Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

9/29/2004 Dauntless: When does combat resolution become too slow?
My system currently has quite a few factors to be considered during the play of combat. Most of it also requires quite a bit of record keeping. While I haven't…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dauntless, TonyLB, Noon, Andrew Martin, Jack Aidley, Vaxalon, Shreyas Sampat, John Kim, DannyK, John Uckele, contracycle, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, Precious Villain, bcook1971, Doug Ruff, LordSmerf, Ben Lehman.

9/29/2004 Dauntless: A look at skills
I've been beating my head against a wall trying to decide exactly how I want to implement skills in my game. First off, let me introduce what I call the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dauntless, Andrew Martin, Dr. Velocity, TonyLB, M. J. Young.

9/29/2004 timfire: [Design Theory] Decision-Points?
This is an idea that I've had before, but wasn't able to articulate very well. But now I think I can articulate it better. I'm calling this a 'decision-point' in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, Michael S. Miller.

9/28/2004 Doyce: Game supplements: using the rules and dropping the Setup
[Originally mis-posted in Lumpley Games -- my bad.] In reading a ton of great one-sheets and "Variation" proposals for everything from Sorcerer to Trollbabe to My Life with Master to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Doyce, timfire, hanschristianandersen, DannyK, b_bankhead, M. J. Young, lumpley.

9/27/2004 Sean: Rehabilitation by New Example
T.S. Eliot once put forward the theory that a serious work of art changes the meaning of the tradition leading up to it. That is, when an artist creates an…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, Noon, DannyK, Mark D. Eddy, Ron Edwards.

9/26/2004 jburneko: Social Contract and Automation
Hello Everyone, It's been a while since I posted. Most of that is due to the fact that I'm getting married at the end of October and because I have…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jburneko, clehrich, Rob MacDougall, Noon.

9/25/2004 Sean: IIEE in EABA
This past week, inspired by the Ythrek setting, I bought Greg Porter's EABA rules to see what the underlying mechanics he had in mind for the setting were. My first…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, Noon, ChefKyle, madelf.

9/21/2004 Marco: Safewords in Gaming
In a thread from Actual Play Ron wrote: 1. No one hoses the bejesus out of a character like his own player. I was thinking about this.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Marco, Ben Lehman, xiombarg, lumpley, Ron Edwards, Blankshield, John Kim, Noon, clehrich, Madeline, Jinx, Walt Freitag, Erling Rognli, M. J. Young, Jonathan Walton, List, Doug Ruff.

9/21/2004 KorbanDream: Universe - (SMS A-RPG) - Continuity...
Hi all. Sorry I've been away. (I've been refining my life). This post is mainly aimed at M. J. Young who offered help on the Universe's Continuity dilemma but it's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: KorbanDream, M. J. Young.

9/21/2004 Eric J.: Pyron and the Galactic Frenzy
Alright, I admit it. I play computer games. If you've ever played Star control, or Master of Orion you know what I'm talking about. No? Well let's try this: Age…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Eric J., Nathan P., simon_hibbs, xiombarg, Ben Morgan, Vaxalon, Negilent.

9/19/2004 Noon: Group bonus determination for situations
I was thinking of a system where it isn't left to GM fiat to decide if a bonus is given. On top of that the system wouldn't be crunchy, so…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Andrew Martin, Doug Ruff, inky, M. J. Young, Doctor Xero.

9/17/2004 contracycle: Situation and Tension
I've been looking for a structural model of the RPG game again. Note, the actual game played at the table, not the rules text or anything else. So I mean…
In RPG Theory
Participants: contracycle, TonyLB, Marco, M. J. Young, John Kim.

9/16/2004 Homogenized Press: Die Pool Mechanic
I've been struggling to come up with our own "house" mechanic for a while. Our projects are presently constructed around the d20 System & OGL, and I'm finding it increasingly…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Homogenized Press, TonyLB, Walt Freitag, DannyK, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, btrc, Noon.

9/16/2004 Inner Circle Inc: How much is too much for a character sheet?
A simple question with no complex theory needed: At which point does a character sheet contain too much or too little? In my experience, there are two extremities that one…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Inner Circle Inc, John Kim, Vaxalon, ErrathofKosh, John Uckele, Dr. Velocity, ScottM, Ben Morgan, Doctor Xero, ffilz, eef, Noon, M. J. Young, Lisa Padol, Adorame.

9/15/2004 Mike Holmes: PC Secrets
This topic has been discussed, I'm aware, as part of other related topics, but I couldn't find any threads that were dedicated to this. If you have references please provide…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, timfire, pete_darby, Blankshield, M. J. Young, John Kim, Paul Czege, contracycle, Shreyas Sampat, Ron Edwards, Alan.

9/15/2004 Frank The Pug: Where does this mechanic break down?
I'm trying to devise the simplest mechanic possible while still playing within a fairly structured ruleset. The basic of this mechanic is Attribute+Trait+Skill+d10 vs TN. There are three attributes: Body,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Frank The Pug, Mark D. Eddy, TonyLB, John Uckele, timfire, Precious Villain, btrc.

9/14/2004 daMoose_Neo: RP'ing and Acting
Hmmkay, maybe its late and my mind is working in an odd direction, but something just hit me reading Playing two games. My first thought, reading the second post (specifically…
In RPG Theory
Participants: daMoose_Neo, Doug Ruff, Noon, pete_darby, Person, LordSmerf, Doctor Xero, Ron Edwards, clehrich.

9/13/2004 Kit: A basic dice/action mechanic
This probably isn't terribly revolutionary (indeed I know it's not, as the basic concept is simply stolen and generalised from other games), but in the homebrew I'm fiddling with I'm…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kit, eef, Ron Edwards, John Uckele, zephyr_cirrus, ffilz, TonyLB, M. J. Young.

9/13/2004 Darcy Burgess: Flashbacks & Predetermination
I'm working on a one-shot Godlike adventure as a "going away" present for a friend who's jetting off to Japan for a year. I'd like to structure the adventure as…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Darcy Burgess, Nathaniel, jdagna, John Uckele, neelk, M Jason Parent, teucer, Troy_Costisick, Rob MacDougall.

9/11/2004 Inner Circle Inc: Death and Dying
After contemplating Strife’s combat system, as well as discussing the benefit and disadvantages of said combat system, I’ve come up with the following models of character injury and death, note,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Inner Circle Inc, Ron Edwards, Doug Ruff, Lathan, Erling Rognli, mindwanders, timfire, Doctor Xero.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

9/30/2004 LordSmerf: Reasons for cross-gender play
I am a male. I play female characters in roughly 40% of my games. I was idly wondering about that the other day when i realized why i do it.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LordSmerf, Vaxalon, beingfrank, Ben Lehman, Emily Care, Matt Wilson, Paul Czege, DannyK, Dr. Velocity, M Jason Parent, Sydney Freedberg, Roger, Ron Edwards, jrs, John Kim, M. J. Young, Ravien, List, Baraboo, John Uckele.

9/30/2004 timfire: Design equals... Play?
[quote="Jonathon (ErrathofKosh)"]Players design characters, GM's design settings and situations; those are considered play, so why wouldn't the game designer designing system be play?[/quote] I think this is a good topic…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, TonyLB, DannyK, Ron Edwards, greyorm, Walt Freitag, bcook1971, John Kim, Vaxalon, Wormwood, clehrich, ErrathofKosh, M. J. Young, ffilz, John Kirk, Caldis.

10/1/2004 Paka: What I've taken from different games. Lessons learned.
[b]Dust Devils: [/b]It forced me to loosen my grip on the game and realize that it is our game and not my game that is at the table due to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paka, Negilent.

10/1/2004 kwill: D&D documentary
a documentary called "The Dungeons & Dragons Experience" has been released on DVD and is reviewed here: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=12314 a quick google reveals other reviews also available - http://www.google.com/search?q=dungeons+dragons+experience - including…
In RPG Theory
Participants: kwill.

10/4/2004 Noon: What can rules actually contribute?
Specifically fortune orientated ones here (though quite likely it can apply to all the other types). What can they actually contribute? I'm wondering if there are really only two things:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, TonyLB, Alan, lumpley, Galwinganoon, timfire, Roger, Doug Ruff, M. J. Young, GB Steve, Technocrat13, Sean, Doctor Xero, Ben Lehman, Mike Holmes, simon_hibbs, clehrich, contracycle, Tomas HVM, John Kim.

10/4/2004 Grex: Elfs & Donjon
[b]Elfs[/b] and [b]Donjon[/b] are what really got me thinking, [i]deeply[/i], over what exactly a role-playing game is, and how it works. Coming from an old-school hack-and-slash RPG background, it really…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Grex.

10/5/2004 KorbanDream: Hello Again?
I just thought I'd pop back to say hello... Mindwanders - Thank you for all your help, cheers! Ron Edwards - Thank you for all your support. Everyone Else; thanks…
In RPG Theory
Participants: KorbanDream.

10/5/2004 Roger: Challenges For Gamists
I'm splitting this off from a different thread because I think it's a different topic, and an interesting one. I think that gender could quite easily become a Gamist…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Roger, TonyLB, Ron Edwards, timfire, M. J. Young.

10/5/2004 Green: Effects of One True Way on roleplaying experience
In a lot of online roleplaying communities, the concept of the One True Way to Roleplay gets a lot of criticism, but it's more or less based on the idea…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Green, Alan, Eero Tuovinen, Noon, greyorm, bcook1971, Marco, Doctor Xero, Ron Edwards, neelk, Sean, Mortaneus, ffilz, John Uckele, James Holloway, M. J. Young, simon_hibbs, Halzebier, Christopher Kubasik, clehrich, Cup of Iron, Jaik, Darksmith.

10/6/2004 JamesDJIII: IRC Protocol and online RPGs
I was wondering if any of your have had experience with playing RPGs via IRC (or similar chat mediums)? Do you know of any Social Contracts that explicitly deal with…
In RPG Theory
Participants: JamesDJIII, TonyLB, Vaxalon, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, LordSmerf, Valamir, greyorm, Marco, jdagna, Shreyas Sampat, b_bankhead, Green, Noon, GaryTP.

10/6/2004 Ron Edwards: Hacking
Hi there, Walt Freitag and I were kicking around some ideas through private messages, and then it seemed to evolve into something of general interest. Walt wrote (the first internal…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ron Edwards, ErrathofKosh, Shreyas Sampat, Roger, Noon, nellist, Walt Freitag, Alan, M. J. Young, Doug Ruff, TonyLB, GaryTP, Jonathan Walton.

10/8/2004 LordSmerf: Technique and Ephemera Inventory
So over the past couple of days i have been going back over a bunch of old threads trying to find some sort of comprehensive (heck, i would settle for…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LordSmerf, lumpley, Ron Edwards.

10/8/2004 Dauntless: Game Design methodology
I'm curious what approaches people here take on the systematic processes they use to design their game. How do you go about actually figuring out how to create your game?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dauntless, timfire, Tony Irwin, LordSmerf, M. J. Young, bcook1971, Shreyas Sampat, TonyLB, zephyr_cirrus.

10/10/2004 Halzebier: Compensating players for railroading
Both of my gaming groups currently run canned adventures (using the D&D Eberron series and the German DSA series of modules, respectively). This usually involves a lot of GM fiat.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Halzebier, efindel, Marco, Shreyas Sampat, ffilz, Noon, ragnar, madelf, TonyLB.

10/10/2004 Technocrat13: Mysteries. How do you run them? Is there another way?
Ok, so there was a thread recently that got my brain working on the idea of Mystery games. I started shuffling through random thoughts about the nature of the mystery…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Technocrat13, Zaidaco, teucer, Shreyas Sampat, Rob MacDougall, jdagna, M. J. Young, inky, Bankuei, clehrich, Green, komradebob, Lollo, Tim Alexander.

10/11/2004 zephyr_cirrus: The Price
Getting back to the original topic (sorry if this has already been said, I haven't the time to read the entire thread), maybe the person who dabbled in magic could…
In RPG Theory
Participants: zephyr_cirrus, Ron Edwards.

10/11/2004 Mark Johnson: Player Death
Have you ever had a player die in a long term campaign? Does the campaign continue? Does the player's character remain alive in the campaign? Does the player's character get…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mark Johnson, ffilz, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, SlurpeeMoney, jdagna, contracycle, Factor 8, Blankshield, daMoose_Neo, nikola, Riff Raff.

10/11/2004 bigsimon: A Diceless Resolution System using Resource Management
This is a repost from RPG.net, but I thought I'd run it by you guys (for those of you who don't browse that other site). Please keep in mind that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: bigsimon, Ben Lehman, TonyLB, dredd_funk, andy, LordSmerf, neelk, M. J. Young, simon_hibbs.

10/12/2004 Peter Nordstrand: Roleplaying with Kids
Hi, I've been searching for old threads (I know they are there) about roleplaying with kids. Apparently, I'm not very good at the search tool here at the Forge, so…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Peter Nordstrand, Arref, Ron Edwards, cappadocius, Green, hajons, ffilz, Jeremy, M. J. Young, TonyLB, nikola.

10/12/2004 ffilz: Balancing story continuity against player participation
[url=http://p222.ezboard.com/fokayyourturnfrm9.showMessage?topicID=2821.topic]This thread[/url] on Monte Cook's EzBoard has got me thinking about how to balance continuity of story against player participation. Many of my experiences as a player (as opposed to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ffilz, TonyLB, Thor Olavsrud, M. J. Young, Marco, bcook1971.

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