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In RPG Theory

3/11/2004 Grex: IRC bots, Shakespeare, and relationship maps
I'm not quite sure if this has any practical application to RPGs, but it is an interesting read anyway: http://www.jibble.org/shakespeare/ Perhaps this PieSpy bot could be modified and put to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Grex, contracycle, pete_darby.

3/11/2004 Storn: Characters that Click! Or don't.
No. I'm not talking about HeroClix. And I'm fairly new to these boards, only been here a few days. But I'm struck by the wonderful deconstruction and re-construction of gaming…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Storn, Mike Holmes, John Kim, Valamir, RDU Neil, Alan, aplath, Nuadha.

3/11/2004 b_bankhead: Hot Lead and Hypocrisy: a rant on guns in Call of Cthulhu
Note: This article is an extension of the threads, Drifting to R'lyeh and Cthulhu's clues. It will be best understood by reading those posts One of the most nagging anomalies…
In RPG Theory
Participants: b_bankhead, Valamir, Noon, Andrew Norris, Ian Charvill, Itse, GreatWolf, John Kim, madelf, Gordon C. Landis, Ron Edwards, Trevis Martin, Ole, komradebob, Halzebier, simon_hibbs, Mike Holmes, pete_darby, GB Steve, ChefKyle, Russell Impagliazzo, James Holloway, JDJarvis, DannyK, M. J. Young, Storn, Castellanus, contracycle, CPXB.

3/10/2004 thelopez: Elves Comparative Study
It would be interesting to do an average height, weight and age comparison for Elves from a variety of FRPGs or similar styled RPGs as Brian asked for in his…
In RPG Theory
Participants: thelopez, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Scourge108, Ben Morgan, Tavish, Harrek, Valamir, HMT.

3/10/2004 taalyn: Systematic challenge, or "How the party met an untimely
One of the things that really impressed me with Dunjon was the method for gauging how many or what level to make NPCs so that they would be a consistent…
In RPG Theory
Participants: taalyn, M. J. Young.

3/10/2004 Asrogoth: Streamlining Design
Since I opened the can of worms regarding "Streamlining the Creative Process" (see this thread http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=9943) and have accepted the challenge of making my "vision" come to life, I am…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Asrogoth, thelopez, lumpley, Mike Holmes, andy, Ole, timfire.

3/9/2004 John Kim: Got my Solmukohta Book
I just wanted to say that I got my contributor's copy of the book "Beyond Role and Play" that Jonathan Walton mentioned in this thread. Thus far, I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Jonathan Walton.

3/9/2004 RPGuru59: Diceless Combat Resolution
I am designing a storytelling game called SAGE (Story Advanced Game Engine) that uses diceless combat resolution. I use a point based system, allowing the characters to give away points…
In RPG Theory
Participants: RPGuru59, M. J. Young, Michael S. Miller, RaconteurX, simon_hibbs, Lxndr, Ron Edwards.

3/9/2004 thelopez: Dynamic Character Missions
In the MORPG that I want to design I want to include missions that characters can attempt. There are several problems, IMHO, with the mission systems that have been implemented…
In RPG Theory
Participants: thelopez, Peter Nordstrand, Christopher Weeks, Mike Holmes, Tavish, Doctor Xero.

3/9/2004 Grex: Calvinball rules
This may well be completely irrelevant to the Forge -- and if so, I apologize in advance -- but here are the rules for Calvinball: http://www.solitaryway.com/calvin/cb_rules.htm Is it even possible…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Grex, Walt Freitag, Valamir, Ron Edwards, xiombarg, gobi, Eero Tuovinen, Varis_Rising, clehrich, Ben Lehman, M. J. Young, taalyn, Ben-Ra.

3/9/2004 timfire: Using Experience points as a resource for other effects?
This came up in another thread in the indie forum, but I thought it might deserve a little more discussion here. In the other thread, I proposed letting players spend…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, anonymouse, brainwipe, Ron Edwards, komradebob, Valamir, John Kim, Mike Holmes.

3/8/2004 thelopez: Controlling Currency Hyper-Inflation
I have found, through my personal gaming experience and reading articles about the failure of CRPGs, that one of the many reasons why CRPGs fail is due to the hyper-inflation…
In RPG Theory
Participants: thelopez, Harlequin, Mike Holmes, Christopher Weeks, Noon, contracycle, erithromycin, Valamir, M. J. Young.

3/8/2004 Jonathan Walton: New "Fine Art" Article on RPGnet
They posted last Friday's article today, since they had a hole they needed to fill and already had another article ready for Friday. This one's about the theories of Joseph…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Sean.

3/8/2004 Jonathan Walton: A Brief Design Manifesto: Memory
I have a sneaking suspicion that Dungeons & Dragons will not survive the coming ecological collapse. When we are forced to live in caves, surviving off fungus and 200-year-old cans…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Brother Adso, Mike Holmes, John Kim, andy.

3/7/2004 komradebob: Why so little Scenario Oriented Design?
Hello: I got a lot of great responses to an earlier thread, but I wanted to start this new one, to get feedback to a core question that occured to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: komradebob, Valamir, ethan_greer, Jasper, John Burdick, Eero Tuovinen, JamesSterrett, John Kim, Michael S. Miller, Andrew Norris, contracycle, brainwipe, willofgod.

3/6/2004 hix: Establishing a Social Contract
A couple of recent threads here and in the Heroquest forum have started me thinking about the preparation phase for a game. Assuming that everyone in a hypothetical group was…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hix, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

3/5/2004 Autocrat: Skills, the grouping and arranging of - Responses?
Alright then, second attempt, this one a little more detailed..... hopefully! SO, my questions are; *If playing this system, how do you think you would find the rules outlined below?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Autocrat, montag, Shreyas Sampat, Walt Freitag, M. J. Young, komradebob, John Kim, cruciel, Eero Tuovinen, Rich Forest.

3/5/2004 Noon: True GM Vs players, with infinite GM elephants/resources
Ah, I don't know why I bought the AD&D monster manual and GM book. At first it was the crappy artwork to laugh at...but now they mezmerise me. Not in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, jdagna, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Walt Freitag, Scripty, timfire, anonymouse, JamesSterrett.

3/4/2004 cruciel: Mixing Genres
First, the definition of the naughty word. Genre A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content. Mixing Genres Taking elements…
In RPG Theory
Participants: cruciel, arwink, clehrich.

3/4/2004 AnyaTheBlue: Teenage Isolation and RPGs
This is kind of an off-topic post, but I'll try and make it as relevant to the Forge as possible. First, a pointer: Why Nerds are Unpopular One of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: AnyaTheBlue, John Kim, Loki, Noon, Scourge108, M. J. Young, Christopher Weeks, Sean.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

3/12/2004 anonymouse: [design sketch] apocalypse now
This is a design sketch. I don't have any mechanics in mind right now, just have a stumbling block at the moment. so, I was watching this special on International…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, erithromycin.

3/12/2004 Scourge108: Blue-booking
While I've tried just about every other roleplaying-related activity, I've never actually participated in a game that involved blue-booking. I'd like to know more about what this is like. How…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Scourge108, Ben Lehman, contracycle, Ron Edwards, ScottM, Valamir, Dev, HMT, John Kim, madelf, Alan, M. J. Young, xiombarg, Blankshield.

3/14/2004 Jack Spencer Jr: mystery
Originally posted in Why so little Scenario Oriented Design? Do the "Host a Murder Mystery" games provide an example of a single-adventure RPG product & rules? (I've never seen…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Asrogoth, Noon, komradebob, M. J. Young, Jack Aidley, Ian Charvill.

3/14/2004 ShaneNINE: Fate & Exalted
[quote]Zaal sayeth[/quote] I'm eager to run ... Exalted (with the goal of making a mythic story) games with Fate rules. [/quote] Me too! Well, sort of. What I'd like to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ShaneNINE.

3/14/2004 Noon: PC motivation/character and inadvertant GM authorship of it
Hey all, This is a quick one to address GM techniques like 'keeping em poor keeps em motivated'. Not the stingy part of it, but that identification of motivation and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, komradebob, CRScafidi, Bankuei, Silmenume, John Kim, M. J. Young, Scourge108, simon_hibbs, Blankshield, Mike Holmes, Storn, Doctor Xero, Tomas HVM, age_of_dissent, contracycle, karolusb, Rexfelis, TonyLB.

3/14/2004 komradebob: Does anyone remember divided dice rolls?
The thread on Call of Cthulhu firepower reminded me of an old Dragon magazine article about divided dice rolls. This article must have been at least ten or more years…
In RPG Theory
Participants: komradebob, Walt Freitag, montag, Jeph, Christopher Weeks, Mike Holmes.

3/14/2004 taalyn: Myth of Opposed Rolls in action
This may be more appropriate for the design forum, since I'm talking about a specific manifestation, but I am open to discussing the relevance in other systems as well. So,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: taalyn, talysman, Halzebier, Mike Holmes.

3/15/2004 xiombarg: too many choices
Check out this article: http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?040301crbo_books I think the thesis of the book reviewed, if true, has some interesting implications for RPG design. For one thing, it certainly explains why a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: xiombarg, Nuadha, Scourge108, pete_darby, Thierry Michel, Ron Edwards, Doctor Xero, simon_hibbs, willofgod, clehrich, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, M. J. Young, Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro.

3/15/2004 Walt Freitag: On the term "Interactive": A Rant
On this thread Doctor Xero wrote: But in the name of sanity, please make a comment which has nothing to do with the use of the term "interactive" in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Walt Freitag, Valamir, John Kim, clehrich, Doctor Xero, Alan, Tomas HVM, M. J. Young, Christopher Kubasik, Mike Holmes, Caldis.

3/16/2004 Christopher Weeks: Questions about a kind of fortune mechanic
Are there games in which the player has a pool of dice from which she must allocate some number for each task resolution roll and the pool regenerates through some…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Weeks, Ron Edwards.

3/17/2004 Jonathan Walton: Real Life: A Conceptual Game
So there's this game, right: 1. You play yourself. Not some laser-sharked version of you. Just you. 2. The setting is your life. The situations that occur are simply things…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Sean, Eric J., Eero Tuovinen, Gordon C. Landis, clehrich, M. J. Young, Andrew Norris, pete_darby, ChefKyle, Rich Forest, Jack Spencer Jr.

3/17/2004 ShaneNINE: [dice pools] - swapping 10 dice for Y # of successes
Say you have a game that uses d10 dice pools and a fixed target number of 7 ::cough::exalted::cough:: Now suppose you had a rule for large die pools that basically…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ShaneNINE, Valamir, HMT, M. J. Young, Christopher Weeks, Lxndr, Thierry Michel, John Kim, Jaik, JamesSterrett.

3/17/2004 Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro: Relationships
Hi all. Inspired by recent readings of HeroQuest and old posts about relationship maps at the Forge I came up with this model. Relationships are a big part of HQ…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro.

3/17/2004 pete_darby: What is the text in rp theory?
Well, a couple of tar-baby threads are rolling around, and they seem to be waiting for repsonse from various people before continuing, so I'm going to muddy the waters by…
In RPG Theory
Participants: pete_darby, Ron Edwards, Eero Tuovinen, Christopher Kubasik, John Kim, Valamir, Walt Freitag, clehrich, Gordon C. Landis, Caldis, Jonathan Walton.

3/18/2004 Christopher Weeks: RPGs for kids
Howdy all, Over in This thread we started discussing kid-friendly RPGs. The topic is threatening to dunk that thread, so I'm bringing it over here. There was also a thread…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Weeks, Michael S. Miller, Ron Edwards, Noon, M. J. Young, quozl, daMoose_Neo, Jack Spencer Jr, Ben Lehman.

3/18/2004 quozl: Why not freeform?
I was going to go write a long post comparing different levels of rules and their effects on play but I thought I'd ask this question first. Why not just…
In RPG Theory
Participants: quozl, Valamir, RDU Neil, Jonathan Walton, coxcomb, Michael S. Miller, lumpley, Emily Care, contracycle, Noon, BPetroff93, Wolfen, Bluve Oak, Scourge108, neelk, Nuadha, Doctor Xero, Jack Spencer Jr.

3/18/2004 clehrich: Not Lectures on Theory [LONG!]
There are several threads running concurrently that I want to respond to, and I have an awful lot to say, so I thought it would be best as its own…
In RPG Theory
Participants: clehrich, Eero Tuovinen, pete_darby, james_west, montag, cruciel, Rob Carriere, Doctor Xero, Itse.

3/18/2004 quozl: Why have no rules?
As a companion thread to the Why Not Freeform? thread, I thought I'd ask what are the benefits to not having rules? Now, this doesn't mean no rules at all…
In RPG Theory
Participants: quozl, RDU Neil, lumpley, Scourge108, Jonathan Walton, Emily Care, Valamir, talysman, Noon, Zathreyel, M. J. Young, Tomas HVM, Jack Aidley, Thierry Michel, pete_darby.

3/19/2004 Zathreyel: "Epic" and "Saga" roleplaying
okay, over on the Actual Play board there's been a thead runnning discussing the use of a relationship map in Epic role-playing, and it just kinda started sprawling beyond…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Zathreyel, orbsmatt, Gaerik, Valamir, Paganini, taalyn, John Kim, Sean, komradebob, Caldis, M. J. Young, Ian Charvill, contracycle, Vodrilus, Rexfelis, montag, Matt Wilson, aplath, FredGarber.

3/19/2004 Dylan Horrocks: Essay on RPGs, comics, world-building etc.
Hi everyone. I'm delurking to say that I've posted a long essay on my website, called 'The Perfect Planet: Comics, Games & World-Building.' It talks about all kinds of stuff,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dylan Horrocks.

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