Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

2/25/2003 bowlingm: Rights of Narration
Hi all, One of the things that's interested me most about all of the indie games I've just recently discovered is the rules for who narrates when. As just being…
In RPG Theory
Participants: bowlingm, Jared A. Sorensen, Ron Edwards, Le Joueur, Emily Care, lumpley.

2/24/2003 contracycle: RPG as set text
I just wanted to canvass opinions on this thought, an approach to sim gaming. It's inspired by my current reading, The Isles: A History, by Norman Davies. Bity of a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: contracycle, clehrich, greyorm.

2/24/2003 Kester Pelagius: Holographics: A Possible Future Evolution of Gaming?
Greetings All, While reading the thread on Historical Wargaming I was suddenly struck by a very interesting thought and was wondering what your opinions of it might be. My thought…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kester Pelagius, Mike Holmes, Drew Stevens, contracycle, Walt Freitag, Jack Spencer Jr, RobMuadib, greyorm, Le Joueur, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards.

2/24/2003 Paka: Turning it Over to the Players (at times)
My Sunday D&D game just hasn't been popping. I have a lovely group, a lovely set of alternate games that feed my other gaming needs. It has occurred to me…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paka.

2/23/2003 cruciel: The FooFoo Factor
The FooFoo Factor is my pet name for measuring how "heroic" a game's system is. I'm primarily talking about the damage system, but rules for things like fear, pain, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: cruciel, RobMuadib, clehrich, contracycle, Ian Charvill, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, Thierry Michel, Marco, b_bankhead, Fletcher, Mike Holmes, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, erithromycin.

2/21/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Is meaningless detail really meaningless?
I'm going to talk a bit about one aspect of my friend's game that I just don't get but since we really won't be discussing it with him, let's address…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Gordon C. Landis, Mike Holmes, Ian Charvill, clehrich, contracycle, greyorm, Bob McNamee, b_bankhead, M. J. Young, weeble, Johannes, Thierry Michel.

2/21/2003 marknau: Thinking about Rules
I have a ball. I bounce it against the wall. There is a rule that states that a ball thrown against the wall will bounce back. My 3-month-old daughter sees…
In RPG Theory
Participants: marknau, Le Joueur.

2/21/2003 b_bankhead: Never Enough Rules:Manifesto of a rules-lite convert
Taken together the two actual rulebooks (PHB &GMG) of 3ED&D are about half the length of Lord of the Ring or Atlas Shrugged. This mind you is for a GAME.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: b_bankhead, M. J. Young, Valamir, Thierry Michel, quozl, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, clehrich.

2/20/2003 James Holloway: Historical wargaming and the development of RPGs.
Over the last couple of years, I've been getting increasingly involved in historical miniatures gaming. And, although I'm just a young 'un and wasn't around for the early years of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: James Holloway, Ron Edwards, Thierry Michel, b_bankhead, Kester Pelagius, contracycle, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, talysman, Valamir, Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, M. J. Young, Wulf, Ian Charvill, arxhon, Rob Brennan.

2/20/2003 wyrdlyng: Overly rules dependent?
[size=9px][I think this is where this should go. If not then please feel free to plop it where appropriate.][/size] I was reading posts on another board and found a sentence…
In RPG Theory
Participants: wyrdlyng, clehrich, Comte, Ron Edwards, Alan, Ben Morgan, Valamir, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, Bankuei, Cassidy, lumpley, Gordon C. Landis, M. J. Young.

2/19/2003 Drew Stevens: A more formalized Social Contract
So, while I'm sure that several people have already seen this, I imagine some haven't. And in any case, it's an interesting read on a way to formalize a social…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

2/19/2003 jburneko: Cons And The Psuedo-Campaign
There's a rather strange phenomenon I've noticed at my con that I don't know if it's local to this con or if it happens at other cons. That phenomenon is…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jburneko, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Clinton R. Nixon, Mike Holmes, Bob McNamee.

2/18/2003 hyphz: The amazing adventures of RoboPlayer
Introducing the new Inuwatabetai RoboPlayer 2000! Yes, this fine device can sit in as a player in YOUR RPG sessions. Its operation is perfectly simple: - Using GM's descriptions and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hyphz, ethan_greer, Le Joueur, Marco, Thierry Michel, Walt Freitag, Ron Edwards, xiombarg, Mike Holmes, clehrich, JMendes, M. J. Young, C. Edwards, weeble, Jeph.

2/18/2003 M. J. Young: Benefits of Undefined Premise
In the thread Premise on a Platter on the GNS Model Discussion forum, There?s a lot of issues here I?d be interested in discussing, which may…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Bankuei, clehrich, Mike Holmes.

2/17/2003 Drew Stevens: Star Wars meandering
So, I'm honestly not sure if this should go here or on the Theory forum, so I'm erring on the side of indie game design. Anywho. I've been tinkering with…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, szilard, ThreeGee, Clinton R. Nixon, Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, Jeph, M. J. Young, John Kim, Jeremy Cole, JMendes, erithromycin, contracycle.

2/17/2003 JMendes: In Search of a Fortune Mechanic
Hey, all, :) Lately, I have found myself questing for a mechanic that would comply with a series of design specs, and I thought I'd put those specs to consideration…
In RPG Theory
Participants: JMendes, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, ThreeGee, cruciel, M. J. Young, Rob Donoghue.

2/15/2003 Mike Holmes: Mike's Standard Rant #2 - Species/Race/Culture/
As with all my Standard Rants, I put this down here as a sort of shorthand to which I can refer people so as not to have to repeat the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, clehrich, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, ADGBoss, Bob McNamee, Jack Spencer Jr, Le Joueur, C. Edwards, simon_hibbs, JMendes, Drew Stevens, xechnao, Christoffer Lernö.

2/15/2003 Shreyas Sampat: Complex Systems > Play Focus?
I've been wondering this one for a while. Why do complex subsystems (like the WW combat system, say, or the vehicle creation rules in so many technological rpgs) focus play…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Shreyas Sampat, Jasper, Mike Holmes, Rob MacDougall, Ron Edwards, Marco, clehrich.

2/15/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Player/Character...to-may-to/to-mo-to
This may be little more than a side note but I've noticed that in many RPG texts and discussions that the terms Player and Character are often used interchangably as…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards.

2/14/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Types of Players
One of the neater things I've noticed about discussion on the Forge is how it helps cut through the typical RPG theory dogma, which rarely get you anywhere. Things such…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, ADGBoss.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

2/26/2003 Thierry Michel: Hidden Information
One way to classify games is to use the criterion of what information is accessible to the player. Chess is an example of complete information game (everyone knows exactly all…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Thierry Michel, Drew Stevens, clehrich, Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, bowlingm.

2/26/2003 Matt Gwinn: Miniatures, props and other visual aids
Over the years I've found that I've used a variety of visual aids in my roleplaying. Maps and miniatures are the most common, but I've gone as far as taking…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Gwinn, clehrich, Jack Spencer Jr, Kester Pelagius, Walt Freitag, cruciel, arxhon, M. J. Young, James Holloway.

2/26/2003 Dave Panchyk: Play-by-Mail RPGs--development issues
I'm planning to develop a play-by-mail role-playing game that I intend to hand-moderate for a small player base. I'm in the very beginning stages right now, and would like input…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dave Panchyk, Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes.

2/27/2003 Daredevil: Casting in Role-Playing
Heya, For quite some time our gaming group has been aware of actively practising casting particular players into particular character roles in the games played by us. The reasoning (for…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Daredevil, Synicism, clehrich, Tim C Koppang, talysman, simon_hibbs, Ron Edwards, Thierry Michel, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, Le Joueur, MoonHunter, yellow_skeleton.

2/27/2003 JMendes: An alternative to Simmetry and d20
Hey, :) In this thread, we tossed around a few ideas for different fortune mechanics that would obey a certain set of specs. Walt (wfreitag) came up with an interesting…
In RPG Theory
Participants: JMendes, marknau.

2/27/2003 Valamir: Brief thoughts on Battlesystem
I didn't want to clutter up the discussion on wargaming and RPGs in general with more thoughts on Battlesystem specifically, so I thought I'd respond to that tangent seperately. Basically…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Valamir, arxhon.

2/28/2003 KeithBVaughn: YATU...How to identify???
To the Group Members and Moderators, While I have seen many comments on what makes another "Fantasy Heartbreaker" or "Yet Another Fantasy Game" from the neophyte game designers, I'm curious…
In RPG Theory
Participants: KeithBVaughn, Andrew Martin, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Kester Pelagius, Walt Freitag, arxhon, Blake Hutchins, M. J. Young, MoonHunter.

2/28/2003 Andy Kitkowski: The new Marvel RPG, Or: Why Jared's Games Have a Shot Now :)
Maybe some of you had heard about this new game on other forums: From this site: http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?threadid=16029 "MURPG is unlike any other roleplaying game, even other diceless ones. The entire…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andy Kitkowski, Jonathan Walton, Mike Holmes, Clinton R. Nixon, Jared A. Sorensen, Bankuei, arxhon, Drew Stevens, b_bankhead, ghoest, Brand_Robins, Michael Hopcroft, Matt Gwinn, wyrdlyng, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Bill_White, Le Joueur, Matt Snyder, szilard, Paka, M. J. Young, Stuart DJ Purdie, talysman, John Harper, Sparky, Evan Jones, DaGreatJL.

2/28/2003 szilard: PC/NPC Symmetry
In a game I'm working on, I'm struggling with the issue of whether PCs and NPCs should be constructed in (at least vaguely) the same manner. My immediate inclination (born…
In RPG Theory
Participants: szilard, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

2/28/2003 Mike Holmes: Age-old Imponderables
Quoting Jason from another thread: To list or not to list? You're kind of fighting the impossible to answer question. That was a good point. Over the years, I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, clehrich, cruciel, M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, Walt Freitag, Andrew Martin, Thierry Michel, Drew Stevens, simon, Le Joueur.

3/1/2003 Johannes: Two senses of realism
Hi, After teching Russian classics to my students I came to think about how relism in litterature has been defined in criticism and what is realism in general. I think…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Johannes, ThreeGee, Marco, Mike Holmes, lumpley, clehrich.

3/3/2003 Drew Stevens: Central and Secondry Protagonism in Roleplaying
So, I was reflecting a bit today, on previously and presently run Games I Have Known. Specifically, on the nature of the protagonism of the characters. Now, most games I'm…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, Sylus Thane, M. J. Young, Johannes, Michael S. Miller, Mike Holmes, clehrich.

2/27/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Morale and identification [split from Wargames]
Man, I'll tell you. I'm not much of a wargamer at all. Mostly because I just cannot treat any of my units as cannon fodder. I just can't march a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, contracycle, Thierry Michel, Mike Holmes, clehrich, arxhon, Valamir.

3/4/2003 Tony Irwin: Author Stance
Folks I need some help, I'm trying to read up on games that encourage players to take author stance rather than actor stance. I'm especially interested in games that make…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Tony Irwin, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Bankuei, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Bruce Baugh, Ben Morgan.

3/4/2003 Matt Snyder: It's the system, stupid
I've had several polite, shall we say, disagreements with my fellow players about whether system does indeed matter. Their positions are all over the "spectrum" from matters to doesn'tmatter. Obviously,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Snyder, Le Joueur, Paganini, ThreeGee, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Matt Wilson, Sylus Thane, jburneko, Walt Freitag, clehrich.

3/4/2003 ThreeGee: Does Setting Matter?
Hey all, In this thread about system, the point was raised that the majority of gamers (at least the vocal ones on another board) think that setting is the single…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ThreeGee, Ron Edwards, Matt Wilson, Mike Holmes, Valamir, contracycle, Bankuei, Rob Donoghue, Clinton R. Nixon, Alan, clehrich, Le Joueur, John Kim, DaGreatJL, simon_hibbs, M. J. Young, Blake Hutchins.

3/5/2003 Stuart DJ Purdie: Ordering of play elements
[quote="Ron Edwards"]Of course Setting matters. Without characters, setting, situation, a system, and color, role-playing isn't happening.[/quote] Read this over in the setting matter thread, and it crystalised something that I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Stuart DJ Purdie, Ron Edwards, Emily Care.

3/5/2003 ethan_greer: What makes a game it's own thing?
So. I'm hard at work on a "new" RPG. I'm quite pleased with what I have so far, and more information will of course be forthcoming as it approaches drafthood.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ethan_greer, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

3/5/2003 Paganini: Real Color
I like miniatures. And game cards with cool artwork. And dungeon floor-plans. And actual dungeon / landscape layouts. I don't typically like your standard fantasy wargame, or your standard skirmish…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Matt Wilson, C. Edwards, John Kim, Le Joueur, Cryostorm, contracycle, Michael S. Miller, Mike Holmes, Sylus Thane, Jared A. Sorensen, bluegargantua.

3/6/2003 Matt Wilson: most fun moment of play?
In another thread, Ron requested this info from a potential game designer: please provide us with some better perspective on what, in your view, will be the single most fun…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Wilson, Ron Edwards.

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