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In RPG Theory

7/24/2004 Ragnar Deerslayer: Help me drift Call of Cthulhu
I’m running a BRP CoC game. I enjoy its emphasis on exploring situation, but its sanity mechanics suggest that it might also be very enjoyable to explore character. I have…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ragnar Deerslayer, Pagrin, Mike Holmes, b_bankhead.

7/24/2004 Dev: Kitchen-sinking: Kick the habit!
I looked over about a year of notes on a setting I've been working on. The progress here has been tyrannically slow, since I'm inherently indecisive, and it was all…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, John Kim, TonyLB, bcook1971, komradebob, NN, Mike Holmes, Noon.

7/23/2004 nikola: Comments & observations about short games
I've been working on a couple of games for a little while now, playing a few here and there too, and have some observations that I'd like to see refuted,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: nikola, M. J. Young, lumpley, dewey, bcook1971, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards.

7/23/2004 Paganini: Player ignorance, Lumpley Principle, and Setting
So, according to the Lumpley Principle, System is the means by which the contents of the SiS is negotiated into place. The purpose of System is not to model the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Noon, Ron Edwards, Blankshield, John Kim, M. J. Young, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

7/22/2004 statisticaltomfoolery: What is the Zero RPG?
I've seen it referenced a few times around, and in a strongly positive fashion, but I can't find hide nor hair of it on here or on the web. Can…
In RPG Theory
Participants: statisticaltomfoolery, MajorKiz, Paganini.

7/22/2004 Doctor Xero: Game Master IS System: One (of many) Types of Gaming
[quote="in the proposition: background and foreground thread, lumpley"]If I say "my guy punches through the drywall," what has to happen [i]among the real people playing[/i] before we all agree that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Doctor Xero, Matt Snyder, ErrathofKosh, Valamir, TonyLB, M. J. Young, Christopher Weeks, tani autumnwood, Noon.

7/19/2004 contracycle: proposition: background and foreground
This is an attempt to square the apparent circle in which setting, situation, and system have become confused. I want to propose some setting-specific terminology to clear up this mess.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: contracycle, Marco, efindel, lumpley, Noon, M. J. Young, ErrathofKosh, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Silmenume, Christopher Weeks, John Kim.

7/19/2004 Noon: Being in the band and second audience
The analogy that a RP group is like being in a band is often used and pretty apt. But does it extend even further? For example, in places like RPG.net…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Vaxalon, Pagrin, Doctor Xero, timfire, M. J. Young.

7/18/2004 Jonathan Walton: Representation & Your Message
So I was talking with Emily Care over PM, and I was regretting that I hadn't waited a bit later to write Girls Don't Roleplay for my RPGnet column, because…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Ravien, Bankuei, Paul Czege, LordSmerf, Noon, Rich Forest, MR. Analytical, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, SrGrvsaLot, contracycle, Doctor Xero, John Kim.

7/17/2004 Miskatonic: My suggested replacement for Bang
So I was re-reading Ron's Narrativism essay on the bus today, and came up with a much more compelling phrase for "Bang." Hot Potato You like? I like. To me…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Miskatonic, John Kim, Alan, Bankuei.

7/16/2004 Dev: One Hour Challenges
I was talking with Henri today post-game, about preferred lengths of gametime, and I mentioned that I hoped to get my GMing skills down to where you could play a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, Paul Czege, Victor Gijsbers, Tim C Koppang, Ron Edwards, Rob Carriere, Noon, komradebob.

7/15/2004 ADGBoss: Setting as Part of System (Long)
In this thread. John Kim wrote: So here's the big question. So creating new characters in Timelord is a change to the system, just as much so as changing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ADGBoss, ErrathofKosh, Lxndr, John Harper, M. J. Young, Ben Lehman, Ron Edwards, John Kim, lumpley, simon_hibbs.

7/15/2004 madelf: consequences of magic
I need a sounding board, and you folks always work well for that sort of thing. I'm trying to chase down an idea that's floating around in my head about…
In RPG Theory
Participants: madelf, Jaik, Victor Gijsbers, beingfrank, M. J. Young, contracycle, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Gamskee, Radecave le Scribouillard, simon_hibbs, Eric J..

7/15/2004 Ben Lehman: Wait, What Matters Again?
Wait, what Matters again? Or The Extent of Sys Or "If you have a D&D game without orc-killing, is it Drift?" Or "No complete RPG will ever be made." Jargon…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ben Lehman, contracycle, Paganini, Marco, Kesher, John Kim, lumpley, Bankuei, efindel, John Harper, M. J. Young, MR. Analytical, Rob Carriere, Ron Edwards, Frank T, Tim C Koppang, TooManyGoddamnOrcs.

7/14/2004 timfire: Freedom where you want it
Over in the Narrativism & Force thread, I thought Henri made an insightful comment that seemed to get largely ignored. I think the answer is that the definition of Force…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, Mike Holmes, Doctor Xero, M. J. Young, Noon, Marco, MR. Analytical, Jaik, beingfrank, Tomas HVM.

7/14/2004 Shreyas Sampat: Applied Design: Star Wars Shadows
This idea's been bubbling in my head for awhile, so I thought I'd toss it up in here as an example of what you can do with a cool game…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Shreyas Sampat, Marhault, Victor Gijsbers, Jesse Paulsen.

7/13/2004 Sydney Freedberg: Emotions Mechanics II: Emotion as Power
Over in the thread Emotion Mechanics and Losing Control of Your Character, the question, "is it okay for a system to tell you how your character feels and what…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sydney Freedberg, Eero Tuovinen, ErrathofKosh, TonyLB, John Kim, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, Marhault, captain_bateson, Ravien, contracycle.

7/13/2004 TonyLB: Explicit and Emergent Rules
As I design, I increasingly encounter the choice between making rules that explicitly say "The game will be played in such and so a manner" and building a mathematical system…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Andrew Morris, timfire, Shreyas Sampat, Valamir, Noon.

7/9/2004 Doctor Xero: a player's loss of freedom and control: a bit of a rant
I read in many postings various asides complaining about this loss of control or that loss of control as being universally and incontrovertibly abhorrent. I disagree. We all surrender freedoms…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Doctor Xero, Kesher, Bankuei, Orec, Paul Watson, greyorm, Noon, MR. Analytical, NN, TooManyGoddamnOrcs, Valamir, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, Tomas HVM, Bill C. Cook, Marco.

7/8/2004 Kesher: The care & feeding of Behavior Mechanics...
I'm interested in people's thoughts on "behavior mechanics"; they get used in many different ways, & as I've been working on a Narrativist-centered game, I find the system's addressment of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kesher, Sydney Freedberg, TonyLB, Bankuei, John Kim, MR. Analytical.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

7/26/2004 Jay: Card-Based Resolution
Hi, I started this thought in another thread, but thought to start a new thread rather than confuse my prior post with other tangents. What are your experiences, thoughts, comments…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jay, JimmyB, Vaxalon, Andrew Morris, M. J. Young, dewey, Zoetrope10, simon_hibbs, TooManyGoddamnOrcs, Ron Edwards, John Kim, calebros, Doug Ruff.

7/26/2004 mindwanders: Addressing the problems with Applying the GNS theory to LARP
Hi folks, I've been doing some thinking About LARPs and GNS. What I've written below is potentially the first in a series of articles about applying GNS ideas to LARP…
In RPG Theory
Participants: mindwanders, M. J. Young, Merten, Matt, Andrew Morris.

7/26/2004 mindwanders: Applying the GNS theory to LARP Part 2
Hi folks, I've been doing some thinking About LARPs and GNS. What I've written below is potentially the second in a series of articles about applying GNS ideas to LARP…
In RPG Theory
Participants: mindwanders, PlotDevice, Merten, JamesSterrett, M. J. Young, newsalor, calebros.

7/27/2004 Jack Aidley: Task, conflict, scene, session and story resolution
I've been thinking a lot lately about Conflict resolution - I've actually been struggling with fitting ranged weapons and magic into it, but that isn't what this thread is about.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Aidley, dewey, Christopher Weeks, Ron Edwards, lumpley.

7/27/2004 mindwanders: Character goal based reward systems
I'm looking for examples of some games that use character goal based reward systems. Unfortunately with my limited knowledge of game systems I'm not aware of any. Ideally I'd prefer…
In RPG Theory
Participants: mindwanders, Vaxalon, xiombarg, Mike Holmes, efindel, Lxndr.

7/27/2004 Paganini: System - what it is - a Rant
All this flap about system is really bugging me. So I will commence ranting. Also, last night on IRC, Vaxalon explained to me that he feels frustrated 'cos the Forge…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Vaxalon, xiombarg, John Kim, lumpley, contracycle, mindwanders, Nicolas Crost, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Apocalypse.

7/27/2004 Vaxalon: The meaning of Big-S "System"
Here's a little story about a game group. The lines are numbered for easy reference. Please tell me which of these lines refer to an activity that is part of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Vaxalon, xiombarg, Christopher Weeks, lumpley, John Kim, Mike Holmes.

7/27/2004 Mike Holmes: The meaning of Big R "Rules"
In Vaxalon's post here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=12144 he discussed the term System. I was hoping to get some treatement of the term Rules as it pertains. It seems to me that one…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, xiombarg, Christopher Weeks, Vaxalon, lumpley, M. J. Young.

7/27/2004 lumpley: Reminder: Credibility
Assent underlies each moment of play. At each moment of play, if any single player doesn't fully assent to the imagined events of the game, play stops and the group…
In RPG Theory
Participants: lumpley, Christopher Weeks, Noon.

7/29/2004 Jonathan Chung: What makes a good Adventure?
While the subject is a bit broad I hope to clarify my question shortly. I have been playing for a reasonable amount of time, ~ 10 years or so at…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Chung, Bankuei, greedo1379, M. J. Young, Negilent, NN, Apocalypse, Comte, Doctor Xero, Troy_Costisick.

7/29/2004 jdagna: Making a Game About Survival?
I'm mulling over the seeds of what might be a new game, but I'm running into some mental blocks with it. Since the game isn't even a full seed, I'm…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jdagna, Zak Arntson, Tomas HVM, Michael S. Miller, JamesSterrett, timfire, M. J. Young, anonymouse, contracycle, Ron Edwards, trechriron, Vaxalon, keithn, Doug Ruff, Mandacaru, Bill_White, Mithras.

7/30/2004 ephemere: traits and skills threads, please
Hi, Newcomer, working on my game -- just wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of threads that deal with the division of character abilities between traits and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ephemere, Ron Edwards, Mark Johnson.

7/31/2004 Vaxalon: An answer to Mike's Standard Rant #4, stat/skill systems
[quote="Mike Holmes"] What we're looking for is a system that produces characters that are: 1. limited in overall effectiveness by some method. 2. composed of choices that are motivated by…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Vaxalon, TonyLB, Mike Holmes.

8/1/2004 Vaxalon: Hanging out
From the Traveller thread in Actual Play: "Lots of people don't like the pressure of having to come up with their own material. They just want to hang out or…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Vaxalon, xiombarg, Ron Edwards, Valamir, jdagna, LordSmerf, Noon, Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, bcook1971, rdl, DannyK, Doctor Xero.

8/2/2004 Vaxalon: A Mathematician Speaks: Rolling dice
Okay, this is me trying to be helpful and offering what I know. I tried to see if it was covered before, elsewhere, and I don't see it, but I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Vaxalon, Ron Edwards, newsalor, LordSmerf, GB Steve, Noon, Valamir, Kesher, mindwanders, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, NN, John Kim, Jay, jphannil, Itse, Christopher Weeks, simon_hibbs, ErrathofKosh, Walt Freitag, Jack Aidley.

8/2/2004 JamesDJIII: I Killed the Game?
In reading over http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=12207, I remembered some off-hand comments from last Thursday's game night. One of the people at the table mentioned while looked at a (currently) unused Exalted character…
In RPG Theory
Participants: JamesDJIII, Ron Edwards, Kesher, Bankuei, captain_bateson, Noon, xiombarg, Dr. Velocity.

8/2/2004 Sean: A note on Balance
I just posted this in response to something SteveD wrote on rpg.net and thought it might be of interest here too. ---------- At least two different things get called balance:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, Vaxalon, Ron Edwards, Marco, ADGBoss, Mike Holmes, NN, PlotDevice, bcook1971, Precious Villain, Doplegager, Doug Ruff, Troy_Costisick.

8/2/2004 ADGBoss: CRPGs, SIS, and SOlo Play: Is it Role Playing?
The subject of CRPG’s was brought up in this thread in Site Discussion and it brought to my mind a few ideas and questions which I thought might be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ADGBoss, Vaxalon, newsalor, Eero Tuovinen, Blankshield, lumpley, M. J. Young, Noon, ErrathofKosh, Christopher Weeks, contracycle, JamesSterrett, simon_hibbs, Andrew Morris, Ron Edwards.

8/2/2004 newsalor: What is a roleplaying game?
I know that this is an old question, but it should be the first question to be asked. What is a roleplaying game? What is roleplaying? I know several definitions,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: newsalor, Sean, lumpley, Tim C Koppang, Jack Aidley, Ron Edwards, Jonathan Walton, M. J. Young, Noon, simon_hibbs, Blankshield, timfire, Christopher Weeks, Silmenume.

8/2/2004 Noon: Non game system reward for your use
This is actually from issue 229 of roleplaying tips. One of the many contributors to it gave this (some of it snipped out by myself). The author of this is…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Mike Holmes, ethan_greer, Silmenume, mindwanders.

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