Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

5/10/2004 Valamir: Mechanics that reflect Setting
I split this off from this thread because I thought it was particularly interesting topic in its own right, and only tangental to the purpose of that thread. …
In RPG Theory
Participants: Valamir, neelk, Christopher Kubasik, John Kim, Lxndr, Emily Care, Shreyas Sampat, Mike Holmes, Noon, pete_darby, Ben Lehman, M. J. Young, Jonathan Walton.

5/10/2004 ghostwolf: Breaking through writers block
Gyarrgh! Ok, so I'm working on a Sci-fi themed Rpg. I've got my mechanics to the point I should be able to write up a quick-play document to get started…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ghostwolf, Jack Aidley, Ron Edwards, ethan_greer, inthisstyle, Bob Goat, clehrich, Noon, Comte.

5/10/2004 Roy: Starting A Local Role-Playing Club -- Goals and Methods
I'm starting a local role-playing game club, as stated in these threads: Starting A Local Role-Playing Club -- Need Advice Starting A Local Role-Playing Club -- Need Advice on…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Roy, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

5/9/2004 Ron Edwards: Mechanical gender differences II [Mongrel]
Hello, I'd like to receive some comments which compare Ben's (Ravien's) game design to my proto-game for the Simulationism essay, Mongrel, in terms of character-gender-based rules in character creation, somewhat…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ron Edwards, neelk, rafial, quozl, Valamir, Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, Ravien, Walt Freitag, Christopher Kubasik.

5/9/2004 Roy: Starting Local Role-Playing Club--Need Advice on Newsletter
I'm starting a local role-playing club, as described in this thread. To promote the club, I'm going to give away a free newsletter through the local game shops. Nothing fancy,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Roy, Mike Holmes.

5/9/2004 Roy: Starting A Local Role-Playing Club -- Need Advice
I live in Northwestern Arkansas (near the University of Arkansas) and it's very difficult to get a gaming group together in this area. The few gamers I know are always…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Roy, C. Edwards, Malechi, Noon, Ron Edwards.

5/9/2004 frictorious: die mechanic
I originally posted this to Game Design, but I've posted it here since I've learned that Theory is a better place for it. I have a couple of die mechanics…
In RPG Theory
Participants: frictorious, timfire, Mike Holmes.

5/8/2004 John Kim: New RPG Theory Glossary
OK, so a few weeks ago in this thread, Ron wrote: Status Report: the first draft is in Clinton's hands, and he is PDFing it in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Andrew Martin, George Moralidis, cruciel, Trevis Martin.

5/7/2004 Christopher Kubasik: Why Am I Not a Woman?
Okay. Chadu posts a thread on his Dead Inside games talking about differences he's noticed between his male players and female players. Here's a sample: * On the average, women…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, Paka, rafial, quozl, Ravien, Garbanzo, chadu, Wolfen, AnyaTheBlue.

5/7/2004 quozl: Icebreaker RPGs
An icebreaker, for those unfamiliar with the term, is an activity done among people who want to get to know each other better. Often, some type of game is used.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: quozl, Andrew Morris, BPetroff93, xiombarg, Trevis Martin, M. J. Young.

5/7/2004 Ravien: Mechanical Gender Differences
Up front, I am completely aware of the 'controversy' that building mechanical gender differences into a game entails. People may be offended/disgusted/whatever, and I accept this. I ask that if…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ravien, John Kim, clehrich, Christopher Kubasik, Silmenume, beingfrank, Shreyas Sampat, contracycle, xiombarg, Walt Freitag, simon_hibbs, quozl, Valamir, Halzebier, Andrew Morris, Ron Edwards, redivider, dragongrace, talysman, Russell Impagliazzo.

5/6/2004 George Moralidis: The Emperor's New Terminology
Hello everybody. This is my first post, though I've been lurking in the Forge for quite some time now. First of all congratulations for keeping things so interesting (and civilized…
In RPG Theory
Participants: George Moralidis, Ron Edwards.

5/6/2004 shehee: Target Number Theory
First I'd like to explain how I understand target numbers for challenges, then I'd like to ask a question about target numbers and probability. As I understand it, the difficulty…
In RPG Theory
Participants: shehee, Rob Carriere, Akamaru, Tim C Koppang.

5/5/2004 chadu: Dead Inside Playtest, Gender Ratios, Mild Analysis
(see also my livejournal post at http://www.livejournal.com/users/chadu/119466.html) Recently, I had a very pleasant phone conversation with Paul Czege, author of My Life With Master. Amongst numerous threads of discussion re:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: chadu, Mike Holmes, TonyLB, Ravien, Noon, xiombarg, Dev, Ron Edwards, Paul Czege, John Kim, Christopher Weeks.

5/5/2004 quozl: Semi-RPGs?
[quote="Mike Holmes"]First, a lot of these games are very close to the line between RPG and something else - something like a boardgame. That is, sure one can narrate events…
In RPG Theory
Participants: quozl, Jack Aidley, orbsmatt, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, Sean, Dev, dalek_of_god, pete_darby, contracycle, Nathan P., John Kim, Lxndr, Rich Forest, M. J. Young.

5/5/2004 hanschristianandersen: [IGC:Snow Day] Postmodern? Huh?
First of, another hearty round of applause for Mike Holmes for staging and judging the Iron Game Chef contest! from Mike's review of my IGC game "Snow Day": Who…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hanschristianandersen, clehrich, John Kim, Peter Hollinghurst, talysman, Mike Holmes.

5/2/2004 Ravien: Conceptual Combat Mechanics
I know this topic probably won't be particularly interesting, what with Lumpley's proposition of psychological combat, but this mechanic came to me last night and I had to write it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ravien, Akamaru, TonyLB, Sydney Freedberg, Mulciber, M. J. Young, Hereward The Wake, Olibarro.

5/1/2004 Jack Spencer Jr: Forget Immersion: Sympathy vs Empathy
I was going to put this in the Deep Immesion thread, but I decided it branches off enough to be it's own thread. Personally, I think immersion and the way…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Christopher Kubasik, Ian Charvill, cruciel, Emily Care, John Kim, Valamir.

5/1/2004 Samael: Need a little help working out the math...
...for the resolution mechanic I'm using. Here's the basics. Skills (worst to best) defined as: Horrendous, d4 Terrible, d6 Poor, d8 Mediocre, d10 Fair, d12 Good, d16 Great, d20 Superb,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Samael, Maarzan, Andrew Martin, M. J. Young, Hunter Logan, semprebon, Shadetree, Walt Freitag.

4/29/2004 Noon: A technique for Rifts rules/balance drift
Recently I've found myself thinking of enjoying Rifts again (probably something on AIM). Naturally this brings up the issue of house rules (at least it does for me) that are…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Mike Holmes, ScottM, timfire, Andrew Martin.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

5/10/2004 rafial: Mechanical Gender Differences III (I'm Embarrassed)
Okay, so let me out myself on the real reason I think mechanically enshrining gender in RPG mechanics just doesn't work for me. I find it embarrassing. Here I am,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: rafial, Jack Aidley, Maarzan, Ravien, AnyaTheBlue, John Harper, Andrew Martin, Matt Wilson, Thuringwaethiel, greyorm, xiombarg, Halzebier, John Kim, Jack Spencer Jr, Valamir, Ian Charvill, Lxndr.

5/10/2004 Mithras: Is it a boardgame? Is it a story? I know what I want …
Can I get it??? OK. I roleplay with kids most of the time, 10 year olds. The past three years I’ve generally run fairly non-violent adventure RPGs of my own…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mithras, quozl, Valamir.

5/10/2004 Wormwood: Experimental Validation: Query
As of late I have been working with different approaches to experimental game design. And by experimental I mean using the design process to shed light on some theoretical concern.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Wormwood, M. J. Young, clehrich, Ben Lehman, simon_hibbs.

5/11/2004 dragongrace: Path Based Systems
For those who remember me and the game I was working on, DragonGrace, I am revisiting the first set of rules I put out and stripping it down for a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: dragongrace, Sparky, Mike Holmes, Jack Aidley, John Kirk, John Kim.

5/11/2004 Roy: "What Is A Roleplaying Game?" Essay -- Is this rig
As I've stated in previous threads, I'm starting a local roleplaying club. I'm writing a small essay for my club newsletter that will explain what an RPG is to those…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Roy, Matt Wilson, Jack Spencer Jr, Noon, timfire, M. J. Young.

5/12/2004 Christopher Kubasik: I know this doesn't belong here...
...but I just found this article on Arts & Letters Daily and just had to share it. It's about online gaming, not RPGs.... But... But... you all have to read…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, clehrich, Wolfen, Noon, simon_hibbs, ethan_greer, neelk, orbsmatt.

5/12/2004 M. J. Young: Character/Player Gender Relationship?
[quote="In [i][a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=11126"]Mechanical Gender Differences II (Mongrel)[/i][/a] Walt Freitag"]Players tend to assume that they will play characters of the same gender of the player.[/quote] I was shocked by this statement.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, rafial, Ravien, Sean, AnyaTheBlue, Matt, Jack Spencer Jr, beingfrank, Walt Freitag, clehrich.

5/12/2004 Comte: horror rpg mechanic problem
I've come up with a concept for a horror roleplaying game. One of the universal things that I have noticed about horror as a genra is that people have to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Comte, Noon, M. J. Young, Negilent, Ravien, simon_hibbs, dragongrace, Mike Holmes.

5/12/2004 Shreyas Sampat: Bringing History into Play
You know, every so often someone says to me, "I want to run a game like Lord of the Rings," and proceeds to insert large, unpleasant battle scenes into his…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Shreyas Sampat, hanschristianandersen, talysman, Sydney Freedberg, Peter Hollinghurst, Storn, xiombarg, Michael S. Miller, Emily Care, Paganini, neelk, ScottM, contracycle.

5/13/2004 Ravien: Let's Do This Now
I think this is the correct forum for this topic because a)I am an RPG game designer, b)This topic concerns me and my game, and c)When it comes down to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ravien, Rob Carriere, contracycle, Nicolas Crost, Andrew Martin, xiombarg, greyorm, Walt Freitag, Valamir, Christopher Kubasik, Ron Edwards, simon_hibbs.

5/13/2004 Thuringwaethiel: Transsexed plot twist: freeware idea
Though I checked only briefly, I believe this hasn't been brought up yet.. The idea spawned from several topic about cross-gender playing. Some influence came from the Depression RPG, too.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Thuringwaethiel, AnyaTheBlue, ethan_greer, taalyn, DannyK, Andrew Martin.

5/13/2004 Dev: Roleplaying Higher (posthuman?) Beings
So I'm looking at how to develop over at Orion's Arm, since the possibility of playing (or at least dealing with) higher level intelligences is a big deal. Check the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, Green, xiombarg, M. J. Young, Noon, Rob Carriere, simon_hibbs, Scourge108, contracycle, wicked_knight, neelk, Dauntless, Erling Rognli, Ravien, Andrew Morris, Blankshield.

5/14/2004 AnyaTheBlue: Gender: Dead horse flogging!
This is probably going to be pretty long, but I ask that you bear with me. It's quite possible that it's too far outside the scope of the Forge to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: AnyaTheBlue, John Harper, Jack Spencer Jr, Eric J-D.

5/14/2004 Paul Czege: intentionally risking the personal
Hey Chad, In your thread about your third Dead Inside playtest, you wrote: They all were slightly more amenable to *intentionally* exploring personal (that is, their own) psychological…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paul Czege, matthijs, chadu, Mike Holmes, Valamir, Ron Edwards, AnyaTheBlue, Jack Spencer Jr, Noon.

5/15/2004 Noon: The game of social contract forging
From the 'A Hard Look at Dungeons and Dragons' article No wonder people either idealize or vilify their youthful experiences playing D&D. On the one hand, it was you and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, bcook1971, Asrogoth, clehrich, Ron Edwards.

5/15/2004 Asrogoth: The Bleeding Edge
In the thread Perceptions of Civility at the Forge, the discussion turned to the bland-ness of "recent" rpg design, especially here at the Forge. If considering the rpg…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Asrogoth, Jonathan Walton, Noon, Valamir, Hunter Logan, Jack Spencer Jr, greyorm, M. J. Young, pete_darby, Ron Edwards.

5/15/2004 bcook1971: Force and Pressing for Action
I've been thinking about Force a bit. I understand it to be a technique by which the GM makes significant decisions for the PCs. It implies the concept of Input…
In RPG Theory
Participants: bcook1971, Ian Charvill, contracycle, Noon, M. J. Young.

5/15/2004 sirogit: Hunter Logan: "Dice-driven railroading"?
In that Bleeding Edge thread, Hunter Logan said Parts of it are flat-out fucking brilliant. But other parts are not quite so brilliant, and it seems to me that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Hunter Logan, greyorm, Ian Charvill, Trevis Martin, Ron Edwards.

5/16/2004 Ravien: Kill Bill Inspired Mechanics
Forge Notebook Entry #2: Kill Bill Inspired Mechanics. Yeah, saw Kill Bill the other day, kicked myself for not seeing it at the cinemas, then immediately went and saw Kill…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ravien, Valamir, anonymouse, Ben Morgan, Andrew Martin, Rob Carriere, John Harper, Trevis Martin, Andrew Morris, dalek_of_god, M. J. Young, frictorious, Sledgeman, Dumirik.

5/17/2004 Autocrat: Setting...insight....
OK, OK.......people have tossed this one back and forth, too and fro since the dawn of RPG's........ right then, as far as I have been reading it... there are those…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Autocrat, fruitbatinshades, Matt, Ravien, M. J. Young, hanschristianandersen, wicked_knight, Zak Arntson, clehrich, lumpley, timfire, Henri, simon_hibbs, Mike Holmes, Tomas HVM, Tobias.

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