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In RPG Theory

1/1/2003 Ted E. Childers: All or nothing (split from older thread)
Maybe I'm missing the boat, but it seems that many games that have an all or nothing limit (roll X number to succeed, otherwise you fail) has this problem. Take…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ted E. Childers, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Alan, Andrew Martin.

1/3/2003 sdemory: Engel query
Hey there, all, Recently picked up the Feder und Schwert/White Wolf game Engel. Lovely, lovely setting, great feel, bothersome, clunky d20 gaming system. I bought the game expecting d20 and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sdemory, Paul Czege, clehrich.

1/2/2003 Johannes: On the time of narration
I’m working on a masters thesis about the narratology of RPGs (see the Please help a student –thread). One of the things that might be of interest is the temporal…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Johannes, Clay, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Matt Wilson, Rich Forest, Jared A. Sorensen, Shreyas Sampat, talysman, Andrew Martin, Bob McNamee, Le Joueur, epweissengruber, Christopher Kubasik.

1/2/2003 Johannes: Please help a student
Hello everyone, I’m a long term active role-player who is starting to work on a masters thesis about the narratology and fiction of table-top RPGs. I’m a Comparative literature major…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Johannes, simon_hibbs, Alan, clehrich, Le Joueur, Tim C Koppang.

12/28/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: Resolution mechanics, can this particular box be broken?
Recall, if you will the old Daffy Duck cartoon The Scarlet Pumpernickle where Daffy is pitching the idea for his new picture, aptly title the Scarlet Pumpernickle, to a Warner…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, J B Bell, Mike Holmes, Jared A. Sorensen.

12/26/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: Same Story Revisited
[url=http://indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4671]The same old recurring story[/url] thread seems to have drifted off-topic, and that is partially my fault for not being very clear about what I was getting at. Rather than…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, Ron Edwards, Paul Czege, talysman, Bob McNamee, Le Joueur.

12/26/2002 Andrew Martin: Many Uninteresting Features
Jack wrote this in another thread recently: ...a game contains many uninteresting features that "have to be there" and must be edited out in retelling. Are "many uninteresting…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andrew Martin, Jack Spencer Jr.

12/25/2002 fabien: SCAR mechanics qualities
I start a thread on RPG.net and someone suggest me to talk about it here instead. It's itself an old concept I develop with some other guys on a French…
In RPG Theory
Participants: fabien, Jack Spencer Jr.

12/24/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: The same old recuring story?
I have a thought, or half a thought. It's forming as I write this. I'll start at the begining. On the DVD audio commentary for Monty Python and the Holy…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Bankuei, Andrew Martin, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, jrients.

12/24/2002 zaal: Item Collecting
Hi all, A thread in a Mutants & Masterminds review on RPG.net got me to thinking. Essentially, the thread talks about forcing players to "pay" for items/weapons/powers that their characters…
In RPG Theory
Participants: zaal, Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, bluegargantua, erithromycin, Michael S. Miller, Le Joueur, Mike Holmes.

12/21/2002 Andrew Martin: Game Design and Personality Type
I've been taking a personality test over the net and came across one that labelled me as: INFP, which is either "The Searcher" or "Healer", depending upon what site one…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andrew Martin, Jared A. Sorensen, Clinton R. Nixon, Valamir, Christoffer Lernö, Seth L. Blumberg, Green, Eric J., Alan, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, WhiteRat, Marco, Palaskar.

12/20/2002 Gordon C. Landis: "In character" - another less-than-useful term?
I couldn't decide if this belonged in the tar baby immersion thread, or over in player vs. character in GNS, or somewhere else, so . . . I'm starting a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Gordon C. Landis, jburneko, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Ted E. Childers, Ron Edwards, Emily Care, Walt Freitag, bluegargantua.

12/20/2002 Walt Freitag: Comedic Narrativism and the Arabian Nights LARP (long!)
I’m posting this description of the Arabian Nights LARP I’ve mentioned in some previous threads. For two reasons: I promised to do so many weeks ago on this pretty decent…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Walt Freitag.

12/20/2002 Emily Care: thoughts on why immersion is a tar baby
Hello all, A conversation with friends prompted me to look back at recent threads about the sticky topic of immersion in role-playing. There is an excellent and constructive discussion of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Emily Care, Sidhain, Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, Alan, M. J. Young, Seth L. Blumberg.

12/19/2002 Cassidy: What makes a d20 game a d20 game?
Spurred on by the d20 Will it go the distance? (skylarking) thread, something Ozymandias said got me thinking. There are a couple of reasons why d20 should prove to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Cassidy, xiombarg, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, Ted E. Childers, M. J. Young, Eric J., Valamir, Ozymandias, Seth L. Blumberg.

12/19/2002 cruciel: Definition of Complexity
As a split off from here. Relevant external articles: http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/ruleslaw28jun01.html http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/elements20sep02.html Is there an official Forge-Brand (TM) model for defining game component complexity? I see a lot of complexity-ish terms…
In RPG Theory
Participants: cruciel.

12/18/2002 Jack Spencer Jr: d20 Will it go the distance? (skylarking)
OK, d20 has been around now for, what? two years or so? The question before the panel now is, will is still be around after ten years or will d20…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Cassidy, Jeffrey Miller, Ron Edwards, Matt Wilson, Eric J., Ozymandias, xiombarg, Thierry Michel, Kester Pelagius, jrients, Pramas.

12/18/2002 Mark Johnson: Setting Limits
I am currently developing a Tarot based game that I am discussing in its appropriate forum and came across a question that probably deserves to be discussed here. Does the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mark Johnson, Eric J., Andrew Martin, Bankuei.

12/17/2002 Thierry Michel: Genre / roleplayability etc. (an example)
In a bout of insomnia, I cooked up an example to try illustrate my point about what subjects/genre/styles are appropriate for rpgs. So, let's say we have two game ideas…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Thierry Michel, Shreyas Sampat, Jack Spencer Jr, Matt Wilson, Fabrice G., Cassidy, Michael S. Miller, Mark Johnson.

12/17/2002 M. J. Young: In Defense of Complexity
Periodically I read threads here at The Forge in which people argue against more complex systems, and particularly more complex combat systems. I take these with some bit of salt;…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Paul Czege, Shreyas Sampat, Jack Spencer Jr, Bankuei, Andrew Martin, Thierry Michel, xiombarg, cruciel, Ozymandias, Le Joueur, Sidhain, Alan, Christoffer Lernö, Mike Holmes.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

1/5/2003 Cassidy: Amber Gambler
Hello all, Rummaging through my old rpg stuff the other day I came across my copy of Amber and found myself wincing at the memory of the one time I'd…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Cassidy, Paul Czege, Andrew Martin, Brian Leybourne, DaR, simon_hibbs, Ron Edwards, bluegargantua, M. J. Young.

1/6/2003 Emily Care: tarot and narration mechanic idea
Hello all, This weekend I got to take part in a multi-person tarot reading session, which seemed like it might be adaptable for use in rpg. One person is the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Emily Care, lumpley, Bob McNamee, Jared A. Sorensen, Paul Czege, Uncle Dark, bluegargantua, Walt Freitag, clehrich.

1/7/2003 Kester Pelagius: What makes an RPG work for you?
Greetings, Hope you all had a good holiday season. That said, there was another thread here in which I was hoping to get some feedback about what other gamers thought…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kester Pelagius, Jared A. Sorensen, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Uncle Dark, clehrich, Jeremy Cole, Thierry Michel, simon_hibbs, Blake Hutchins, Le Joueur, erithromycin.

1/7/2003 M. J. Young: Unified Truth and Diverse Religions in Game Worlds
Ron twice has attempted to close the thread entitled The Mechanic of "Religion" in Role Playing Games; yet the topic is hot, and there seems much to be said…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Ted E. Childers, Uncle Dark, Kester Pelagius, Eric J., simon_hibbs, contracycle, Jack Spencer Jr, Bob McNamee, Gordon C. Landis, epweissengruber, damion, clehrich, Andrew Martin, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Le Joueur, greyorm, Christopher Kubasik, Walt Freitag, John Kim.

1/7/2003 Russell Hoyle: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina edited by Kevin J. Anderson This book was a series of short vignettes regarding background characters in the cantina from StarWars Ep IV -…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Russell Hoyle, Eric J., Uncle Dark, quozl, contracycle, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, Bob McNamee.

1/7/2003 Paganini: Indie Net-gaming Theory Chat (Long Post)
So last night's Indie Net-gaming session got off to a late start (We made some Torchbearer characters, but Shreyas didn't get there til later). While we were waiting for more…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Le Joueur, Emily Care, Gordon C. Landis, J B Bell.

1/8/2003 Drew Stevens: Ponderings on Game Balance
Question: Is game balance an important issue in your games? And if so, what is game balance? Is it neccesary that characters within a party be balanced against one another?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, simon_hibbs, Ron Edwards, Sidhain, Marco, Bankuei.

1/8/2003 Drew Stevens: Magic Speculation
So, in my ongoing Quest of Thinking, I thought a thought. Specifically about magic/super powers/psi abilities in a game. I'm a Mage player of old, and so will fall back…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, clehrich, M. J. Young, cruciel, Tony Irwin, Ron Edwards, Sidhain, contracycle.

1/9/2003 Michael S. Miller: The Meta-Metagame Level of Sorcerer
Okay. Something just clicked in my head. Maybe this is something that’s been turned over elsewhere, but it’s a new thought for me. In what follows, “you” means “a player…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Michael S. Miller, Ron Edwards, Paul Czege.

1/9/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Effectiveness, Resource, Metagame: Is there an M?
I've been going of the GNS essay lately. I'm pretty sure that I had gone over this before, but from the examples given in the essay, it is unclear to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards.

1/12/2003 Christopher Kubasik: Engaging New Worlds with New Imagination
Hi Guys, Taking a cue off of greyorm's great reply in the Unified Truth/Religions thread (http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=47779#47779), I went back to examine MJ's first post to remember what was at stake.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, M. J. Young, Kester Pelagius, contracycle, Le Joueur, Walt Freitag, Marco, Gordon C. Landis, greyorm, erithromycin, damion.

1/12/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: The myth of the simulation or the model.
In the thread Engaging New Worlds with New Imagination I had struck upon something which, I think, warrants it's own thread. It's the idea of, for lack of a better…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Christopher Kubasik, Marco.

1/13/2003 M. J. Young: A New Spin on the Old Magic/Religion Question
This is yet another thread pursuing the popular topic about whether the referee has to understand the reality of the game world in some sense. I say yet another, because…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, Le Joueur, greyorm, Kester Pelagius, contracycle, simon_hibbs, Gordon C. Landis, Ron Edwards, Drew Stevens, Blake Hutchins, RHJunior.

1/13/2003 Drew Stevens: Mush/Mux Design- musing at work
Ah, I love when my boss isn't in, leaves me a little to do, and I'm done before noon. Time to muse and await a Muse. Anywho :) I've been…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, Kiriath, wraeththu, contracycle, Clay.

1/14/2003 Jasper: A crunchy problem
I'm tinkering with mechanics for a science fiction game now; specifically the rules for warring starships, and the damage calculation for the guns. Now, there are three different "inputs" that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jasper, Le Joueur, szilard, Shreyas Sampat, contracycle, simon_hibbs.

1/15/2003 Thierry Michel: Rationale for random numbers in rpgs
Could anyone point me to a discussion on the rationale of the use of random numbers in rpgs ? What does the roll of a die represent exactly ?
In RPG Theory
Participants: Thierry Michel, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, Emily Care, clehrich, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, Cassidy, talysman.

1/15/2003 Ron Edwards: Four Colors al Fresco
I'd like to propose some discussion about one of the more ambitious games currently available. It's free, at Woodelf's website, The Impossible Dream. I'm putting this into RPG Theory rather…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ron Edwards, clehrich, Shreyas Sampat, bongert, woodelf, zaal.

1/16/2003 Christopher Kubasik: Naive and Sophisticated: The Terms
Hi Everyone. Out of the last thread I started I sort of surprised myself with the concept of Naive and Sophisticated. It crystilized a great deal of many matters I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, greyorm, Walt Freitag, Marco, Paul Czege, Le Joueur, clehrich, contracycle, simon_hibbs, Jack Spencer Jr, Valamir, John Kim, erithromycin, jburneko, Harlequin.

1/18/2003 Tim C Koppang: watershed games
This post is in reference to Ron’s latest article, originally mentioned by Clinton in this thread. Ron, While I’m still reading through your first Heartbreakers article (I just encountered these),…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Tim C Koppang, Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, James Holloway.

1/18/2003 clehrich: Fantasy Heartbreakers and Religion
In Ron's new article, he raises a fascinating historical issue. I'll quote at length, because I'd like to take it as the starting point for discussion. My biggest criticism concerns…
In RPG Theory
Participants: clehrich, Christopher Kubasik, Maurice Forrester, Jack Spencer Jr, John Kim, Ron Edwards, erithromycin, talysman, M. J. Young, Henry Fitch, Shreyas Sampat, Rob MacDougall, b_bankhead, Johannes, contracycle, Walt Freitag.

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