Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

10/18/2002 Palaskar: How do I write a Gamist/Narrativist RPG?
In the wake of the latest Iron Game Chef, I'm struck by how my games tend to end up being Simulationist, even though I don't try to make them that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Palaskar, Eric J., Ron Edwards, Valamir.

10/17/2002 Daredevil: Online RPGs
Heya, I'd like to discuss online, text-based roleplaying games such as MUSHes/MOOs/etc. Now, while it could be argued that these are not really within the domain of this forum, I'd…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Daredevil, Jared A. Sorensen.

10/17/2002 M. J. Young: Character Sheet Design for I-games
[quote="Ron Edwards"]"Boink" M.J. ... hey, I had an idea. Do you think there's any feature of an I-game that leads to different needs or standards for character sheet design? I'm…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young.

10/14/2002 Christoffer Lernö: Having too much source material too full of rules
I checked out Peregrin's Wayfarer's Song yesterday. He has some really nice stuff in there. However, as I was going though the material I felt more and intimidated by it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, damion, Mike Holmes, Demonspahn, Andrew Martin, Walt Freitag, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis, Bankuei, Kester Pelagius.

10/14/2002 soundwave: Character sheet/creation thoughts
Okay, you'll have to excuse me if this isn't incredibly coherent. I'm just tossing around ideas at present. I want to hear people's responses and thoughts, and I may write…
In RPG Theory
Participants: soundwave, Ron Edwards, damion, Tim C Koppang, Zak Arntson, Seth L. Blumberg, Mike Holmes, Ben Morgan, Enoch, M. J. Young, Matt Wilson, Valamir, C. Edwards, talysman, MR. Analytical.

10/13/2002 Bailywolf: Maths request- the odds on a mechanic
OK, here is the die mechanic I'm working with: You have a pool of dice ranging from 2 to 10. To get a result, you roll your dice, and subtract…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bailywolf, DaR.

10/11/2002 wyrdlyng: Frustrated cry for help
A while back I put up some notes on a game I was working on. Details can be found in this other post but here's the quick summary: 1. Characters…
In RPG Theory
Participants: wyrdlyng, Mike Holmes, Demonspahn.

10/11/2002 Christoffer Lernö: "Select Any Skill" mechanics?
There are more and more games out there that let the players freely write up skills for their characters. The virtue of that is that you don't need to count…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Eric J., Andrew Martin, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, damion.

10/10/2002 Matt Wilson: analysis: 2300 AD
I've heard rumors of a re-release of 2300 AD at some point, so I thought it'd make for a good analysis subject. And I own a copy, so that helps.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Wilson, Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes, efindel, Gordon C. Landis.

10/10/2002 ethan_greer: Is Any Game An Island?
In this thread, Mike Holmes gives an evaluation of 5th-edition Hero System, and Ron Edwards follows up on the review with a summary of the history of the development of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ethan_greer, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Jeremy Cole, Mike Holmes.

10/10/2002 Christoffer Lernö: Generic RPGs: One system to rule them all...
[quote="No-one"]One system to rule them all One system to find them One system to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.[/quote] Ok, what's up with generic RPGs? Don't…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Le Joueur, Jack Spencer Jr, ethan_greer, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Marco, Mike Holmes, Wart, M. J. Young, Demonspahn, talysman, wyrdlyng.

10/10/2002 Christoffer Lernö: Gaming fiction revisited
We've been over this subject a few times already I know. I could dig up the original discussion I wanted to post this on, but that would be against the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, ADGBoss, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, TSL, Epidiah, Walt Freitag, Blake Hutchins, M. J. Young, Jared A. Sorensen, Demonspahn, Alan, talysman, Jeremy Cole, Seth L. Blumberg.

10/10/2002 Eric J.: Welcome to Never Winter Nights...
Well, I'm back, again. This time with the premise of creating the "Ultimite Never Winter Nights Campaign." (I put statements in quotes to express sarcasm) The toolset is marvelous and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Eric J., greyorm.

10/10/2002 Andy Kitkowski: Indie RPG Awards?
This is something I've been tossing around for a bit: What do you all think of a chance to run an "award ceremony" for Indies game designers and publishers? I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andy Kitkowski, Christoffer Lernö, wyrdlyng, Kester Pelagius, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Valamir, GB Steve, M. J. Young, Marco, Jeremy Cole, Le Joueur, Jonathan Walton, Andrew Martin, quozl, Peregrine.

10/9/2002 Mike Holmes: Let's make a game!
People keep suggesting doing cool stuff, and then not starting the projects up themselves. Guess if you want something done... OK, here's a thread for a theoretical game design that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, talysman, Jack Spencer Jr, Bob McNamee, Bankuei, JMendes, Mark D. Eddy, Paganini, RPunkG, Emily Care, M. J. Young, amiel, Jeremy Cole, Valamir, Ron Edwards.

10/9/2002 Emily Care: Credibility and System
Seems like some concensus has formed around the following: - Nothing's true in the game until all the players agree that it's true. - System, mechanics, having a GM and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Emily Care, Valamir, Mark D. Eddy, Mike Holmes.

10/9/2002 Trevor Curtis: Insane idea
I had an idea two days ago, whihc came out of too much sleep or too little caffiene(or vice versa), but here goes: Ever heard of National Novel Writing Month?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Trevor Curtis, C. Edwards, Mike Holmes, Emily Care, Jonathan Walton, Mytholder, lumpley, Blake Hutchins, Jasper, Eric J., Maurice Forrester, Zak Arntson.

10/8/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: Note from an improv mailing group.
I got an interesting note from the improv mailing list I've subscribed to. The author, Gary Schwartz was kind enough to let me reproduce it here because, reading it, I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr.

10/7/2002 JMendes: A weird mechanic idea
Hi, all, :) I have no idea if you guys do this sort of thing or not, and if so, whether this is the right forum for it, but it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: JMendes, Bankuei, Christoffer Lernö, Walt Freitag, Paul Czege, M. J. Young.

10/6/2002 Nick Pagnucco: Role of Setting
Hi, I don't post in this part of the Forge much, but I had a question, and I think that this is the most appropriate forum to ask it. If…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Nick Pagnucco, Mike Holmes, Jonathan Walton, Paka, contracycle, simon_hibbs, Ron Edwards, Christoffer Lernö, M. J. Young.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

10/18/2002 AndyGuest: Why do games have to have a 'Premise' ?
[Should this be in RPG Theory ? If so can one of the admins move it for me] Maybe it's just something that bugs me but how come every time…
In RPG Theory
Participants: AndyGuest, ethan_greer, Mike Holmes, Matt Wilson, Shreyas Sampat, Valamir, jburneko, talysman, Ron Edwards, greyorm, Seth L. Blumberg, GreatWolf, GB Steve, Jared A. Sorensen, Marco, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, Matt Snyder, Andrew Martin.

10/18/2002 Matt Wilson: mechanic idea (is this FitM?)
I had this idea that stemmed from thoughts over improving S&H time, then thought maybe I could make S&H time more interesting, where rolls to determine something are divided into…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Wilson, Valamir, Ron Edwards.

10/18/2002 lumpley: Random Vampire Game Mechanic Thoughts
...so that we don't keep cluttering up this thread with them. So the starving vampire would be more likely to not have narrative control...meaning the GM is free to narrate…
In RPG Theory
Participants: lumpley, talysman, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Jake Norwood, Paul Czege, Emily Care.

10/18/2002 Christoffer Lernö: Director stance in standard sim
Skipping right to the point: I think it was Mike who pointed out in some thread that when you create your character it is in fact a sort of Director…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Henry Fitch, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Marco, Valamir, Emily Care.

10/18/2002 Sylus Thane: Do you ever wonder what's the point?
I mean really with all the games out there do you ever wonder what's the point of trying to publish something new? Now I'm not trying to be one of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sylus Thane, Mike Holmes, Le Joueur, greyorm, Paganini, Jonathan Walton, Kester Pelagius, wyrdlyng, Jeremy Cole, Andrew Martin, Ron Edwards.

10/19/2002 Paganini: Vampires
Lots of vampire discussions on the Forge recently, but it seems to be an intensifying of a general theme. What's up with that? To be more explicit, I'm wondering why…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, C. Edwards, lumpley, Zak Arntson, greyorm, Mike Holmes, Seth L. Blumberg, UnSub, Ron Edwards, MK Snyder, Bob McNamee, Jeremy Cole, b_bankhead.

10/21/2002 rpghost: d20 Solo Adventuring
Wasn't quite sure where to post this... hope it's ok here. We (a game publisher and some talanted folks) are working on a new d20 enhancement for solo-adventuring. It'll involve…
In RPG Theory
Participants: rpghost, greyorm, Ron Edwards, Kester Pelagius, Mike Holmes, Walt Freitag, Valamir, Emily Care, Jack Spencer Jr.

10/22/2002 ejh: Vague Thoughts On Simulation & Solos & Stuff
My first roleplaying game was Tunnels & Trolls (back in a time called the Nineteen Hundred and Seventies). It had a wonderfully simple game system, especially for the time, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ejh, Kester Pelagius, RobMuadib, Jack Spencer Jr, talysman.

10/22/2002 Matt Wilson: rewarding plot complications
There are gamers who take pleasure in scenarios that work out with no complications, and then there are gamers who will want the same thing to happen out of habit,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Wilson, Matt, Valamir, Tim C Koppang, Alan, Mike Holmes, xiombarg.

10/22/2002 Sylus Thane: Enlightenment (GGD Group Game Design)
I figured I start the new thread as Ron suggested, I went with Emily's title idea as it was there. From my reading so far the premise reminds me quite…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sylus Thane, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Emily Care, Mark D. Eddy, talysman, damion, Bob McNamee, Kester Pelagius, contracycle, Wormwood.

10/23/2002 ADGBoss: GM as Moderator or... Editor?
Lets start off with a little definition of what I mean. When I say Moderator I do not mean so much in a Traditional MASTER or MONITOR status but more…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ADGBoss, Andrew Martin, Christoffer Lernö, Jeremy Cole, Bankuei, Mike Holmes, ADGConscience.

10/23/2002 Robert K Beckett: Arrowflight and illusionist game texts
[quote="Ron Edwards"] One of the most interesting design features of Arrowflight (which I believe is the single most overt and [i]effective [/i]illusionist game text I have ever seen) is that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Robert K Beckett, Ron Edwards, Emily Care, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

10/23/2002 Palaskar: What does Success mean? -- Transitions made simple?
I was searching for an example of a good Gamist genric/universal system when I chanced upon the thread on a tri-modal system (one which allows Gamist, Narrativist, and Simulationist play.)…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Palaskar, Mike Holmes, C. Edwards, Ron Edwards, Marco.

10/23/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: Waxing Solo
[quote="Emily Care"]It struck me as I read about Arabian nights and so on that part of what makes these games so g_d-awful unwieldy is the massive amounts of charts, etc.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, ejh, Mike Holmes, greyorm, Emily Care, lumpley, Ron Edwards, Wormwood.

10/24/2002 Christoffer Lernö: Facilitating illusionist retcon story techniques
I've been thinking about successful illusionism a lot lately. I've come to the conclusion that pretty much all the consistently good rpg experiences has been with GMs running illusionism with…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Andrew Martin, Marco, Valamir, Le Joueur, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, Robert K Beckett, JMendes, contracycle, GB Steve, Ron Edwards.

10/26/2002 ks13: Methods to encourage group cohesion
My concern is that there might be a conflict between having mechanics that encourage the player act on things which they deem critical to their characters (mechanics along the line…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ks13, Shreyas Sampat, damion, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Jonathan Walton, greyorm, Mike Holmes, Bankuei, talysman, MK Snyder.

10/26/2002 Palaskar: "Meaningful" RPGs?
I was remembering playing on a MUD a few years back, when something occurred to me. Although I had spent approximately 4 years on it as first a player, then…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Palaskar, damion, M. J. Young, Emily Care, contracycle, Mike Holmes, simon_hibbs, Eric J., Bankuei, MK Snyder, Jeremy Cole, Alan.

10/27/2002 Christoffer Lernö: Sample effect-first (EF) facilitating mechanics
I post this separate from the thread where we were discussing EF because this is more of a practical treatment of it. Basically the effect-first GM technique is about introducing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Mike Holmes, Bankuei, talysman.

10/28/2002 Christoffer Lernö: Are you fudging rolls? You might have EF-trouble
In my attempt to study how the "Effect First" GMing technique works I post this about how fudging die rolls might be an indicator of running EF in a system…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christoffer Lernö, Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes.

10/28/2002 Eric J.: Open/Closed Setting(Pyron's Woe's Take 165)
Pyron(the character): Syrus! We have to get to the ship! The Deathstar's going to destroy the heart of the Rebellion! Syrus: {Loads his blaster, sets it to kill) Gotcha. That…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Eric J., Ron Edwards, talysman, greyorm, Walt Freitag, Marco, M. J. Young.

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