Playing a tabletop RPG usually assumes using specific game system — character sheet and statistics, conflict resolution mechanics, particular dice rolls and other conventional rules like "in order to determine the outcome of action A — expend your resource X, roll Y and add Z".
However, there are tabletop RPGs without any mechanics. "Without mechanics" doesn't mean "without rules" though — there are rules, that's why it is called a "role-playing game", not "collaborative fiction". The most basic rules are:
- There are two distinctive roles: "players" and "game master"
- Each game has only one game master and at least one or more players
- These roles do not change during the whole game
- Each player is responsible for one particular character (so-called "Player's Characterer"). Instead of using a specific character sheet, this character is supposed to be described in any format
- The game master is responsible for the rest of the world, including people, other living beings, laws of physics, forces of nature, etc.
- The play of the game goes according to these pattern:
- The game master describes a situation
- The players describe their characters' actions — what are they trying to do
- The game master narrates the results, creating a new situation
- Being a player, you can't "win" or "lose" the game. The point of playing the game is so that everyone has fun.
- The game master is the ultimate referee and always has the last word. He/she does not play "against" players, but helps them to move the story forward.
What words should I use to call this kind of game? "Freeform role-playing game" term comes to mind, but as far as I know, it is more about LARP games, not tabletop ones.
Usage example:
We played a game last night. It was D&D 5e technically, but there were no combat encounters yet, and even no skill checks, so we were basically playing …
Best Answer
Free-form roleplaying is the term most often used to describe this type of roleplaying game that lacks mechanics. It applies to tabletop games as well as live-action roleplaying. The term "free-form" is defined by the lack of game mechanics which encumber other games' conflict resolution systems.
I suspect LARP games are more likely to use free-form rules systems because they fit the genre better: in an outdoor LARP, players are often spread out too far for a single GM to adjudicate all the rules, and there is rarely a flat surface to roll dice.
Online roleplaying within fan communities (anime, Harry Potter, etc) widely uses a freeform system, since the goal is for players to explore story and characters rather than to "win". Such communities normally refer to this as simply roleplaying or RP.
Storytelling game is used to refer to a game which focuses on the collaborative story told by the players. That term is sometimes used to describe games which have some rules or mechanics, but the storytelling or in-character experience is the primary goal.