Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

6/8/2005 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.

6/8/2005 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 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.

6/7/2005 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.

6/7/2005 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 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.

6/2/2005 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.

6/2/2005 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.

6/1/2005 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.

6/1/2005 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.

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.

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.

5/30/2005 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.

5/28/2005 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.

5/27/2005 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.

5/26/2005 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.

5/26/2005 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 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 James_Nostack: n00bies: Why, and What Happened Next?
I am curious about why people, particularly adults, choose to participate in roleplaying games for the first time. I am also curious about how they reacted to (a) the game…
In RPG Theory
Participants: James_Nostack, GB Steve, Selene Tan, Mike Holmes, greyorm, Bankuei, M. J. Young, komradebob, GameLoft.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

6/11/2005 Technocrat13: Setting and the SIS
As part of my own personal Fantasy Heartbreaker, I've been working on formalizing collaborative setting creation. I've had a few thoughts that I'd like to present here for discussion &…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Technocrat13, Jasper, Noon, Justin A Hamilton, Marco, xenopulse, Mike Holmes, contracycle.

6/12/2005 Frank T: A tackle at immersion
This thread is a more abstract sequel to my Actual Play thread On immersion, fascination, and precious moments. While the term “immersion” is used with a variety of meanings, there…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Frank T, Mikko Lehtinen, lumpley, ErrathofKosh.

6/13/2005 Sean: Conflict v. Task Resolution: An Outmoded Distinction?
I tend to think that it is lately. I'm happy to be smacked down though. I think that they're just examples of different kinds of stakes-input into the resolution mechanics.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, GB Steve, Andrew Morris, Valamir, xenopulse, Bankuei, Emily Care, Gordon C. Landis.

6/13/2005 TonyLB: I want to roll more dice!
You know what I've heard an awful lot? "Why would you roll dice to argue / manipulate / race / whatever if it's possible to resolve the same conflict between…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Gaerik, Matt Wilson, Warren, C. Edwards, Alan, John Kim, GB Steve, Noon, Remko, Sean, Technocrat13, ErrathofKosh, Andrew Norris, CCW, M. J. Young.

6/13/2005 John Kim: Known Cause and Conflict Resolution
OK, per Simon's request, I'm splitting this out of the recent thread Between-the-lines Conflict Resolution . What I'd like to talk about is the case of resolution which…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Valamir, xenopulse, Sean, TonyLB, Silmenume, Mike Holmes.

6/14/2005 Andrew Morris: Side thought on mainstreaming RPGs
Sparked by the What is Main Stream gaming? Another Look. thread, I started wondering if the content is the only issue, or even the main one. Perhaps it's more a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andrew Morris, Technocrat13, Gaerik, Sean, Mike Holmes, contracycle.

6/14/2005 mjstahl: To write as fiction, or as a manual.
Hello again everyone, I have been thinking about a lot of things since I started 'physically' working on Good Intentions, and one of them is how the text should be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: mjstahl, Mike Holmes, Brand_Robins, Alan, MarkMeredith, Troy_Costisick, Kriegsaffe No. 9, Eva Deinum, Danny_K.

6/14/2005 Sean: One More Mainstream Note
I totally agree with the idea of bringing RPGs to new, underexplored mainstream areas, and selling RPGs to 'non-roleplayers' through mainstream venues. I think it's great that a lot of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, xenopulse, Andrew Morris, Brand_Robins, gsoylent, Andrew Norris.

6/16/2005 Resonantg: [Orion's Arm] Too many skills?
An issue that's been popping up in my game design for OA has been making me wonder if I'm in the minority. I just wanted to get a survey of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Resonantg, Eero Tuovinen, Andrew Morris, Valamir, Troy_Costisick.

6/16/2005 Darcy Burgess: Strong Foundations: Good games where PCs are v.similar
I'm trauling for some ideas, sounds pretty theoretical to me. I'm currently wrestling with finding a way to make a game "interesting" when all of the PCs are essentially identical…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Darcy Burgess, GB Steve, TonyLB, timfire, Andrew Morris, gsoylent, Jasper, Troy_Costisick, Harlequin, Chad Sonderberg.

6/18/2005 epweissengruber: (OT) "Nomic" Games and Rule Governed Self-Amendmen
A while back I posted a speculative note] regarding rule-governed transformation of play space. I got a number of useful responses. Recently, I have uncovered a type of game that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: epweissengruber, Walt Freitag, Jeph, Noon, Adam Dray, Doug Ruff, MatrixGamer.

6/18/2005 thapheonix: one player campaign
A'ight, here's the deal. I'm trying to make a game where you have all the experiences of a regular rpg, except, you fight on a gridded board in a tactical,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: thapheonix, Noon, Kriegsaffe No. 9, Troy_Costisick.

6/21/2005 Simon Marks: Reward Systems in LRP
Ok, after taking some time to think abouty it, I'm going to punt this one out to the field. In Ron's article "GNS and other matters of roleplay theory", he…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Simon Marks, Andrew Morris, Albert of Feh, Noon, Harlequin, J. Tuomas Harviainen, M. J. Young, Vaxalon.

6/22/2005 preludetotheend: Seperation anxiety.
Well, folks I figure this would be the forum to go to, you see I want to get rid of stats in my game. I am running off a more…
In RPG Theory
Participants: preludetotheend, TonyLB, Troy_Costisick, contracycle, Noon.

6/22/2005 LordCarter: Newbie Designer on the Verge. Looking for Tips...
Hello all, this is my first post on the Forge. From reading Ron's article, seems like he's got a good bead on the industry. I had some ideas for a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LordCarter, ethan_greer, Troy_Costisick, Jack Aidley, Adam Dray, Victor Gijsbers, Eero Tuovinen, xenopulse, Remko, Erick Wujcik.

6/24/2005 TonyLB: Why adventure at all?
Most RPGs you will ever find have two elements: Adventure and Kewl Powerz. Even games that clearly do not focus on such things most often include them. White Wolf's various…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Andrew Morris, Troy_Costisick, Eva Deinum, Remko, Victor Gijsbers, Andrew Norris, Alan, Noon, Bankuei, John Kim, Eero Tuovinen, Melinglor, Vaxalon, M. J. Young, Itse.

6/24/2005 Gaerik: Collaborative Character Creation
In most of the games my players are used to playing, character creation is strictly a solitary process. In D&D, for example, the creation process is where everyone sits down…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Gaerik, Andrew Morris, timfire, John Harper, Paul Czege, Vaxalon, Andrew Norris, M. J. Young.

6/25/2005 David Bapst: Sim Centralization - Dependency on the GM and Alternatives
So, I've been giving my collection a partial read through lately, partly spurned on by a friend to "fix" a system we used to play (Long story why: I argued…
In RPG Theory
Participants: David Bapst, Noon, komradebob, John Kim, Lee Short, timfire, John Burdick, M. J. Young.

6/26/2005 Troy_Costisick: What is the function of Kewl Powerz
Heya, In this thread Tony wrote this: My argument is that they address something that is hard to address in other ways. Which is why, in fact, games without them…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Troy_Costisick, KingstonC, Jeph, Remko, Andrew Morris, Noon, TonyLB, Doug Ruff, Sydney Freedberg, chadu, HMT, Vaxalon, timfire, John Kim, Simon Marks, Artanis, Brand_Robins, xenopulse, Eero Tuovinen, Itse, cruciel.

6/28/2005 David Bapst: Simulationist Reward Systems
What are the reward systems that support a Simulationist CA? I seem to have found several types that are repeated over and over again, but I’m unsure if they really…
In RPG Theory
Participants: David Bapst, Nathan P., beingfrank, Gaerik, John Kim, Rob Carriere, M. J. Young, Silmenume.

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