Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

5/25/2005 Ian Charvill: An alternative to 'the System is the Physics of the World'
The System is the Grammar of the World. I'm posting this from the point of view of starting up a new gaming group and explaining how I'm looking at things.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ian Charvill, Ben Lehman, John Burdick, epweissengruber, lumpley, Bill_White, MikeSands, Mike Holmes, Shreyas Sampat, Simon Marks, Marco.

5/25/2005 lev_lafayette: Real Time Enforcement
[quote="Walt Freitag"] .... This is a deliberately extreme example, going as far in the direction of "unimmersed (dispassionate) author stance" as the realtime technique ("Suddenly three bullets buzz past your…
In RPG Theory
Participants: lev_lafayette, Ron Edwards, Rodger Thorm.

5/24/2005 Rodger Thorm: Fear and confusion II (split)
[quote="Sydney Freedberg"] And the more I think about it, the more I think the solution is something along TonyLB's lines -- limiting the PLAYER'S knowledge of the situation to force…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Rodger Thorm, Thierry Michel, Yokiboy, Ron Edwards.

5/25/2005 daMoose_Neo: Enticing drawback vs. weaker-but-desireable Traits
Hmmkay, as I'm unsure how to summarize this in a couple words to search by, I'd like to ask the assistance of Forgites. A system/setting sprung to mind earlier today…
In RPG Theory
Participants: daMoose_Neo, TonyLB, GB Steve, Noon, Mike Holmes.

5/24/2005 Remko: Simulative Western RPG
Hi all, I'm searching for a simulative western RPG, basically one aimed at historical basis. I'm trying to create a system myself, because I haven't found a system created well…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Remko, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Troy_Costisick, kennin, Gaerik.

5/24/2005 Zachary The First: Is D20 Dead/Dying?
This is one of those little blurbs you see all around fringe gaming sites on the Net--the claim that d20 is infirmed, dead, or dying. Yet, according to WoTC, D&D…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Zachary The First, Remko, Miskatonic, Bankuei, timfire, John Kim, Mike Holmes.

5/23/2005 Remko: Aaaaahhhhh, or: the need for simulationism in Horror RPG's
Hi all, This is my first thread here on the Forge. I'm currently lurking about and I'm not sure whether this subject is already discussed, but still... Situation: I like…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Remko, Mike Holmes, xenopulse, GB Steve.

5/23/2005 Noon: Idea: Delayed GM
I was reading a thread on the palladium boards where someone asked about games with just one player and one GM (they can never get all three friends together). To…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Andrew Morris, contracycle, John Kim.

5/20/2005 TonyLB: Oracle Stance?
[quote="Ron Edwards"]I think it's crucial to understand there are two variables: in-character vs. out-of-character knowledge/perspective as starting constraint (yes or no); character motions/dialogue vs. objects/events external to the character. These…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Ron Edwards, John Burdick, neelk, Troy_Costisick.

5/20/2005 Yokiboy: Games with Conflict Resolution
All the threads regarding Conflict Resolution offer widely differing views on what it really is, and how it differs from Task Resolution. We all know of tons of games with…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Yokiboy, Gaerik, Andrew Morris, Valamir, greyorm, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, GameLoft.

5/20/2005 Eric J.: Telling a Story, Conveying a Theme: What does it mean?
Hey, everybody. This is Pyron. That's right. You will never get rid of me. Ever. I know I haven't posted in a long time (I almost posted once but a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Eric J., bcook1971.

5/20/2005 M. J. Young: Stance as Credibility Distribution
O.K., I'm actually sort of puzzling over something I wrote, and I thought I'd initiate some discussion on this to see if I'm off my rocker. I took a long…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, TonyLB, timfire, lumpley, Ron Edwards, Gaerik, John Kim, Mike Holmes.

5/20/2005 tj333: Success to Dice ratios
For affecting another character I’m looking at having a target number that must be reached on one roll. The player rolls a die pool(The die pool is the same for…
In RPG Theory
Participants: tj333, Eric J., Walt Freitag, Valamir, JMendes, HereticalFaction.

5/19/2005 John Kim: Non-violent Roleplaying
OK, so I recently came across some controversy on Vincent's blog, in his post on Paintball and little boy bullshit. This was followed up by Heroes Live, Cowards…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, TonyLB, lumpley, Justin A Hamilton, Noon, timfire, Trevis Martin, J. Tuomas Harviainen, Mikko Lehtinen, Marco, greyorm, Brendan, komradebob, Andrew Morris, J B Bell, MatrixGamer, Nathan P., Technocrat13, NN, Russell Impagliazzo, GB Steve, James Holloway, Mike Holmes, chadu, contracycle, Picador.

5/18/2005 MatrixGamer: What is Main Stream gaming? Another look.
One of the most intriguing ideas in the "Infamous Five" threads was the look at how D+D fantasy and superhero genres are not mainstream - instead things like horror, sex,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MatrixGamer, Jasper, Mike Holmes, Paul Czege, John Kim, quozl, Trevis Martin, Noon, Caldis, Brendan, M. J. Young, Remko, komradebob, gsoylent, cerbie, Valamir.

5/18/2005 Noon: Nar turns out to be a good gamist penalty to evade?
I was recently talking with my friends girlfriend, about her role playing past. I was curious as to what she enjoyed back then and why she hadn't continued now. I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, TonyLB, Alan.

5/17/2005 Darcy Burgess: Suggestions on running my first truly Narr game
Or, "switching gears for fun and profit" :) Here's a little background to the situation: - up until recently, I've been running a game set in the Star Wars universe…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Darcy Burgess, Gaerik, Bankuei, jburneko.

5/16/2005 foucalt: Gaming at the Senior Citizens Center?
Recently there was some attention paid to the fact that staying "mentally active" helps ward off Alzheimer's disease. I remember wondering whether roleplaying games might be a good way…
In RPG Theory
Participants: foucalt, Adam Dray, Mike Holmes, Andrew Morris, TonyLB, komradebob.

5/16/2005 zephyr_cirrus: Time - Battle Mechanic
Well, here's a time mechanic I came up with for use in the RPG that I'm currently working on. Just tell me what you think of it and what could…
In RPG Theory
Participants: zephyr_cirrus, Jasper, Lee Short, Albert of Feh.

5/13/2005 Thierry Michel: Random numbers (split)
Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I found recently exactly the type of thing I was thinking of here: Chance and wargames So if you had any interest…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Thierry Michel, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Bowen Simmons.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

5/26/2005 timfire: Emotional Engagement
Hi y'all, In the Indie forum, apparition13 asked how he can generate an emotional reponse from the players. This was my response: How do I set things up so that,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, Brendan, Matt Wilson, GB Steve, pasoliati, Michael S. Miller, Valamir.

5/26/2005 Mike Holmes: Narrative Voice
This is a topic that interests me a lot for some reason. I think it's been covered before, but mostly in parts of other threads (if you have a link…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, Andrew Morris, Harlequin, Danny_K, PlotDevice, John Kim, Victor Gijsbers, Trish2, M. J. Young.

5/26/2005 anonymouse: [dice-snippit-mechanic-dealy] Expected success vs actual
So I was re-reading Neuromancer the other day, and there's a passage pretty early on which got my attention this time. It's describing the social atmosphere of this city, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse.

5/27/2005 Remko: Using music to support emotions
Are there some persons familiar with this technique? I'm willing to try it, but I don't know how I shoud adress this and which type of music I should use...…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Remko, GameLoft, Domhnall.

5/28/2005 TonyLB: Tony's Standard Rant #2: Disagreement != Dysfunction
Reading Ben Lehman's excellent blog-post on Social Agenda I came upon this statement:In terms of grief players, well, we don't have anyone at the Forge claiming to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Ben Lehman, Jasper, Grover, Shreyas Sampat, James Holloway, Sydney Freedberg, Blankshield, John Burdick, Noon, bcook1971, contracycle, hyphz, Madeline, WhiteRat, John Kim, Brand_Robins, immlass, Ron Edwards.

5/30/2005 Roger: Recommended Exercises
I find it interesting that numerous people have seen the Fantasy Heartbreakers essay to be a sort of call-to-arms to create their own, as a learning exercise. I'm guessing this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Roger, Remko, TonyLB, Ben Lehman, Jasper, FzGhouL, Valamir, Paka, PlotDevice, Troy_Costisick, GB Steve, Noon, paulkdad, Justin A Hamilton, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, hix.

5/31/2005 SlurpeeMoney: Idea: Motivation as Attributes
Hey y'all. Just got back online (and I'm sure most of you don't remember me), but the Forge was one of the first places I hit. I've had an idea…
In RPG Theory
Participants: SlurpeeMoney, TonyLB, PlotDevice, Noon, Troy_Costisick, Picador, Ben Lehman.

5/31/2005 Sean: Dirt Simple Initiative Systems
OK: by Dirt Simple I mean that there is no complicated interplay between initiative and intent, execution, and effect. By 'complicated' I mean (1) moving back and forth between possible…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, timfire, Troy_Costisick, M. J. Young, Zoetrope10, cruciel, bcook1971, Kit, tj333, David Bapst.

6/1/2005 Sarah: Your take on combat systems
Hello I'm new here ^_^ My brother is making a rpg combat system, and I'd like to compare it with other existing systems to see how it fares. I'm sure…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sarah, bcook1971, FzGhouL, Bankuei, Victor Gijsbers, contracycle, Troy_Costisick, Sydney Freedberg.

6/1/2005 Torquemada: What is "Lifepath"?
Good day. {Please send this post to the right place if it doesn't belong here. Thanks.} I recently read a review of Burning Wheel and it mentioned a lifepath. I'm…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Torquemada, contracycle, Troy_Costisick, Picador, Trevis Martin, anonymouse, xiombarg, M. J. Young, xenopulse, Thor Olavsrud, Sydney Freedberg, Mike Holmes, Shim, groundhog, Resonantg.

6/2/2005 Kesher: A new take on the walking tour...
Okay, for reasons too convoluted to go into here I've been reading an old edition (1st, I think) of Rolemaster Character Law. On the experience table I noted that characters…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kesher, komradebob.

6/2/2005 Dauntless: Problem defining martial arts
I've been trying to come up with an extremely detailed martial arts system for a fantasy game I've been cooking up. The martial arts system will be extremely detailed since…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dauntless, TonyLB, Jasper, xenopulse, TheTris, Mike Holmes, Shreyas Sampat, Harlequin, yesala, Mortaneus, M. J. Young.

6/7/2005 Noon: Beyond crediblity
I'm going to cut straight to the chase: If you declare to a player you are pushing a vase off a balcony in game and that player then continues playing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Alan, TonyLB, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Sean, Marco, Harlequin, Silmenume, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, C. Edwards, Walt Freitag, Gordon C. Landis.

6/7/2005 John Kim: Types of Narrative Power
So I'd like to talk about narrative power. I'll break it down into different types and then discuss the impact of each. 1) Control of Characters 2) Influence over Resolution…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, TonyLB.

6/7/2005 Vaxalon: A word for "what do the PC's do?"
http://www.livejournal.com/users/mearls/97347.html#cutid1 "Core Story" What's the core story of YOUR game?
In RPG Theory
Participants: Vaxalon, pete_darby, Victor Gijsbers, Gaerik, Ron Edwards, TonyLB, contracycle, Brendan, mearls, xenopulse, Mike Holmes, paulkdad, Ben Lehman, PlotDevice, Lee Short, Paganini, Noon, Melinglor, Lord Shield, Valamir, hix.

6/8/2005 Valamir: Setting as Rules
In This Thread Its this sort of point of view that makes me think that certain setting elements are tantamount to system. If introducing elements into setting implies or compels,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Valamir, xenopulse, Ben Lehman, Ron Edwards, FzGhouL, Noon, Dauntless, SlurpeeMoney, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, pete_darby, Marhault.

6/8/2005 ejh: Fiduciary responsibility (split)
Holy cow. I never realized that 'james_west' wasn't 'James V. West.' Big brainshift reading that. I have a small and tangentially related response at my gaming blog, which references a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ejh, Ron Edwards, pete_darby, contracycle, Mike Holmes, John Kim, groundhog, Marco, Ben Lehman, Walt Freitag, cruciel.

6/8/2005 mjstahl: Experience Point Simulations
After reading the 'Indie Game Design' notes concerning posting policy, I decided to err on the side of caution, since there is no specific game to which this applies. As…
In RPG Theory
Participants: mjstahl, Andrew Morris, FzGhouL, komradebob, Ron Edwards, Warren, Troy_Costisick, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes.

6/10/2005 Simon Kamber: Between-the-lines Conflict Resolution
We had a discussion on a danish forum about conflict resolution and task resolution (on the what-is-it level). And as part of that, I've thought about something. In many games…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Simon Kamber, TonyLB, Gaerik, Marco, Harlequin, Valamir, John Kim, ErrathofKosh, Noon, Yokiboy, Troy_Costisick, M. J. Young.

6/10/2005 Resonantg: Immersive vs. Immedeate Character Creation
G'day people :c) A question came up with the game I currently have in development regarding character creation (CC). The issue is whether gamers prefer Immersive (read as Long) processes,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Resonantg, Jasper, Troy_Costisick, John Kim, Selene Tan, M. J. Young.

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