Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

5/30/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: the psychology of getting enjoyment from play (split)
This is split from The airplane issue First, a full recap since it was impossible to split the thread: More interesting, perhaps, is the question of why an argument…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Bankuei, LordSmerf, Ron Edwards, Emily Care, John Kim, M. J. Young, jdagna, ADGBoss.

5/29/2003 Emily Care: Applied Design Theory: Enlightenment Group Game Design cont.
Hello everyone, I invite you to take your favorite bag of game design theory tricks and apply them to a Forge original game: Enlightenment. Last year Mike Holmes started a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Emily Care, Mike Holmes, Shreyas Sampat, LordSmerf, talysman.

5/24/2003 Jonathan Walton: Player-Character Distinctions
Wanted to bring this up, since many people seem to have very strong feelings about this subject that are baffling to me. Some comments were made recently that brought this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich, Alan, Jeffrey Miller, jdagna, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Reprisal, Kester Pelagius, Mike Holmes, Thierry Michel, Jack Aidley, simon_hibbs.

5/22/2003 Matt Wilson: PC interaction and party split-ups
I was just reminded of this thing in Trollbabe where you can have your 'babe start anywhere on the map, and so the whole adventure - or maybe even series…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Wilson, Jack Spencer Jr, C. Edwards, clehrich, Cassidy, Ron Edwards, Bankuei, Mike Holmes, Ben Morgan, M. J. Young, Brian Leybourne, damion, John Kim, Emmett, cruciel, Jeffrey Miller, Bill_White.

5/21/2003 Balbinus: Casanova, homosexuality and underage sex
Hi, I initially posted this on rpg.net but on reflection the issues raised may be better addressed here. To the extent it's relevant, this is phrased from an essentially simulationist…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Balbinus, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis, Clinton R. Nixon, Jack Spencer Jr, Thierry Michel, Valamir, Eric J-D, lumpley, Veiltender, Walt Freitag, clehrich, M. J. Young, John Kim, simon_hibbs, damion, Jack Aidley.

5/21/2003 TheGameBoy: Which System to use?
I'm working with a fantasy world that has only humans as a choice of races. The magic is very psychically based. Mages are blind, but see through magic. What system,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TheGameBoy, Balbinus, ADGBoss, Bankuei, Mike Holmes.

5/21/2003 Andy Kitkowski: "Site Theory": How come not many folks here use OG
Consider this a curiosity thread more than anything, I don't think that this has any far reaching implications or the like. Anyway, I couldn't help but to notice that the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andy Kitkowski, taalyn, Mike Holmes, jdagna, Wormwood, Jeffrey Miller, Brand_Robins, Jeph.

5/20/2003 Sidhain: Incoherance and Communication Modes (long)
Alright I read several of the threads that talked about so called incoherant games, and this may be me coming from left field on the topic (as I usually do)…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sidhain, M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes.

5/20/2003 Gordon C. Landis: Gamma Worlds' "How to Use This Book"
My copy of Gamma World is copyright 1978, TSR Rules, and is listed as the 2nd printing, August 1978. The authors are James A. Ward and Gary Jaquet. Clearly an…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Gordon C. Landis, Patrick O'Duffy, quozl, John Kim.

5/20/2003 Emote Control: RPGs as art form?
I have been thinking recently about RPG design, and something struck me about the nature of the process itself. It consists of human beings devising concepts, which they put into…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Emote Control, clehrich, John Kim, M. J. Young, jdagna, Mike Holmes, C. Edwards, Ron Edwards, dragongrace, Emily Care, Paul Czege, John Kirk, Jack Spencer Jr, Hunter Logan.

5/19/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: What sells?
Over in Why Incoherent Games Sell Fang drifted the topic a bit and I realised that I would wind up drifting the topic completely so I started a new thread.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Bankuei, DaGreatJL, Gordon C. Landis, Jack Aidley, C. Edwards, John Kim.

5/19/2003 clehrich: Confused Agendas and Practicality (LONG)
I'd like to throw the following out, and see whether it strikes a chord. If not, I'm not going to push about it. I mean what I say, but if…
In RPG Theory
Participants: clehrich, Gordon C. Landis, Le Joueur, Matt Snyder, Eric J-D, Mike Holmes.

5/19/2003 M. J. Young: Why Incoherent Games Sell
In a thread in the Scattershot forum entitled Vive La Resistance or System Doesn't Matter, Fang Langford raises the question of why incoherent games sell. He suggests that it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Le Joueur, jdagna, Jeffrey Straszheim, clehrich, Jack Spencer Jr, LordSmerf, talysman, John Kim, Balbinus, damion, C. Edwards, woodelf, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards.

5/19/2003 M. J. Young: System versus System
According to the Lumpley principle, System is that which exists at the social contract level by which participants decide what is happening in the shared imaginary space. As such, it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Le Joueur, lumpley.

5/19/2003 Bankuei: The Ball in Play
Hi folks, I've been twirling the idea in my head for a bit, and got something a bit more clear and coherent. The Ball "Avenues of Potential" I find that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, damion, Jack Spencer Jr, Emily Care, Mike Holmes.

5/18/2003 epweissengruber: Book for people interested in narration and human nature
I came across a book by a congitive science researcher by the name of Mark Turner. It is entitled The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language, Oxford: Oxford…
In RPG Theory
Participants: epweissengruber.

5/17/2003 Jeph: Does anyone else distinguish between System and Mechanics?
System is defined as the means by which the group agrees to imagined events during play. Or at least, that's waht Vincent, Ron, and everyone else seems to agree on.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jeph, Le Joueur, Valamir, jdagna, M. J. Young, Jared A. Sorensen, Alan, lumpley.

5/16/2003 Bankuei: Super Happy Game Ball
Here's an idea in the forming...we'll call it the Ball for short. The Ball, represents input into "what happens next" in a game by the group. This input, is not…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, Emily Care.

5/14/2003 Ron Edwards: More D&D history help
Hello, I have acquired a wealth of information regarding the history of Dungeons & Dragons publishing from about 1982 through 1995 or so, but very little of it is rock-solid…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ron Edwards, Matt Snyder, Christopher Kubasik, Valamir, Jack Spencer Jr, efindel, Jeff Klein, Gordon C. Landis, Caldis, talysman, jrs, Mike Holmes, greyorm, Rob MacDougall, Jack Aidley.

5/12/2003 talysman: dungeon crawls and relationship maps
in another forum, I started a discussion about GMless role-playing (defined loosely to include any shared or rotating GM duties.) I started the thread mainly because it was obvious from…
In RPG Theory
Participants: talysman, Mike Holmes, Matt Wilson, Ron Edwards, efindel, jdagna, John Kim, Gordon C. Landis, Emily Care, Thierry Michel, Bill_White.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

5/31/2003 zaal: Cinematic Weapons and Narrating Damage
Hi all, I'm working on an action setting, so right now my mind is on emulating high-flying cinematic butt kicking in RPGs. I'm not posting this in the game design…
In RPG Theory
Participants: zaal, Garbanzo, iago, Shreyas Sampat, fitheach, damion, WhiteRat, Walt Freitag.

6/2/2003 Jack Aidley: How is D&D magic Karmic?
I hope this is the right place for this. In this article, Ron states that: AD&D uses Karma for magic and Fortune for combat. I don't see why D&D…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Aidley, Shreyas Sampat, Valamir, Jeph, Ron Edwards.

6/2/2003 Emote Control: Using a website
I've been doing some thinking about how RPG companies use their websites, and looked at a number of them. The main purposes of the websites are: 1-A place to buy…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Emote Control, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, John Kim.

6/6/2003 Jack Aidley: How good are you at mental arithmetic?
I am exceptionally good at mental arithmetic. Not as good as I used to be, mind, but still exceptionally good. I have never played a roleplaying system in which the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Aidley, WDFlores, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Emily Care, damion, jdagna, John Kim, M. J. Young, talysman, Shreyas Sampat, John Kirk, Walt Freitag.

6/7/2003 jdagna: The Grand Illusion
This is split from http://indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=6779" (How good are you at mental arithmetic?) Most of the time I fudge stuff anyway, or ignore the dice to get the result that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jdagna, Wormwood, talysman, Jack Aidley, Jeffrey Miller, WDFlores, C. Edwards, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, Ian Charvill, simon_hibbs, Jack Spencer Jr.

6/9/2003 Jack Aidley: Qualitative Fortune
This (How good are you at mental arithmetic?) discussion has led me on to thinking about a new system for running my games with. I want to keep a fortune…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Aidley, Cadriel, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Shreyas Sampat, Mike Holmes, Garbanzo, Matt.

6/13/2003 anonymouse: Gamist Article-inspired character advancement mechanic.
Specifically, this question/bulletpoint: How tough and effective should a starting character be? If it's too high, then there's no reason to improve; if it's too low, the early stages of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, Ian Charvill.

6/13/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Gamist Article-inspired character advancement: SCORE!
Thoughts on Gamist character advancement. I can't help but note that in RPG that character advancement is taken, more or less, as read or necessary. Consider other games with a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, John Harper, Mike Holmes, Lxndr, Paul Czege, Valamir, Thierry Michel, Jack Aidley.

6/15/2003 Michael Hopcroft: Religion in Game Design
This may seem like an impertinent question, but do any of you who design games find that your personal beliefs affect what you design? I'm a farily recent convert to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Michael Hopcroft, Jack Spencer Jr, lumpley, jdagna, damion, Christopher Kubasik, greyorm, Jared A. Sorensen, simon_hibbs.

6/15/2003 Eric J.: Planescape Conversion
What's this? Eric's sole purpose on this site isn't to ask for help on his Star Wars gaming sessions? Hah! Of course it is. I just happened to have some…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Eric J., Mike Holmes, xiombarg, Wormwood, Sage of Shadowdale.

6/16/2003 Emily Care: Calling all Rants
Hey there, Could we get links to all the Standard Rants in one thread? Or would the universe compress to a single point if we did so? Point this to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Emily Care, jrs, Jared A. Sorensen, xiombarg, damion, cruciel, Le Joueur, lumpley, Matt Wilson, Heather Manley, taalyn, Mike Holmes, Bankuei, quozl.

6/16/2003 Opsimath: Whence comes effect-based design?
I've been hearing the term "effect-based" being used quite a bit in some game design circles over the last couple of years. Different people seem to use the term to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Opsimath, Shreyas Sampat, Valamir, Thomas Tamblyn, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards.

6/17/2003 Thierry Michel: Theme and mechanics
In this thread , the recommendation for a budding game designer is to "imagine the scene in your head and play it out as a game but without…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Thierry Michel, Mike Holmes, John Kim, damion, contracycle, Hunter Logan, Walt Freitag, Lxndr, pete_darby.

6/18/2003 taalyn: Reward factors
I'm just looking for people's ideas for how they reward players with experience points and the like. For example, one factor I've seen is the "cool feat" point, granting the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: taalyn, Lxndr, jdagna, cruciel, M. J. Young, Mad-Eye Moody, Ben Morgan, Matt Wilson, Hunter Logan, Mike Holmes, Jack Spencer Jr.

6/19/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: mainstream appeal: What, exactly, does it mean to roleplay?
from No More Incoherence! - A Rant Call me strange; call me an outsider, someone who doesn't understand the hobby. But allow me this much: role playing games…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Matt Wilson, Marco, Ian Charvill, Dr. Velocity, Fairie Princess, jdagna, contracycle, Michael S. Miller, Bankuei, ethan_greer, Paganini, M. J. Young, Comte.

6/19/2003 xiombarg: Pretender Revised
IIRC, this is the correct forum for "open comments" on a game, because Indie Design is for talking about more specific design questions. Well, I incorporated the proposed changes, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: xiombarg, lumpley, Mike Holmes.

6/20/2003 Palaskar: An history of CRPGs (LONG)
Ron Edwards said: Then again, perhaps my surprise is a matter of my own subcultural limitations, if related hobbies are considered. Gamism remained alive and well among computer games like…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Palaskar, Wolfen, anonymouse, Comte, MadTinkerer, talysman, Hunter Logan, Eric J., Jeff Klein, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, Caldis, M. J. Young, contracycle, Walt Freitag, damion, efindel, Tavish.

6/21/2003 Stuart DJ Purdie: Mind control and protagonisation
It's a staple of superhero type games. Player A has mind control powers, and uses them on NPC's to various gains. But the moment an NPC uses such an ability…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Stuart DJ Purdie, Andrew Martin, John Kim, Lxndr, M. J. Young, Jared A. Sorensen, Michael S. Miller, Mike Holmes.

6/21/2003 Christopher Kubasik: The Game Between the Rules
Hi, After reading John Kim and Marco (and many others) going at it on another thread, I was thinking of starting a thread called, The Game Between the Rules. It…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Dr. Velocity, Mike Holmes, Marco, Valamir.

6/21/2003 talysman: rogue-like games and their influence on pen-and-paper RPGs
I've been pretty busy lately with other projects, so I haven't been around much, but I have been thinking about some questions Ron raised in his Gamism essay; specifically, questions…
In RPG Theory
Participants: talysman, Jack Spencer Jr, Jeff Klein, Mike Holmes, John Kim.

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