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In RPG Theory

7/26/2005 Clinton R. Nixon: A psychological model of role-playing
I've posted this on my weblog before, but it got about as much response as a newspaper boy at the front door. So, here's the "Clinton R. Nixon Real Deal…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Clinton R. Nixon, Paka, SlurpeeMoney, ewilen, John Kim, Noon, Miskatonic, ethan_greer, ADGBoss, Matt Snyder, Marco, Nathan P., cruciel, cognis.

7/25/2005 GB Steve: When does the conflict start - and why not roleplay it instead?
From this thread Capes Demo at DexCon 8: With the recent profusion of social resolution mechanics I've seen in a lot of indie games, I've been worried that they might…
In RPG Theory
Participants: GB Steve, Jack Aidley, Clinton R. Nixon, Simon Marks, simon_hibbs, greyorm, Gaerik, Matt Snyder, Bankuei, Doug Ruff, TonyLB, Valamir, Mark Woodhouse.

7/25/2005 haiiro: How did you learn to GM?
I posted a question this morning on Treasure Tables, my weblog for GMs: how did you learn to GM? My rambling answer is there, in the post ("How Did You…
In RPG Theory
Participants: haiiro, GB Steve, Clinton R. Nixon, simon_hibbs, TonyLB, Andrew Morris, Bankuei, Miskatonic, Justin Marx, ADGBoss, Remko, Noon, droog, Damballa.

7/24/2005 Mark Woodhouse: No power for me, thanks
This thread is an attempt to reorganize and elaborate on the proto-idea discussed in 'Creator or Fan?'http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=16088.0 The basic question I am wrestling with is: can players who refuse GM-like…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mark Woodhouse, Nogusielkt, John Kim, bcook1971, beingfrank, MR. Analytical, Jack Aidley, greyorm, Noon, ScottM.

7/24/2005 Justin Marx: GMless play seems to only work where everyone is a GM?
I have a tentative idea, which combines some of my thoughts that have emerged from other threads. I have noticed that playing styles which advocate a large degree of narrative…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Justin Marx, TonyLB, Vaxalon, Andrew Norris, komradebob.

7/24/2005 yesala: Big Setting + Open Character Gen = overwhelming!
I'm having a head scratching problem to do with character creation.  Since this issue can apply to any game, and I'm not looking for responses that are directly related to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: yesala, Ron Edwards, Justin Marx, simon_hibbs, Vaxalon, ragnar, LogicaLunatic.

7/23/2005 Sean: Immersion and Handling Time
One complaint that theorists here sometimes receive from immersionist tabletop gamers and members of the Scandinavian LARP scene basically boils down to the following argument: 1) I like immersion. 2)…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sean, Mark Woodhouse, Ron Edwards.

7/23/2005 Mark Woodhouse: Creator or fan?
This post originated in a thread at rpg.net. I will be posting a parallel thread there as well, as I really want to hear from a few people who won’t…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mark Woodhouse, SlurpeeMoney, Damballa, Clinton R. Nixon, Sean, Miskatonic, Ron Edwards, greyorm, xenopulse, John Kim, Marco, John, Alan.

7/21/2005 Dangerboy: Simplicity to Complexity: can you make a sliding scale rpg?
While working on a generic RPG system I started to think to myself, can you make an RPG system that's built on a sliding scale? Like if you set your…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dangerboy, Grand_Commander13, Shreyas Sampat.

7/21/2005 Blake T. Deakin: Party split-up
So, I've been running an old pre-written adventure called "Night of a Thousand Screams" for L5R. This is a classic, linear game. Tragically, a lot of players are familiar with…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Blake T. Deakin, Vaxalon, timfire, Andrew Norris, Troy_Costisick, Noon, ewilen.

7/20/2005 Andrew Morris: Turn-based structures in RPGs -- what are they good for?
Someone (RobNJ, I believe) recently pointed out that they dislike turn-based RPGs. Personally, I love 'em. Universalis, Capes, Ganakagok, Breaking the Ice...lots of my favorites use turns, in some form…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andrew Morris, TonyLB, komradebob, John Kim, John Harper, ewilen, bcook1971, Adam Dray, matthijs, Jack Aidley, Ron Edwards, Miskatonic, Valamir, Damballa.

7/20/2005 Hereward The Wake: RE Problem defining martial arts
This topic went quite while I was away. It is an area that I am very interested as I have been trying to something similar myself. Was anything developed from…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Hereward The Wake, Resonantg, Miskatonic, FzGhouL, Latigo, John Kim.

7/20/2005 Resonantg: How important is system complexity?
G'day people; My question may have been asked before, and if so, please refer me to any links I may have missed. :c) During the development of my game, I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Resonantg, TonyLB, Alan, FzGhouL.

7/19/2005 LandonSuffered: Race/Species in Fantasy RPGs: Is It Necessary?
This is another topic of discussion I’ve been aching to have, and I did not find any older threads on the Forge…if anyone has one, please post a link. Race…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LandonSuffered, ewilen, Shreyas Sampat, SlurpeeMoney, Troy_Costisick, simon_hibbs, zircher, Jack Aidley, Rob Carriere, Justin Marx, killacozzy, Green, contracycle, M. J. Young, madelf, RobNJ.

7/19/2005 LandonSuffered: Need for Experience/Improvement
For a lot of folks with even a little gamism in their agenda, one of the great enjoyments in role-playing is to see their character grow from a young, inexperienced…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LandonSuffered, Nogusielkt, Sean, Ron Edwards, Miskatonic, Silmenume, M. J. Young, Asen G, sophist, Justin Marx.

7/19/2005 LordCarter: Alternative Names for "Game Master"
I'm trying to come up with a different name for the "GM" in my RPG design. BACKGROUND 2415, Earth. The world is just waking up from a nuclear holocaust of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LordCarter, Andrew Morris, Vaxalon, LandonSuffered, Ron Edwards, Clinton R. Nixon, Troy_Costisick, 1of3, Jack Aidley, Miskatonic, gsoylent, indie guy, killacozzy.

7/19/2005 Paka: Discussion with my GMing Mentor
Jim is my gaming Qui-Gon.  He got me to GM when I was 13. But here's the thing, when I told him I didn't know the rules well enough to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paka, TonyLB, Technocrat13, LandonSuffered, Valamir, Bankuei, Nathan P., Sydney Freedberg, dyjoots, cruciel, Mencelus, contracycle, Andrew Norris, greyorm, Matt Snyder, Noon, Marco, Alan, Trevis Martin, Ria, Thor Olavsrud, Ron Edwards.

7/18/2005 Biggles: Objective vs. Subjective Difficulty
Hi all, First, very nice site. I've been lurking about for weeks, reading the articles and these forums, and I've been really enjoying myself. Thank you to everyone who wrote…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Biggles, Bankuei, bcook1971, Justin Marx, simon_hibbs.

7/17/2005 Matt Wilson: the balance of power - brainstorming
Hey. So if you've ever played Primetime Adventures, you know about Budget, which is my response to what I always considered a daunting task as GM, which is providing the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Wilson, xenopulse, matthijs, timfire, Bankuei, Clinton R. Nixon, Nathan P., Sydney Freedberg, bcook1971, Technocrat13, Ron Edwards, Miskatonic, chadu, contracycle, Sean, Adam Dray, spawky, John Harper, M. J. Young.

7/16/2005 Vaxalon: "Gandalf Did It"
[quote="sayter"] I dont see any reason why a mage cant be as good with a sword as a warrior. Gandalf did it, and countless other heroes in fantasy settings have.[/quote]…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Vaxalon, Alan, Noon, Uzzah, LandonSuffered, Silmenume, Clinton R. Nixon, Miskatonic, Ron Edwards, ADGBoss, jaw6, sayter.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

7/26/2005 Vaxalon: Reward systems need not be unified.
In "Narrativist games and "winning"? Ron says: I see reward systems as either being unified (perhaps with many interrelated parts, perhaps hierarchical parts) or broken - either the parts don't…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Vaxalon, TonyLB, timfire, Justin A Hamilton, Sean, Ron Edwards, ewilen, Jack Aidley, Paganini, cruciel, komradebob, Master Marx.

7/26/2005 greyorm: Immersion, Childishness, and Understanding
Over in the Creator or Fan? thread, an idea came up that was discussed (barely) regarding Immersion and whether or not it is healthy. I said something about the idea…
In RPG Theory
Participants: greyorm, John Kim, Thor Olavsrud, Clinton R. Nixon, ewilen, Mark Woodhouse, Ron Edwards, Frank T, Marco, Bankuei, J. Tuomas Harviainen, GB Steve, FroglarTBGE, xenopulse, contracycle, ADGBoss, Simon Marks, M. J. Young, James Holloway, Merten.

7/27/2005 Eero Tuovinen: Initializing the roleplaying experience
So, I'm fiddling with game design a little bit, and I'm thinking on what makes the social and psychological event of roleplaying possible. What, in general terms, are the things…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Eero Tuovinen, matthijs, komradebob, Trevis Martin, Miskatonic, Justin Marx, Jack Aidley, Paul Czege, Levi Kornelsen, rrr, ffilz.

7/28/2005 PrzeSzkoda: Character creation and immersion
Although I am posting this thread because I'm considering incorporating several ideas that I would like to discuss into a game I'm currently working on, I decided to do this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: PrzeSzkoda, Ron Edwards, GB Steve.

7/29/2005 Halzebier: [The Pool] Various Questions
Hi there! I've never played The Pool, but I'm planning to and reading up on it. A couple of questions remain and since the Random Order Creations forum is inactive,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Halzebier, Gaerik, Ron Edwards.

7/29/2005 Everspinner: Target Numbers, or the last bastion of GM fiat
Hello There is an area of game design that I have been wondering about for a while. Since it is something that must have been discussed before, I would appreciate…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Everspinner, GB Steve, Jack Aidley, daMoose_Neo, Noon, cruciel, Adam Dray, xenopulse, David Bapst, Gelasma, simon_hibbs, btrc, Andrew Norris, John Harper.

7/29/2005 Resonantg: Memetics in RPGs
I'm not sure if this has been discussed before, but my searches on the site proved fruitless, so I'll bring it up. In the game world I'm dealing with (Orion's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Resonantg, Alan, Miskatonic, Vaxalon, Noon, contracycle, LogicaLunatic.

7/31/2005 Paganini: Social Functionality
In this thread: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=16180 Ron wrote: When games like The Great Ork Gods and The Mountain Witch are seen as revolutionary, whereas in fact they merely accord with the bare…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Noon, Jack Aidley, Justin A Hamilton, Ron Edwards.

7/31/2005 cruciel: A Dice Mechanic Riddle
So, I'm sitting around my house eating lentils and praying for divine punishment on whatever dark force is both preventing me from sleeping and denying me the lucidity of wakefulness,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: cruciel, demiurgeastaroth, Matthew Chan.

7/31/2005 Levi Kornelsen: Desire, Action, Effect
Okay, simple challenge.  Pick something you did to change your game, and write it up something like this: 1. The change I wanted in my game was: Name something that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Levi Kornelsen, ephemere, Adam Dray, Nathan P..

7/31/2005 Andy Kitkowski: Gaming Theory Blogs That You Should Bookmark
Hey all, over on RPGNet I threw out a line to get links to several gaming theory blogs.  Since it sounds like some of the Forge's theory speak will (hopefully!)…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andy Kitkowski, chadu, Miskatonic, Paka, John Kim, Jonas Karlsson, haiiro, Grover, Ron Edwards, jaw6, Joshua BishopRoby.

8/2/2005 Silmenume: Regarding the "actual moment(s)” of Role-play.
Looking at the Big ModelTM we note that “play” is said to have actually commenced at the level described as “Exploration.”  So what has changed when the players switch from…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Silmenume, Alan, Nathan P., Justin A Hamilton, Simon Marks, Ron Edwards, Caldis, Joshua BishopRoby.

8/3/2005 Hereward The Wake: Restricting/controlling choices for combat
This comes from many of the discussions of desiging combat systems. Working under the stress of life or death combat, much of what the combatant does happens instinctivley, if one…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Hereward The Wake, LogicaLunatic, Troy_Costisick, bcook1971, Nogusielkt, Noon, simon_hibbs, drnuncheon, GB Steve, Black Iris Dancer, Valamir, M. J. Young, Justin Marx.

8/4/2005 M. J. Young: After Reading Cruciel's Dice Riddle
Cruciel's A Dice Mechanic Riddle got me thinking a bit, and although this lacks a few of the factors he wanted to include it struck me as an interesting mechanic…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, ffilz.

8/5/2005 agony: Moral Question, Author Stance, and the planted player
I've been a lurker for a short while now and will not pretend to know a great deal about GNS.  I was not quite sure if my post fit in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: agony, ScottM, Bankuei, M. J. Young.

8/5/2005 John Burdick: Connection between target numbers and purpose of dice resolution
In Target Numbers, or the last bastion of GM fiat and the earlier Difficulty/Success Needed as it relates to GM Fiat, there has been some mismatch in reactions and focus…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Burdick, btrc, Black Iris Dancer, David Bapst, cruciel, M. J. Young, ewilen, Joshua BishopRoby, Paganini.

8/7/2005 Noon: Address of Challenge: The care and feeding of
Split from: Gamism: Exploration of conflict & Address of conflict (Important to the context of this thread) I'm tackling that same question regarding RPG/board games with Power/Evil, and I'm not…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, David Bapst, xenopulse, komradebob.

8/8/2005 xenopulse: Complications Instead of Failure
Due to several recent discussions, I realized that one of the things I really like about most conflict resolution mechanics (e.g., Primetime Adventures' system) is that you can have interesting…
In RPG Theory
Participants: xenopulse, ScottM, Silmenume, Ron Edwards, timfire, cruciel, M. J. Young, Balbinus, Joshua BishopRoby, ewilen.

8/8/2005 LandonSuffered: D10s, Add-Ons, and the Missing TN 11
Since this is a forum for game designers I thought I’d post this short question here. Background first: I’ve had some complaints in the past with D10 games that have…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LandonSuffered, rafial, Adam Dray, Valamir.

8/11/2005 Calithena: Are these two things incompatible?
1. "You're in a cavern of undulating stone, with an ancient brass demon-idol hulking above its farther reaches. Three bestial humanoids stand guard before it, waving flails..." (During the battle,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Calithena, Alan, Ron Edwards.

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