Previous Topics
In Universalis

2/25/2002 Valamir: Traits as resistances
One of the things we tried to accomplish was to create a game with no real need for "hit points" or other such measures. Yet given the semi competitive nature…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir.

2/25/2002 Valamir: Scene Framing
Ok, i've been stirring around a few ideas. For awhile now Mike and I haven't really been satisfied with the definition of Facts and the subjective nature of Flavor vs.…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, Mike Holmes, Paul Czege.

2/24/2002 joe_llama: "...and they complain and complain and complain..."
Hi everyone, First of all, I'd like to thank Mike and Ralph for making me part of of the Universalis playtesting group. I see a lot of potential in this…
In Universalis
Participants: joe_llama, Mike Holmes, Valamir.

2/24/2002 Valamir: Flavor and Significance
In another thread here, Baileywolf, Bankuei and I have been tossing around thoughts on Flavor and Significance in the game. I thought that the comments were "significant" enough to warrant…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, Mike Holmes.

2/5/2002 Bailywolf: Ran into a problem...
Ran into a problem trying to convince my regular group to give U a try. They like a fairly bread and butter, mule-kick the orcs, goal-oriented game. They have a…
In Universalis
Participants: Bailywolf, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

2/1/2002 Valamir: Lets get some discussion going
Its been about a week since V4 went out, who has some further thoughts, comments, criticisms to share? Baliley and Balbinus got things started, lets keep it going. Anyone thinking…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

1/27/2002 Valamir: The PC in Universalis
Theres a number of comments on this topic in a couple of different threads here. Thought I'd start of a thread specific for this discussion. I'll get it started by…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, Balbinus.

1/25/2002 Balbinus: Universalis as a pbem tool
One thing which immediately struck me on reading Universalis was its applicability towards pbem games. PBEMs, by their nature, tend to be somewhat turn based anyway. One slight concern I…
In Universalis
Participants: Balbinus, Mike Holmes, Valamir.

1/25/2002 Balbinus: Creating stuff
Ok, here's an experiment at creating a protagonist for a fantasy game, let's see how it goes. Hag'rik, Swashbuckler = 1 (because that's what he is) Traits wily 5, Grenadier…
In Universalis
Participants: Balbinus, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Valamir.

1/24/2002 Bailywolf: First Read, First Impressions, First Questions
I'm all over the place right now. I'm going to riff for half an hour, then go to bed. Please forgive the mess this post will certainly turn into. I…
In Universalis
Participants: Bailywolf, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Bankuei, Andrew Martin.

1/18/2002 Valamir: Whoa nelly
While I share Mike's enthusiasm for exploring these topics in some detail these thread topics may be a bit of putting the cart before the horse. Perhaps we should ensure…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir.

1/18/2002 Mike Holmes: Dialog
As the game stands, dialog is a little odd. Who gets to speak for whom, and when? If it's one player's turn can others speak? If not, how do yyou…
In Universalis
Participants: Mike Holmes.

1/18/2002 Mike Holmes: Add-Ons
We really like how the game can be modified in many directions successfully. In order to allow players access to these methods, while not unnecessarily encumbering the game for them…
In Universalis
Participants: Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Balbinus, Valamir.

1/18/2002 Mike Holmes: Flaws
The flaw rule is the one that we've changed the most, IIRC. Originally, we wanted to reward the player who takes a flaw for their character for having done so…
In Universalis
Participants: Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Andrew Martin.

1/18/2002 Mike Holmes: Economic Balance
One of he things that we have struggled with, back and forth is the relative costs of things in the game. One particular sticking point is the cost of traits.…
In Universalis
Participants: Mike Holmes.

1/18/2002 Mike Holmes: No PCs
Well, now that Ralph has let the genie out of the bottle, I'll ask the question. If you don't have Player Characters (or a GM, or a traditional resolution system,…
In Universalis
Participants: Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Balbinus, Valamir.

<< more previous topics

Subsequent Topics
In Universalis

3/17/2002 joe_llama: The Man with the Twelve (no, Six!) Silver Darts
Hello everyone, I was looking forward to playtest Universalis for quite some time and I finally got around to actually do it. I gathered three friends (2 guys, 1 girl)…
In Universalis
Participants: joe_llama, Bankuei, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

3/17/2002 Bankuei: yaay. First playtest
A friend and I were fiending for some roleplaying, so I broke out Universalis 5.0 last night. I explained the rules in under 10 minutes, which wasn’t hard to grasp,…
In Universalis
Participants: Bankuei, Valamir, joe_llama, Mike Holmes.

3/19/2002 Ayrizale: First Post. Haven't yet played, but hope to soon
Hello, As I said, I have not yet had the chance to play, though there is the possibility that I'll be able to run it past a group this weekend…
In Universalis
Participants: Ayrizale, Bankuei.

3/19/2002 Valamir: Providing Focus to the story
One of the assumptions that Universalis makes is that players will provide their own focus, both initially in setting up the nature of the game to be played, and subsequently…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, Ayrizale, Bankuei.

3/19/2002 Bankuei: Possible complication options
Here's a bunch of ideas and possibilities, play with, alter as you will. Alternate Complication/Bonus Pot rules These rules are not set in stone, just some random thoughts that might…
In Universalis
Participants: Bankuei, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

3/20/2002 Valamir: Complications
I'm working on a way to integrate Complications more closely with the normal scene framing turn. These are my current thoughts on it. Instead of spinning off into an entirely…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, Ayrizale.

3/24/2002 Ayrizale: First Playtest, First thoughts
Hi, We got to play for a little while yesterday and I just wanted to pass along the general first impressions. Overall it played very well. My first concern on…
In Universalis
Participants: Ayrizale, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

3/30/2002 Valamir: Version 6.1
Well, it took me almost a week longer than I thought it would, but that was primarily because I decided to go back in and add alot of the stuff…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir.

3/31/2002 amiel: Playtest info
I finally got down to it, myself and the space monkeys. First the social contract, we decided to do a fantasy game. We also decided on few silly elements. Next,…
In Universalis
Participants: amiel, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

4/2/2002 Valamir: True Story
I have this non gamer girlfriend. For the last nine years she's been amazingly indulgent of my mistress...er...hobby, and while she occassionaly will join us for a board game or…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, Mike Holmes, hardcoremoose, Ayrizale, joe_llama, Bankuei.

4/3/2002 Valamir: Refreshment
I'd like to ask playtesters to really look hard at the Refreshment mechanic because as it is completely new to V6 it has never been tested. Particularly the amounts given…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir.

4/10/2002 Andrew Martin: Alternative mechanics
From Universalis 6.1: For example: The game is set in a dark and twisted future. Andrew has framed a scene where two characters, Croc and Rat, are exploring a ruined…
In Universalis
Participants: Andrew Martin, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

4/11/2002 Andrew Martin: Questions and Comments
How does one create X-use items, like fuel, healing potions, firewood, lack of health (injury)? There seems to be five different methods in the rules, which are the example for…
In Universalis
Participants: Andrew Martin, Valamir, Ayrizale, joe_llama, Mike Holmes.

4/11/2002 Valamir: Capitalization
[quote="joe_llama"] [quote]There's way too many Capitalised Words of No Real Importance. [/quote] Yeah man. Drop the Capitals. Do it for real this time. [/quote] Ok, I'm listening. Convince me. I've…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, joe_llama, Mike Holmes, Andrew Martin.

5/15/2002 Mike Holmes: Final Draft Feedback
Hello all, Well, Ralph and I feel that we want to write the final beta and move to Actual Version 1.0. We're looking closely at all suggestions so far. Given…
In Universalis
Participants: Mike Holmes, Ayrizale, amiel, Bankuei, joe_llama, Blake Hutchins, Valamir.

6/26/2002 Valamir: Universalis goes to layout ---> ATTN Playtesters
The final version of Universalis has been sent for layout (we snagged Matt Snyder for the job which means it will look a hell of alot better than the draft…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir.

7/9/2002 Ron Edwards: Universalis play at Origins
Hi there, So I finally lost my Universalis cherry, thanks to Mike's "No means Yes" approach to running a demo. Here are some of my thoughts and questions, and bear…
In Universalis
Participants: Ron Edwards, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

8/13/2002 Ron Edwards: Universe Alice art contest
Ha! My first post in the new public forum. Here's my deal: Adept Press will pay (Dr. Evil moment) $50.00 to the artist who delivers the best portrayal of ...…
In Universalis
Participants: Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

8/19/2002 Valamir: Universalis is now available
Universalis is now in print and available for purchase. After a successful Gen Con launch, the full print version is available from http://universalis.actionroll.com The price is $15 plus $2 S/H.…
In Universalis
Participants: Valamir, sben, Blake Hutchins, Mike Holmes, quozl, James V. West.

8/21/2002 Mike Holmes: Web Site
Ralph and I continue to try and improve our web site for Universalis, and already we have quite a bit of support up. Check out Ralph's essays that didn't make…
In Universalis
Participants: Mike Holmes, Roy, Valamir, Ayrizale, Matt, Fabrice G., Tony Irwin, Jason L Blair, Bob McNamee.

more subsequent topics >>