Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

3/18/2004 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.

3/18/2004 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 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 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.

3/17/2004 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.

3/17/2004 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 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 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.

3/16/2004 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.

3/15/2004 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.

3/15/2004 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.

3/14/2004 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.

3/14/2004 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 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 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 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.

3/12/2004 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.

3/12/2004 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 Noon: Wanna look at some gamist design bits of mine? (long)
I've got a few questions on a gamist system that I'm putting together (One I mentioned I was going to do in another post). I'll start with its goals, to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Mike Holmes, Harrek, Ron Edwards.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

3/19/2004 Sean: Kewl Assassin Powerz
OK, here's a thread which is asking for signifiers which only signify other signifiers, but not at the metatextual level others are pursuing; rather, I want to see if anyone…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, Storn, Eero Tuovinen, Valamir, cruciel, anonymouse, Trevis Martin, Halzebier, BPetroff93, Noon, M. J. Young.

3/20/2004 erithromycin: 'Not Here'?
A recent thread in Site Discussion got me wondering about the whole nature of roleplaying, and the particular biases that being online (and where one is online) bring to discussions…
In RPG Theory
Participants: erithromycin, james_west, Ron Edwards, John Kim.

3/20/2004 daMoose_Neo: How much "Stuff" do you generate?
Just a wondering post, if thats all right. I was wondering: Just how much "stuff" does your average writer here generate? I've got a WAY hyper-active mind and wandering around…
In RPG Theory
Participants: daMoose_Neo, M. J. Young, ChefKyle, brainwipe, clehrich, Matt Wilson, orbsmatt.

3/20/2004 beingfrank: R-maps as tools for players
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but it seemed the best fit. It can always be moved if I'm wrong. I'm pretty new so…
In RPG Theory
Participants: beingfrank, clehrich, Trevis Martin, John Burdick, M. J. Young.

3/20/2004 Green: epic, myth, and legend in roleplaying
I was taking a look at this thread because one of my current RPG writing projects is a "sourcebook" I am tentatively calling Kathanaksaya: Middle-earth. The approach I am taking…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Green, ChefKyle.

3/21/2004 Tomas HVM: Method and setting
In another thread I have stated that I do not find the words "system" and "rules" adequate as descriptions of the way we play roleplaying games. They are used in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Tomas HVM, BPetroff93, M. J. Young, Eero Tuovinen.

3/22/2004 Jonathan Walton: Fine Art #6 on RPGnet: Uncertainty
The new article is up now, though it hasn't yet been announced to the masses. Definitely connected with some of the ideas that have been bouncing around the theory forum…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Tomas HVM, Ian Charvill, Sean, Ron Edwards.

3/22/2004 Doctor Xero: Vision of Interaction and Vision of Independence examined
Here's the theory : When two friends sit down at a chess board and decide to express their creativity and explore their cunning by playing a game of chess, each…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Doctor Xero, montag, John Kim, Alan, cruciel, Gordon C. Landis, pete_darby, clehrich.

3/22/2004 coxcomb: Investment for GM in player-directed play
So let's assume that a game has set up a large degree of player-control over play. What I'd like to discuss is how the GM operates in actual play. Players…
In RPG Theory
Participants: coxcomb, Alan.

3/23/2004 matthijs: Session transcript for purpose of analysis
Hi all! I haven't seen this question posted before: Has anyone ever tried to take notes during a role-playing session, focusing on crowd response/audience reaction? An example of a transcript…
In RPG Theory
Participants: matthijs, Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, orbsmatt, John Kim, Rich Forest, Gordon C. Landis, Noon.

3/23/2004 Valamir: Trust and the Boink moment
So as not to clutter this cool glorantha thread Why is that such a "boink" insight for gamers, as opposed to the "duh"-obvious requirement for everyone else, for…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Valamir, clehrich, ethan_greer, pete_darby, Matt Wilson, Blankshield, Bankuei, Christopher Kubasik, Itse, M. J. Young, Noon.

3/23/2004 ethan_greer: The long-term campaign and the myth of d20
So, I have this friend. Let's call him Herb. Herb wants to run a long-term fantasy campaign. How long-term? We're talking years, as in ten or more. Which sounds like…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ethan_greer, Mark Johnson, karolusb, Storn, Ole, cruciel, John Kim, madelf, Bankuei, M. J. Young, greyorm, Jack Aidley, Andrew Norris, JDJarvis, Jaide, Christopher Weeks, Gaerik, talysman, Ron Edwards.

3/24/2004 Michael Hopcroft: Minorities, sexual and otherwise, in RPGs
A question someone posed to me on one of the other forums about heartQuest and how it handles yaoi campaigns has led me to pose this question -- are there,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Michael Hopcroft, clehrich, AndrewDylan, pete_darby, Matt Wilson.

3/24/2004 Bifi: RPG Theory from the Educative Viewpoint
Hi Forge, I'm teaching at the University and also currently attending a course on Paedagogics. For the topic of my research paper I chose "Inscenation Methods in Paedagogics / Roleplaying".…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bifi, Jack Spencer Jr, Gordon C. Landis, John Kim, clehrich, M. J. Young, Daredevil, Alan, Eero Tuovinen, Umberhulk, Rob Carriere.

3/24/2004 quozl: Rules' Effects on Play #1 - Writing Down the Social Contract
Going forth from the threads Why not freeform? and Why have no rules?, I thought we might examine specific rules beginning with rules that extend the social contract. What rules…
In RPG Theory
Participants: quozl, lumpley, Valamir, Christopher Weeks, Wolfen, cruciel, timfire.

3/24/2004 John Kim: Stats for Epic Heroes
OK, I am splitting out a particular subtopic from "Epic" and "Saga" roleplaying. Ralph/Valamir had brought up early on the point about how character stats are handled. From…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, M. J. Young, Shreyas Sampat, Caldis, orbsmatt, Rexfelis, Valamir, xiombarg, Ian Charvill, Walt Freitag, talysman, Ben Lehman, cruciel.

3/24/2004 Gaerik: Confused about Bangs...
In a recent thread, a debate occurred on the proper usage of the term Bang. Like the person I was disagreeing with, I like for my terms in these types…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Gaerik, Ron Edwards, montag, Alan, Lisa Padol, beingfrank, Brother Adso, pete_darby.

3/25/2004 TonyLB: Asynchronous Roleplay
Play by email, play by post, play by written correspondence... asynchronous roleplay. A different style with (I think) different techniques. I can think of a few that I've used, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, coxcomb, Jonathan Walton, orbsmatt, Valamir, Jack Spencer Jr, andy, Bogie_71, M. J. Young, Dev, beingfrank, xiombarg.

3/25/2004 Jonathan Walton: The Player's Guide to Roleplaying
[quote="pete_darby"]Goddamn, we need a new introduction to roleplaying...[/quote] I've been thinking about this for a while. There really needs to be a book about roleplaying that talks about what it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Valamir, orbsmatt, Jack Spencer Jr, John Kim, clehrich, pete_darby, Rob Carriere, sirogit, Ben Lehman, Steven Bishop, Itse, M. J. Young, Ravien, brainwipe, ethan_greer, Jody_Butt, daMoose_Neo, Emily Care, Eero Tuovinen, komradebob.

3/26/2004 Rexfelis: Defining "epic" for purposes of an rpg
This is a split from the other epic threads (the first one, and the one on abilities). I want to suggest that, when defining "epic" for the purposes of an…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Rexfelis, Ian Charvill, Steven Bishop.

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