All Hail the NWoHF

Due to some recent developments I’m conceding the NWOF label for the NWoHF acronym. This post contains a short history on the whole thing as well as my thoughts on it now.

This all happened on the NSR Cauldron Discord. In late 2025 Brandon said something about “a new wave of heroic fantasy” which ordinal coined as NWoHF (the o used to be capitalized but shrunk down at some point). Me and Window Dump jumped in on the discussion and over time agreed upon the outlines of this phenomenon.

I believed the acronym was too complex (and I still do) so I wrote my own series of blog posts on the NWOF, New Wave of Fantasy (see original definition, additional discussion and the NWOF promise) mainly because I wanted to include Vagabond // Pulp Fantasy RPG and Legend in the Mist - a rustic fantasy RPG under the label.

I’m finally throwing in the towel and conceding the Heroic H is important. I’ve since learned that both Vagabond and Legend in the Mist call their characters Heroes. All of my counter examples have vanished so I have to conclude that NWoHF is the superior label. Admittedly shrinking down the o helped. Can we still pronounce it as en-wof? The rest of this post is an updated combination of my previous posts trying to explain what the NWoHF is.

Defining the NWoHF (again)

NWOF games feel like 5e DnD narratively but not mechanically

NWoHF games are often:

• fantasy games influenced by DnD 5e
• made after or in response to the OGL fiasco
• heroic and kitchen-sink fantasy
• speaking to the 5e audience, sometimes unintentionally

The games sit somewhere between NSR games and 5e. Usually more complex than the OSR tradition but many are quite simplified from the full 5e package.

flowchart LR
    B/X --- OSR --- NSR --- NWoHF --- 5e

Some NWoHF games

• Daggerheart
• Nimble
• DC20
• Draw Steel
• Grimwild
• Cosmere RPG
• Legend in the Mist
• Vagabond // Pulp Fantasy RPG

Here’s what I think you can expect when you play an NWoHF game:

• Relatively simple rules and resolution mechanics yet often complex character building.
• You play as a protagonistic hero with implied growth towards saving something important to you, oftentimes the world.
• Fiction first rules with some amount of storytelling mechanics behind them.
• The game caters to a specific style of play within the heroic fantasy genre with some games focusing on storytelling and others on crunchy combat.
• Focus on characters, personal stories and exploring the world created by the GM. Sometimes the players also build parts of the world.
• A mix of ideas from various traditions from OSR to PbtA.

NWoHF vs Heartbreaker

One can ask if NWoHF is just a new name for the fantasy heartbreaker. In a way yes, a game can be both an NWoHF game and a heartbreaker but they do still differ in my mind. A heartbreaker is a game that is trying to be Dungeons & Dragons whereas an NWoHF game is doing its own thing in the same genre of heroic fantasy. Heartbreakers are inspired by the D&D books but NWoHF games tend to be more inspired by the stories people tell with 5e on actual play shows and other media.

Remember that labels and definitions are tools for communication. They help us hone in on what parts we find valuable, interesting or worthwhile. I don’t consider NWoHF to be a sole definer of a game or a proper genre though if someone were to ask me to play an NWoHF game I think I would have a solid idea what to expect. Whether a particular game fits or doesn’t fit the label is ultimately not that important.