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In RPG Theory

4/20/2003 Drew Stevens: The Means and Ways of Conflict
Question: Is conflict in RPGs inherently limited to binary states (win/lose), a game of diminishing resources (traditional HPs, dice pool) or the question of narrative control? I'm specifically contrasting this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, clehrich, Harlequin.

4/20/2003 Bankuei: Chris's Standard Rant: "Innovative"
This rant was something I posted to a thread on rpg.net in regards to originality, innovation, etc. (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?s=555618707ef2dd0564940f08674d04d0&threadid=45579) This rant is a little more "gut level" and emotional than what…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, J. Backman, anonymouse, Marco, Wolfen, Valamir, Green, clehrich, Kester Pelagius, Jack Spencer Jr, Jonathan Walton, John Kim, redcrow, Ron Edwards, fabien, Bruce Baugh.

4/18/2003 John Kim: Soap Opera Test Session
WARNING: Liz or any of my players -- DON'T READ THIS. OK, I was intrigued by Chris Lehrich's thread on soap opera structure, and going to go over my…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Blake Hutchins, Ian Charvill.

4/18/2003 clehrich: On Definitions In General
Given the recent threads on Monopoly the RPG and other related topics, it seems as though the old definitions problem has raised its ugly head once again. Having been trained…
In RPG Theory
Participants: clehrich, Ian Charvill, Adam Dray, Nick Pagnucco.

4/18/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Pinball comparison
After reading through the Monopoly: The Most Popular Roleplaying Game? thread, something occured to me about that whole discussion. Rather than muddy the waters further in that thread, I'll post…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, Bankuei, C. Edwards, Le Joueur, John Kim, Jeph.

4/17/2003 SrGrvsaLot: The Role of Names in Roleplaying Games
The Storypunk thread on the indie games forum got me to thinking, how much of a role does the title of an RPG play in creating the mood and theme…
In RPG Theory
Participants: SrGrvsaLot, Jack Spencer Jr, ThreeGee, Felix, M. J. Young, Heather Manley, talysman, Ron Edwards, John Kim, Thomas Tamblyn, Jared A. Sorensen.

4/16/2003 ThreeGee: Firearms Resources
Hey all, In the spirit of asking impossibly broad questions in the hopes of getting someone else to do my homework for me: What resources would you recommend for understanding…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ThreeGee, Mike Holmes, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, CplFerro, RobMuadib, M. J. Young, Sylus Thane, Tonic.

4/15/2003 CplFerro: To Mr. Langford: Special Theory of Roleplaying
Dear Mr. Langford: As a coda to the previous thread, I offer a pithier explanation of the fundamental difference between an axiomatic game like Monopoly, and a principled one like…
In RPG Theory
Participants: CplFerro, Mark Johnson, Mike Holmes, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, clehrich, ross_winn.

4/14/2003 redcrow: Maneuvering in Armor
To go along with my other post on weapons, I'm hoping to get some input on Armor. Specifically, maneuvering in armor. Many games include a skill for learning to maneuver…
In RPG Theory
Participants: redcrow, Mike Holmes, ThreeGee, SrGrvsaLot, Valamir, Sylus Thane.

4/14/2003 redcrow: Separating Weapon Skills
What is the best break-up of weapon skills based on similarity? I'm hoping for some educated/expert opinions on what a reasonable break-up for medieval fantasy weapons would be. Is the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: redcrow, SrGrvsaLot, Ron Edwards, Marco, ThreeGee, Shreyas Sampat, Harlequin, cruciel, M. J. Young, Thomas Tamblyn, John Kim, Jake Norwood, epweissengruber, simon_hibbs, Eamon Voss.

4/13/2003 quozl: Monopoly: The Most Popular Roleplaying Game?
I hope this helps show others what I mean when i say that Monopoly is an RPG. Please let me know what you think. Monopoly: The Most Popular Roleplaying Game?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: quozl, Eric J., M. J. Young, Valamir, CplFerro, Marco, Le Joueur, Ron Edwards, simon_hibbs, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, John Kim, Walt Freitag.

4/13/2003 taalyn: All-opposed, but...
I've described elsewhere here at the Forge how all of Aisling's 'rolls' are opposed. So-called 'unopposed' draws draw on the Doorness or Carness to determine difficulty. But, what about situations…
In RPG Theory
Participants: taalyn, Kester Pelagius, SrGrvsaLot, Garbanzo, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes.

4/12/2003 clehrich: RPGs and Soap Operas [LONG]
In the RPG Structure and Recruitment Problems thread, there have been some mentions of soap operas and RPGs. So I’m finally going to post a draft version of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: clehrich, Bruce Baugh, Palaskar, Ron Edwards, szilard, John Kim, M. J. Young, Matt Wilson, Ryan Chaddock.

4/11/2003 b_bankhead: RPG Structure and Issues of Recruitment
[size=18px][b]Introduction[/b][/size] The last decade has been problematic for the rpg hobby. While standards of production continue to increase growth has stagnated particularly when compared against new gaming forms such as…
In RPG Theory
Participants: b_bankhead, Clinton R. Nixon, Le Joueur, Valamir, Mike Holmes, quozl, Bankuei, clehrich, M. J. Young, Kester Pelagius, Christoffer Lernö, Bruce Baugh, John Kim, Brendan Litton.

4/11/2003 Matt: Mainstream Roleplaying (almost)
Wasn't sure where to post this, but I'm sure it'll get moved if Theory isn't the place. While looking for a brithday present I found Whatever You Want (Amazon UK…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt, quozl.

4/10/2003 jburneko: Social Conflict Resolution
I've been wanting to discuss this for a while but haven't been able to construct a working example that demonstrated my question yet. Then, about a week ago, I was…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jburneko, Matt Wilson, M. J. Young, quozl, Harlequin, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Ben Morgan.

4/10/2003 Kester Pelagius: What is the next great evolution in RPG design?
Greetings All, Since the infancy of role-playing, way back when the term 'Fantasy Wargaming' was considered synonymous with 'RPG', there have been preconceived notions of what constitutes a proper game.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Kester Pelagius, Bruce Baugh, quozl, Mike Holmes, Walt Freitag, Ron Edwards, C. Edwards, Paul Czege, Valamir, Jared A. Sorensen, greyorm, Le Joueur, b_bankhead, M. J. Young, hix, talysman, Thierry Michel, clehrich, kaiza.

4/9/2003 Marco: Marco's View of Gaming
Marco's Gaming Manifesto Here is my take on gaming. I'm not saying this is all it can be. I'm not saying this way or these terms are "the best" or…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Marco, Mike Holmes, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis, Walt Freitag, Bruce Baugh, Ian Charvill, Matt, Harlequin, Paul Czege, cruciel, Le Joueur.

4/9/2003 bladamson: so I had this crazy idea (noir)...
(This might be the wrong forum for this, please move it if so) So I was thinking today (dangerous, that), and I thought, "Gee, wouldn't a Film Noir RPG be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: bladamson, deadpanbob, Rob MacDougall, ethan_greer, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, James Holloway, talysman, Dotan Dimet.

4/8/2003 Drew Stevens: Partcipationism as a defined mechanic?
Just a thought, inspired by Riddle of Steel. :) What would be the results of a mechanic which defines a Theme (or set of Themes) for both a story arc…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Drew Stevens, Ron Edwards, Marco.

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In RPG Theory

4/22/2003 anonymouse: Go as primary resolution mechanic?
Idea: You use a 9x9 board; the 13 and the 19 are probably too large for any kind of quick resolution. Every action has a stone-amount associated with it; maybe…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, Garbanzo, Mike Holmes, Jonathan Walton, Valamir, Andy Kitkowski, clehrich, hix, Marco, Chris, Thomas Tamblyn, Shreyas Sampat.

4/22/2003 fabien: Civilization(TM) RPG game?
In a previous thread about innovation, I ended asking about some kind of Civilization-like mechanics in RPG. By this, I don't mean a RPG where you're playing God-like creatures building…
In RPG Theory
Participants: fabien, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, talysman.

4/23/2003 Buddha Nature: Necessary Risk
Is risk a necessary part of the roleplaying experience? This is a question I have been grappling with for a bit now. What I mean by this is whether or…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Buddha Nature, AV, Simon W, Le Joueur, Mike Holmes, ADGBoss, damion, Ron Edwards, Wolfen, C. Edwards, M. J. Young, Bruce Baugh.

4/23/2003 John Kim: Plotless but Background-based Games
This is a split from another thread in the "Actual Play" forum. The essential problem which the poster was posting was his feeling that: "if they fail, then nothing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Le Joueur, lumpley, Mike Holmes, clehrich, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, Bankuei, Emily Care, cruciel.

4/23/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Making the players more proactive
I think I should start that I dislike the word proactive. I side with the Itchy & Scratchy writer on the episode of the Simpson when they created the Poochy…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Le Joueur, Fabrice G., damion, John Kim, clehrich, cruciel.

4/23/2003 Marco: No Myth playing
Feng has been talking about playing without the "myth of reality"--I find the idea interesesting but I'm foggy on some issues. 0. Gener issues? What happens when genre is foggy?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Marco, Mike Holmes, Le Joueur, clehrich, M. J. Young.

4/24/2003 b_bankhead: Evolve or Die: forces Driving the Evolution of RPGs
Recently a major game store in my area moved three doors down in the same strip mall to new digs. Where the first location was notable by it's large and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: b_bankhead, clehrich, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young.

4/24/2003 Bailywolf: Multi-axis Die mechanics
OK, I was playing with d6's yesterday, and I decided to see how many different kinds of information I could pull out of a pool of plain white sixers in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bailywolf, szilard, Jay Turner, Matt Wilson, talysman, dragongrace, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes.

4/24/2003 iago: Stats Heads: What's the math?
I'm trying to write up some quickie perl functions to run some probabilities on several dice methods, and I want to be able to avoid the ugly and memory-consumptive brute…
In RPG Theory
Participants: iago, bowlingm, Mike Holmes, Walt Freitag, J B Bell, M. J. Young.

4/25/2003 szilard: Player Narration and GM Secrets
This is spun off from a post Ron made in the (remarkably interesting) Actual Play thread A demoralising day which highlights a current dilemma I've been having: How do you…
In RPG Theory
Participants: szilard, Kester Pelagius, Jack Spencer Jr, Jay Turner, Valamir, lumpley, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Christopher Kubasik, Walt Freitag, Le Joueur, Buddha Nature, cruciel, Piers Brown, clehrich.

4/25/2003 Jay Turner: Mechanics: How Bad Are Ties?
I'm working on a game that involves drawing cards to resolve who gets to narrate a scene, and I'm wrestling with the significance of ties (the same number drawn by…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jay Turner, C. Edwards, Paul Czege, Mike Holmes, ADGBoss, Bob McNamee, greyorm, M. J. Young, Bankuei, deadpanbob, Jeph.

4/26/2003 soundwave: Motivations to design
I'm not exactly sure this is the right forum for this topic, but... I've been looking through a lot of new RPG systems lately, and a question ocurred to me:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: soundwave, anonymouse, hix, cruciel, lumpley, Le Joueur, Bankuei, M. J. Young.

4/26/2003 MistHunter: The Modern Wild West
I have this setting idea, and I would like to know other's players opinions on it. The setting makes the RPG itself, highly Gamist, as your goal is to become…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MistHunter, anonymouse, Thomas Tamblyn, Walt Freitag, M. J. Young.

4/26/2003 Sindyr: HELP! I can't remember which RPG this is...
I am not sure if I have posted this in the right forum(s), but I am trying to remember where I came across an interesting game, and thought this would…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sindyr, Wolfen, Chris.

4/27/2003 Chris: Exhaustion/Strain based Magic . . .
I'm trying to design a magic system for a setting that I'm basing around the Icelandic Sagas (mytho-historical viking setting based on primary medieval source material). To keep magic "realistic"…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Chris, Wolfen, Thomas Tamblyn, damion, John Kim, Ron Edwards, Paganini, Piers Brown, Jay Turner, kregmosier, Mike Holmes, Andrea Gualano.

4/27/2003 Garbanzo: SWM iso unopposed one-roll = one-exchange systems
All- I'm looking for systems to reference as I plow ahead with mine own game. Desired: Games with all-unopposed resolution where that one roll covers an exchange, not a swing.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Garbanzo, greyorm, Thomas Tamblyn, Bob McNamee.

4/27/2003 DaGreatJL: Do prewritten scenarios=Illusionism/Participationism?
First, I apologize if this is covering old ground; if so, please feel free to direct me to the proper thread. So, when a GM has a fully prewritten story,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: DaGreatJL, John Kim, M. J. Young, cruciel, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards, clehrich, Mike Holmes, Bob McNamee, Marco.

4/28/2003 soundwave: Defining Genre Expectations
There's been a lot of talk around here lately about Genre Expectations, particularly in relation to Fang's 'No Myth' style. Now, it seems to me that Genre Expectations have to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: soundwave, M. J. Young, MoonHunter, Le Joueur, Bankuei, Mike Holmes.

4/28/2003 cruciel: Relationships Between GMing Styles
I've been thinking a little bit about how these different GM styles being discussed as of late relate to each other...so I drew (err, typed actually) a picture. Participationism…
In RPG Theory
Participants: cruciel, Rob MacDougall, Le Joueur, Marco, Mike Holmes.

4/28/2003 Chris: Icelandic Saga based campaign
Know how to cut them, know how to read them, Know how to stain them, know how to prove them, Know how to evoke them, know how to score them,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Chris, James Holloway, greyorm, John Kim, Paul Czege, Ron Edwards, RiP, Jeffrey Miller, jrs, Balbinus, Poenz.

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