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In RPG Theory

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 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.

3/30/2004 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.

3/29/2004 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.

3/27/2004 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.

3/26/2004 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.

3/25/2004 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.

3/25/2004 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.

3/24/2004 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.

3/24/2004 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 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 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 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.

3/23/2004 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.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

4/8/2004 John Kim: Immersive Story Essay
So I have posted my essay from the "Beyond Role and Play" book up on my website, along with book information. So first of all, here is the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, contracycle, Alan, Eero Tuovinen, Mike Holmes, clehrich, RDU Neil, Jack Spencer Jr, Russell Impagliazzo, matthijs, Daredevil, Storn, Revontuli, Noon.

4/8/2004 Alan: Acting as Gamist Play
Hi all, Recently I've read two threads, Regarding the nature of roleplaying and Immersive Story Essay. They've triggered several ideas, but here's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Alan.

4/8/2004 Henri: Probability Curves
It may be that someone has already done this (and if so could someone point me to it), but I was thinking it might be useful to have some sort…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Henri, John Kim, b_bankhead, Jasper, Rob Carriere, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, Gaerik, Thierry Michel.

4/9/2004 Tomas HVM: Players never have a "free choice"
Players are often said to have a "free choice" of action in roleplaying games, or at least much more free than in any other game. This is not true. The…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Tomas HVM, Jonathan Walton, greyorm, Caldis, Gaerik, Henri, Christopher Kubasik, Bob McNamee, Umberhulk, M. J. Young, Ben Lehman, clehrich, Rob Carriere, simon_hibbs, Valamir, Seth L. Blumberg, Ron Edwards, Silmenume, BPetroff93, pete_darby, Halzebier, Eero Tuovinen, Walt Freitag, contracycle, Andrew Norris, joshua neff.

4/9/2004 Tomas HVM: Beware the academic jabberwocky!
Seth L. Blumberg wrote on the style of communication at the Forge in the "Railroading"-thread. I've commented on the use of terms here before, and did so again in that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Tomas HVM, lumpley, Kester Pelagius, M. J. Young, Eero Tuovinen, Bankuei, Shreyas Sampat, clehrich, John Kim, Walt Freitag, neelk, Seth L. Blumberg, Bill_White, Peter Hollinghurst, Mike Holmes, Valamir, Varis_Rising, matthijs, BPetroff93, FredGarber, eyebeams, greyorm, Ron Edwards.

4/10/2004 sirogit: Creating characters as relationships
I'm considering using this technique during my next character creation session. Give players the details of what is expected of their individual characters(Combat readiness, likability, protagonist-material), but tell them to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Shreyas Sampat, Ron Edwards, neelk.

4/10/2004 clehrich: GM Technique and Teaching
As some of you know, I teach in college classrooms, usually small seminars. And the more I think about classic problems that arise in teaching, the more I think that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: clehrich, Eero Tuovinen, M. J. Young, Christopher Weeks, Mike Holmes.

4/12/2004 sirogit: What does and doesn't constituite "Force"
I'd like to include the paragraphs in which Force is discussed in Ron Edward's Narrativist Essay as a basic definition. Force: the final authority that any person who is…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Andrew Martin, Henri, Ron Edwards, clehrich.

4/12/2004 hatheg-kla: Deciding scope for conflict-based resolution.
Hi there. For a while now I've been struggling to marry these two ideas: 1. Characters defined by a list number of skills (that have various levels of aptitude). 2.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hatheg-kla, Shreyas Sampat, lumpley, Ron Edwards, coxcomb, Jasper, RDU Neil, Storn, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

4/12/2004 jeffd: Scene Framing?
I'm sure this has been covered - but unfortunately I'm a piss poor search engine user. :( Are there any good Forge threads on the concepts behind scene framing? I'm…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jeffd, C. Edwards, John Kim.

4/13/2004 Paganini: Pag's Standard Rant - Scene Framing
It seems like we're always getting posts in the various forums about Scene Framing. What it is, how to do it. These questions are invariably met with links to old…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, coxcomb, FredGarber, C. Edwards, Mike Holmes, Jonathan Walton.

4/13/2004 Zak Arntson: Design - What does the player/character/gm do?
Just in case someone isn't familiar with it, I'll open with one of the standard questions you give a designer: The idea's great and all, but what do you do?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Zak Arntson, Astrivian.

4/13/2004 Tomas HVM: Force, feeding techniques and scene framing
Walt Freitag wrote: I'm one of the Forge's most outspoken advocates and (if I do say so myself) innovative practitioners of high-Force techniques. I'd love to participate in discussion such…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Tomas HVM, M. J. Young, Walt Freitag, Eero Tuovinen, Bankuei, hanschristianandersen.

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