Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

1/12/2003 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.

1/9/2003 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.

1/9/2003 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.

1/8/2003 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.

1/8/2003 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.

1/7/2003 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.

1/7/2003 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 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 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.

1/6/2003 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.

1/5/2003 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.

1/5/2003 Shreyas Sampat: Is Inconsistency Playable?
This is closely related to my game The Calligrapher's Sword, but independent of it, so I thought to start a Theory thread. I was thinking about games set in realms…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Shreyas Sampat, Jack Spencer Jr, bluegargantua, Ron Edwards, Jonathan Walton, clehrich, Michael S. Miller.

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.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

1/18/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Designing your own Heartbreaker
The challenge of designing one's own Heartbreaker intrigues me. I've put a little thought toward it and here it is. First of all, it's tough to consciously make a Heartbreaker.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, Sidhain, Ben Morgan, Valamir, Marco, John Kim, Shreyas Sampat, Clinton R. Nixon, Mike Holmes, Michael S. Miller, M. J. Young.

1/19/2003 Rob MacDougall: hardcore Midwestern U.S. D&D style gaming
This paragraph caught my eye in Ron Edwards’ newer article on Fantasy Heartbreakers: Deathstalkers, from Cutter's Guild, is simultaneously the most deconstructive and most preservative game I've ever…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Rob MacDougall, clehrich, Ron Edwards, Nick Pagnucco, Christopher Kubasik, contracycle, James Holloway, ADGConscience.

1/20/2003 Clinton R. Nixon: Heartbreakers on fire (that is, d20)
The exercise of creating your own Fantasy Heartbreaker has got me thinking. I started to design my own (and liked it - I'll put up my initial notes tomorrow), but…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Clinton R. Nixon, M. J. Young, joshua neff.

1/20/2003 John Kim: Successful approaches to religion in RPGs
OK, It seems to me that there has been a lot of effort at discussing what is wrong with religion in RPGs. It seems to me that a more productive…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Andrew Martin, clehrich, Jack Spencer Jr, ThreeGee, greyorm, Nick Pagnucco, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Christopher Kubasik, Eric J., contracycle, Johannes.

1/20/2003 Paul Czege: "Everyone should write a Heartbreaker"
Hey, In a Dimension Syncopatic with Ours, a short tour of my fantasy heartbreaker, written two decades ago. I was itching to do it up like this after Ron's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paul Czege, Clinton R. Nixon, Jared A. Sorensen, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, Andrew Martin, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, talysman, clehrich, Shreyas Sampat, Henry Fitch, jrients.

1/21/2003 Kester Pelagius: Is religion really that much of a mystery?
Greetings All, I see the debate about religion is still raging. So, if I may, my 2 cents here to offer... What is religion? Is it merely a set of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kester Pelagius, Nick Pagnucco, Jack Spencer Jr, greyorm, Ron Edwards, Christopher Kubasik, talysman, clehrich, John Kim, Le Joueur, Valamir, Walt Freitag, Tony Irwin, contracycle, M. J. Young.

1/21/2003 zaal: Son of Fantasy Heartbreaker
Ron says: It's very, very hard to break out of D&D Fantasy assumptions for many people, and the first step, I think, is to generate the idea that protagonism (for…
In RPG Theory
Participants: zaal, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, Paul Czege, Valamir, contracycle, Marco, John Kim.

1/22/2003 M. J. Young: Building Religions
Kester Pelagius started an interesting thread, Is religion really that much of a mystery?, which inspired this one rather by accident. Jack Spencer Jr., an avowed atheist, posted what…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, contracycle, Paganini, Jack Spencer Jr, greyorm, John Kim, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Christopher Kubasik, clehrich, simon_hibbs.

1/22/2003 Sylus Thane: You Gotta have Faith
I've been reading the threads on religion in rpg's as of late, especially as I am nearing the point in which I will be needing to write how it applies…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sylus Thane, Kester Pelagius, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Johannes, clehrich.

1/22/2003 Clinton R. Nixon: Can an advancement system change an entire game?
All this Heartbreaker talk has got me thinking about game design in a furious way. In sketching out my own, I've gotten inspired about a game that I don't know…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Clinton R. Nixon, Valamir, Matt Wilson, M. J. Young, Tony Irwin.

1/23/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: special kind of Heartbreaker: Universal/Generic
Now, like all of his articles, the Fantasy Heartbreaker articles do boil down to basically "what Ron thinks" although he has taken pains to make it something that most people…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Marco, Shreyas Sampat, Valamir, talysman, cruciel, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Rod Phillips, John Kim, Mike Holmes, contracycle, Sylus Thane.

1/26/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Damn the continuing story
All of the recent discussion about Heartbreakers and I had re-read the GNS article and for the first time felt like I got it from start to finish (yep, first…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, b_bankhead, cruciel, Shreyas Sampat, Bankuei, clehrich, M. J. Young, Eric J., Christopher Kubasik, Thierry Michel, Marco, contracycle, Jake Norwood, John Kim, ThreeGee.

1/27/2003 RN3G8 4E: Why not more Sci-Fi?
Hello everyone, this is my first post on The Forge! I discovered this place just today and I'm pretty excited about this community. I have a question: I don't see…
In RPG Theory
Participants: RN3G8 4E, Ron Edwards, szilard, Shreyas Sampat, sben, Daredevil, Stuart DJ Purdie, clehrich, Balbinus, Cadriel, John Kim, Uncle Dark, JSDiamond.

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