in reverse order. I’ll address the elephant in the room right away: D&D isn’t on the list. D&D does touch all three, but it doesn’t integrate them. It’s a generalist, all-purpose system designed to be easy to learn and broadly appealing, and in doing so it smooths away a lot of what’s required to tightly bind these pressures together.
I’m ranking these games not by how much Gamism, Narrativism, or Simulation they contain, but by how strongly they force those pressures to interact rather than letting players stay comfortably in one lane.
Finally, heads up: I earn a small commission if you buy anything through my links. No extra cost to you, and it helps support the site. With that out of the way, here are the top four.
#4: 13th Age
This high fantasy RPG isn’t as well known, but does a good job at integrating GNS. 13th Age has a beautiful system. The story elements matter more as you get story hooks that affect your character mechanically. You also have relationships with powerful NPCs and roll each session to see if they help or complicate your life. Combat is smart because of escalation die–as combat goes on everyone gets bonuses that encourage attacking, so fights get more intense over time instead of dragging. For simulation it’s a lightweight, but the magic consistency is solid.
It’s easier and faster to play than more complex systems like Pathfinder 2e but it’s deeper than simpler systems like Savage Worlds. It uses d20 rules but fixes common problems with them, and there are a quite a few written adventures and campaigns. 13th Age is the best gateway system for groups changing from pure tactical play toward storytelling. It’s not as deep or comprehensive as the top three but it is more story-focused than D&D, and a 2nd edition is coming this year.
#3: Pathfinder 2e
Pathfinder 2e gives you the most complete toolkit available for all three GNS play styles. You get deep tactical combat with rock-solid math from level 1-20, tons of character options, and a simple but powerful three action system. You get rich story tools like ancestry and backgrounds–which integrate mechanics–as well as social mechanics and downtime systems too. You also get detailed world simulation including environmental rules, consistent physics, and condition tracking (poisoned, frightened, paralyzed, etc).
While 13th Age has clever narrative integration, PF2e simply offers more of everything—more character options, better tactical execution, more detailed rules for non-combat situations. Another strength is it is modular: you can focus on tactical combat and mostly ignore the social mechanics, or focus on storytelling and use simplified combat. It certainly leans toward gamism, but while the system supports everything it doesn’t require everything. But if you want tactical depth AND story support AND detailed world rules, PF2e delivers better than any other mainstream system. In fact it’s better tactically than every game on this list.
#2: Eclipse Phase
What is a scifi horror RPG doing here? It’s earned its place, and it’s more than scifi horror. Eclipse Phase is a gem of a system that genuinely integrates GNS. Set in a future devastated by rogue AIs, it explores a transhuman solar system where consciousness can be transferred between bodies, or “morphs,” making death a complication rather than an endpoint.
The game separates your mind (ego) from your body (morph), creating a framework where who you are affects what you can do, your body determines your tactical options, and story decisions directly change your resources. While Pathfinder gives you tools for all three styles, Eclipse Phase makes them depend on each other mechanically. Character creation uses a deep point-buy system, and its d100 mechanics reward careful tactical planning.
Its four resource pools—Insight, Vigor, Moxie, and Flex—tie everything together. Flex lets you add story details that become real in the world, while Vigor models physical limits with concrete mechanical consequences, constantly forcing tradeoffs between narrative moves, realism, and tactical advantage.
Most importantly, Eclipse Phase’s core themes actually matter in play. When your character dies and is restored from backup, you lose memories and experience by the rules. You have to make tactical choices about risking bodies, and you’re forced to confront story questions about identity and continuity. One decision affects the plot, the mechanics, and your strategy at the same time. No other game on this list integrates its concept into its mechanics as completely.
#1: Burning Wheel
If you are looking for the ultimate integrated GNS system you found it with Burning Wheel. Why is it at the top? Because it doesn’t just offer GNS like Pathfinder, it forces all three approaches to work together. You literally cannot play the game successfully and ignore any of the three pillars. For narrativism, you must write down what your character cares about and he only gets advancement points by pursuing these beliefs–if you don’t engage with your character’s story your character doesn’t improve.
For simulation you improve skills by failing at them; getting hurt has lasting consequences that affect your abilities; resource management is real, everything has costs and consequences that accumulate over time; and environment matters: cold nights, hunger, harsh weather, and terrain all have specific rules. For gamism there is deep strategy through complexity: there are hundreds of skills with realistic advancement; saving vs spending artha (luck points) becomes a crucial decision; and when you advance every decision about character development has meaningful trade-offs. It’s better than every game on this list at being character/narrative-driven.
So why isn’t it the top-selling TTRPG on the market? The catch is one word: complexity. Burning Wheel is not for the casual gamer. You can’t skip the rules that matter, and the rulebook is dense. Character creation is complex, there are no classes or levels there is a lifepath system, and you can’t just write “I want to be rich” as a goal. BW requires you to write specific beliefs like “The corrupt mayor must be exposed, even if it costs me my shop.” You need to understand the combat system, and it’s always dangerous. Learning and playing it requires serious commitment from the whole group, the entire table needs to understand the system. It’s part of the ride. If it helps, I’ve written a guide about how to start playing BW.
How about the payoff? Is it worth it? Ask people online or in town who have played it, many describe BW as the most rewarding RPG experience they’ve ever had. Burning Wheel is worth the effort if your group craves deep, challenging, character-focused play and everyone is excited to learn together. It’s a masterpiece, but it doesn’t play itself.