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In RPG Theory

5/13/2002 Walt Freitag: What's a Game?
Contention over the definition of the word "game" (as a noun) has been implicit in a few recent threads. Allow me to share a definition that I’ve been using, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Walt Freitag, xiombarg, Jared A. Sorensen, Mytholder, Le Joueur, Mike Holmes, joshua neff, Ron Edwards, contracycle, AndyGuest, joe_llama, Jack Spencer Jr, Paganini.

5/11/2002 Christoffer Lernö: An illusion of combat flexibility?
Maybe the subject is a bit misleading. I'm not only thinking about combat here, but any other situation where you start out with a game theory resolution of and want…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Jack Spencer Jr, Valamir, Zak Arntson, Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes, contracycle, Walt Freitag, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards.

5/7/2002 Paganini: Value of Quantification
In the thread about RPG Conventions I haven't noticed anyone mention this one: "Characters are defined by lists of quantified abilities." (Maybe someone did mention it and I just missed…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Jack Spencer Jr, J B Bell, Gordon C. Landis, Wolfen, Mike Holmes, Andrew Martin.

5/7/2002 Ace: Confession: I really am not much of a gamer anymore
That last thread, Subject Uh yeah, got me to thinking about my own gaming habits I want to say that I find talking about RPG's much more satisfing than actually…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ace, joe_llama, Paul Czege, Ron Edwards, Blake Hutchins, Valamir, Laurel, TSL.

5/6/2002 amiel: What is a protagonist?
"Not another thread using that damned word." I'll try to be brief. This is a theory, specifically relating to N play, that may have already been covered (has been to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: amiel, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Gordon C. Landis, Valamir, Le Joueur, Laurel, Paul Czege, Matt Gwinn, Walt Freitag, Bankuei.

5/6/2002 Paul Czege: dream sequences: the least narrativist thing I did
Hey, When I ran The Pool last summer, I used a dream sequence on Scott Knipe's character Grazel. And I wasn't happy with it as a Narrativist device. It was…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paul Czege, xiombarg, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Wolfen, hardcoremoose, Mike Holmes, A.Neill, Seth L. Blumberg, Walt Freitag.

5/5/2002 Bailey: 3rd Party vs. 1st Person playtest & Playtester Motivatio
Sayeth Wolfen: Without a doubt or hesitation, NO. Just like hearing about a game is no replacement or substitute for actually playing it yourself, playtesting is no different. However,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bailey, Paganini.

5/5/2002 Paganini: Subject... yeah... uh...
I'm really not sure what to call this thread, but it deals with an odd thought that struck me this morning while I was out back throwing knives. First, a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Clinton R. Nixon, Ron Edwards, Wolfen, Sidhain.

5/4/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: Momentary lapse into practicality
After keeping my head so deep in RPG theory for so long, mostly because I haven't been able to game much myself so all I have is theory, I've sort…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Sidhain, Ron Edwards, Laurel.

5/3/2002 Andrew Martin: Character difficulties -> Player dice chance modifers
In the spirit of the rants by Mike: Just why are character difficulties modeled as player dice chance modifiers? For example, the character's pistol range is long, so the player's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes, Rich Forest, lumpley.

5/2/2002 Mike Holmes: Mike's Standard Rant #4: Stat/Skill systems
This one's title may be misleading. I am not against Stat/Skill systems per se. I am against their general mishandling, and this rant takes a look at a common problem…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Paganini, xiombarg, Seth L. Blumberg, Le Joueur.

5/2/2002 Valamir: Traits + Skills
Split off from the "Do you believe" thread and the Dreamspire thread is a topic near and dear to my heart. Traits and Skills. I think most of us are…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Valamir, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Le Joueur, Paganini, Bankuei, Bailey.

5/2/2002 joe_llama: Theory Nostalgia: Role Playing Mastery
Hi everyone, I have recently received from a friend a copy of Gary Gygax's 1987 "masterpiece" - Role Playing Mastery. While it would be very easy to laugh at all…
In RPG Theory
Participants: joe_llama, xiombarg, Clay.

5/1/2002 joe_llama: Do you believe everything they tell you?
Greetings Forgefolk, In the spirit of Mike's rant, I've decided to start a new thread concerning similar issues. So my question is: What other assumptions, presumptions, prejudices, and self-applied brainwashing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: joe_llama, Ron Edwards, Jared A. Sorensen, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, Balbinus, Mike Holmes, Gordon C. Landis, Paganini, Jack Spencer Jr, Ace, Joe Murphy (Broin), Valamir, joshua neff, Knight.

4/30/2002 jburneko: What Do You Think of the 'Living' Campaign Idea?
In another thread Joshua Neff wrote this: It seems to me that the best RPGs will do this--give you the tools (the "instruments", if you will--heh heh) to make…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jburneko, joshua neff, J B Bell, Buddha Nature, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis, Jack Spencer Jr, Reimer Behrends.

4/30/2002 Mike Holmes: Mike's Standard Rant #3: Combat Systems
I post this here because I wanted to link to it from another discussion: http://indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=19344#19344 I didn't want to derail that thread. Besides, I feel like bomb throwing today, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, J B Bell, joshua neff, Ron Edwards, GreatWolf, xiombarg, Fabrice G., Bankuei, joe_llama, Le Joueur, Bailey.

4/29/2002 Laurel: Validating Conflicts
This is a branch off "Not Functionally Equivalent..." based on Paul's last post. I'm beginning to really see and appreciate where Paul is coming from, regarding deprotagonization. I'm going to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Laurel, Ron Edwards, Le Joueur, Wolfen, Paul Czege, Bankuei, contracycle, Walt Freitag.

4/27/2002 Paul Czege: not functionally equivalent to handling a protagonist
Hey Walt, I want to go back to something you wrote on the abundance of races in Fantasy RPG's thread: I shouldnt'a called it "protagonizing setting," I should…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paul Czege, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, contracycle, Blake Hutchins, Valamir, Wolfen, GreatWolf, Gordon C. Landis, amiel.

4/24/2002 Rich Ranallo: The Dread Metaplot
After lurking on this board since Ron told me about it, I might finally have something to contribute (though I'm sure the topic has come up before). I'm wrestling with…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Rich Ranallo, contracycle, hardcoremoose, Ron Edwards, amiel, Clay, xiombarg, Jack Spencer Jr, joshua neff, Le Joueur, Valamir, Wolfen, greyorm, AndyGuest, Mike Holmes.

4/23/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: One Page RPGs
This probably isn't a new thing, but it seems to me that one page RPGs are popping up all over. SLUG, GRAPE, REAL and so on. brief RPG rules that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Daredevil, Ron Edwards, Paganini, Zak Arntson.

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In RPG Theory

5/16/2002 Balbinus: Sim mechanics supporting actual play
The question seems to have come up with how simulationist mechanics can support actual play. I thought I'd have a stab at illustrating this with examples of actual games I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Balbinus.

5/16/2002 Clinton R. Nixon: Simultaneous multiple-scene play
In the Riddle of Steel forum, Ron said that he would explain how easy play with different characters in different scenes simultaneously could be to run, if asked. I'm asking:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Clinton R. Nixon, Ron Edwards, Bankuei, hardcoremoose, Jared A. Sorensen, Wolfen, Thor Olavsrud.

5/17/2002 Jared A. Sorensen: Have a little class, people.
Okay, trying to get the ball rolling from a comment made by Herr Edwards in the colorfully named Erm...Hello. Character classes. There's been some talk on RPG.net lately about…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jared A. Sorensen, Le Joueur, Zak Arntson, Andrew Martin, Wolfen, Gordon C. Landis, Jack Spencer Jr, wyrdlyng, Mike Holmes, Clinton R. Nixon, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, :: Declare ::, leomknight, unodiablo, xiombarg, Valamir, Seth L. Blumberg.

5/17/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: Metagame in theory
On a base level, RPGs have two types of mechanics. The first is character-centric. The player's character is broken down into traits, a set of numbers. The play environment, including…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Walt Freitag, Le Joueur, Mike Holmes, lumpley.

5/20/2002 Eric J.: Classes Vs. Reality
In my experience, classes only serve to steriotype characters and limit abilites, in creativity and realism. Their intrensic function in many RPGs is simply based off of their use in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Eric J., Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, Fabrice G., Blake Hutchins, lehrbuch, Andrew Martin, Seth L. Blumberg, Ian O'Rourke, Bankuei, leomknight, contracycle, Jared A. Sorensen, Bob McNamee.

5/20/2002 lehrbuch: Real World Ideology reflected in Games
[quote="lehrbuch"]Please don't be insulted by this, but I have often heard it said that some players dislike Class so much, because of their real-world national myths about the existence and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: lehrbuch, Henry Fitch, J B Bell, Andrew Martin, contracycle, Paganini, Seth L. Blumberg, RobMuadib, Valamir, Ron Edwards.

5/16/2002 Clinton R. Nixon: Dice pool history
Ron, I think Ghostbusters beat it to the bunch with the dice pools, but that's of little importance. It definitely is the definitive dice pool game.
In RPG Theory
Participants: Clinton R. Nixon, Andrew Martin, Paganini, Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr.

5/21/2002 Paganini: Dice Pool Definition
In another thread, Ron is using a definition of "dice pool" that I found a little confusing, in that he includes Tunnels & Trolls and Star Wars D6. As far…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Ron Edwards, efindel.

5/21/2002 Bankuei: Narrativist Player's Tutorial
I've got a weekend group of players who are interested in Narrativist play, but are only used to Gamist stuff. I'm getting ready to give 'em the good ol' N…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, Ron Edwards, jburneko, wyrdlyng, Ian Cooper.

5/21/2002 Paganini: What makes a game fun?
This is something I've been thinking about recently. As an exaple, let's take a fantasy dungeon crawl, which is something my brother and I like to do, but often get…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, Seth L. Blumberg, Le Joueur, Jake Norwood.

5/22/2002 Daredevil: Science Fiction
I'd like to talk about Science Fiction for a bit. In designing games that present certain genres or themes I believe it is typical to first find out what is…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Daredevil, Seth L. Blumberg, Andrew Martin, Buddha Nature, contracycle, Ron Edwards, Paul Czege, Mike Holmes, Zak Arntson, simon, Gordon C. Landis, Paganini.

5/22/2002 Bankuei: Conveying setting
After looking at the Sci-fi thread, a question popped into mind; The biggest problem that all games dealing with the not existant(whether future tech or fantastical elements), is that you…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, Matt Snyder, Paul Czege, Eric J., Seth L. Blumberg.

5/24/2002 Kenway: 1-page rpg (and freeform) discussion [renamed]
I was wondering about a thread a month ago started by Jack Spencer Jr about "1 page rpgs." In this thread, Ron Edwards also mentions how systems like SLUG are…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kenway, Eric J., Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, Emily_Dresner.

5/24/2002 Bankuei: Scene framing and momentum...
Ok, I'm late on this, but I'm a kid with a new toy, and I want to know how to transform it into all 6 of its cool forms.... I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, Christoffer Lernö, Le Joueur, Paul Czege, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

5/25/2002 Christoffer Lernö: A Good Illusionist Game
Ok, as most of you know I'm working on Ygg which I guess in the end really is an Illusionist game. No use pretending it's anything else. So how do…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Le Joueur, Walt Freitag, Ron Edwards, Bankuei, Valamir, AndyGuest, simon_hibbs, Mike Holmes.

5/26/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: Freeform
This thread is born out of the "No rules, no nothing" rpg? thread Nobody should be denigrating Freeform here, IMO. It's just not the tabletop stuff we're (or at…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, Paganini, Kenway, Wolfen, Shard, Bailey, Ron Edwards, Henry Fitch, Le Joueur, blackmanxy, Laurel, Bankuei, Walt Freitag, Evan Waters, Blake Hutchins, Matt.

5/26/2002 Jared A. Sorensen: Rashomon
No idea where to put this, so it goes here. Thinking about (hypothetically) running a game where once the game is done (like, a single 4-hour session or so), the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jared A. Sorensen, Jack Spencer Jr, Kenway, Bankuei, Matt, Paul Czege.

5/27/2002 Jake Norwood: Memento RPG
The Rashamon thread got me thinking about this. It's not a game I'm planning on developing, but rather a way of presenting scenes to players that intrigued me (so I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jake Norwood, Ron Edwards, joshua neff, Matt, Jared A. Sorensen, Bailey, Tim Denee, Walt Freitag, Buddha Nature, Mike Holmes.

5/28/2002 stillaplaya: Avitars(The Pic you use to play with)
My name is Dave and I will be opening a website dedicated to AV art and designing of talented people like you. A type of forum for designers can show…
In RPG Theory
Participants: stillaplaya, Balbinus, Ron Edwards, Henry Fitch.

5/28/2002 Evan Waters: Character classes II
[quote] I pronounce this thread closed. [/quote] Seriously? Cause I was gonna say somethin' and all... Here goes anyway. Classes, to my mind, work in settings/games where different characters will…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Evan Waters, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Jared A. Sorensen, Clinton R. Nixon, rafael, Jake Norwood, contracycle, Mike Holmes, damion, Eric J., Blake Hutchins.

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