Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

3/23/2004 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 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.

3/22/2004 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.

3/22/2004 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 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.

3/21/2004 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.

3/20/2004 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.

3/20/2004 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 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 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.

3/19/2004 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.

3/19/2004 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.

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.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

3/27/2004 coxcomb: What is system?
I have committed a crime. It is a crime that I am certain is common among long-time role-players such as myself. I have judged games on a brief look at…
In RPG Theory
Participants: coxcomb, clehrich, Jack Spencer Jr, matthijs, Tomas HVM, Noon, Ron Edwards, WDFlores, John Kim, Umberhulk, M. J. Young, Ravien.

3/29/2004 Ravien: Character Generation: An Idea of Mine...
Ok, I have this idea for chargen, which I'd like to just "throw out there" and see what you guys think. For starters, alot of people seem to like "qualitative"…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ravien, Green, Trevis Martin, Ron Edwards, Shreyas Sampat, ChefKyle, M. J. Young, Bluve Oak.

3/30/2004 sirogit: Perception narration: Authorship & Honesty
In TroS game, I've noticed myself accidently using the phrases "You see..." "You feel..." "You know..." etc. as a result of, say, an inspection of an object or a character…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Valamir, Blankshield, clehrich, WDFlores, Rich Forest, M. J. Young.

3/31/2004 Jonathan Moyer: "Space" in Non-Physical Combat
Hi all, I finally have a free moment from work, and I'm itching to discuss this with everyone. Games like HeroQuest handle non-physical "combat" in the same way as physical…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Moyer, Dr. Velocity, Ron Edwards, TonyLB, Noon, Mike Holmes, JDJarvis, timfire, taalyn, simon_hibbs, contracycle, Shreyas Sampat, M. J. Young.

3/31/2004 Zak Arntson: Fate Points - Their history & implementation
Something I've been thinking of, after playing Jay's Gallant and reading Mongoose Publishing's Conan, are Fate Points. I remember them first appearing in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay with the sole purpose…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Zak Arntson, Matt Wilson, Sean, Michael S. Miller, Mike Holmes, coxcomb, Scourge108, rafial, montag, M. J. Young, John Kim, talysman, hanschristianandersen.

3/31/2004 Andrew Morris: Speed vs. Realism ... where do you draw the line?
Hey, everyone. I'm still new to the Forge, so if this post is on the wrong forum, I apologize. What I'd like to know is whether or not you'd be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andrew Morris, clehrich, Sean, coxcomb, ethan_greer, Mike Holmes, b_bankhead, Noon, Jack Aidley, M. J. Young, Tomas HVM, CPXB, simon_hibbs, Shreyas Sampat, Domhnall.

3/31/2004 coxcomb: Should character control hurt?
I broke this off from Zak's Survey, as I don't want to inject my own query into his thread. Here are some highlights to get us started: Something that I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: coxcomb, Jasper, Alan, Technocrat13, Bankuei, John Kim, pete_darby, Ian Charvill, HMT, TonyLB, Garbanzo.

3/31/2004 Philomousos: Regarding the nature of roleplaying
I'm a new poster to this site. I recently ran up against an alarming reaction at the site I normally frequent, which has rather depressed me about the state of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Philomousos, quozl, coxcomb, Jack Spencer Jr, Alan, Valamir, clehrich, Rich Forest, Ron Edwards, Vishanti, Ravien, M. J. Young, Ian Charvill, Thierry Michel, pete_darby, Walt Freitag, Christopher Weeks, BPetroff93, talysman, Tomas HVM, joshua neff, aplath, contracycle, brainwipe, Blankshield.

4/1/2004 beingfrank: Designing Your Team the Scooby Way
Ok, so it's silly, but is it useful? I've certainly seen a number of situations where it's given insight into why a group dynamic wasn't working. Designing your team the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: beingfrank, Jasper, John Kim, Itse, neelk, Ron Edwards, DannyK, Argetlamh, M. J. Young, brainwipe.

4/6/2004 Domhnall: Mystery-- Essay
Hello all. I've just joined. I had no idea a group of like-minded players were out here this whole time! The following is an essay that I have in my…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Domhnall, Valamir, montag, Noon, contracycle, Jack Aidley, Rob Carriere, Argetlamh, Doyce, timfire, GreatWolf, Gaerik, Alan, Mourglin, John Kim, M. J. Young, clehrich, Sean, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis, Walt Freitag, Andrew Norris, Cemendur.

4/7/2004 Jere: What is a Scene
Is there a good guide to scenes. What they are, how to handle them, various tools? It seems the type of thing someone on or affiliated with the Forge would…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jere, greyorm, John Kim, contracycle, Paganini, xiombarg.

4/7/2004 Gaerik: Railroading Fun
My question at it's simplest is "What constitutes Railroading?" Does any overarching plotline by the GM mean the players are being railroaded? If railroading is defined as the GM forcing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Gaerik, Alan, timfire, Nick Pagnucco, DannyK, Tomas HVM, Domhnall, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, jrs, contracycle, Henri, Seth L. Blumberg, Eero Tuovinen, clehrich, Noon, Valamir, Walt Freitag.

4/8/2004 Jasper: Questioning Deprotagonization and Railroading
In the Railroading Fun thread, One of the commonly accepted rules in roleplaying is that what a PC thinks, feels, and decides to do is completely up to the player.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jasper, Shreyas Sampat, CPXB, montag, Ron Edwards, clehrich, Mike Holmes, Paul Czege, Andrew Norris, Seth L. Blumberg, Walt Freitag, contracycle, Noon, FredGarber.

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