Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

6/16/2003 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.

6/15/2003 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.

6/15/2003 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.

6/13/2003 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.

6/13/2003 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.

6/9/2003 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.

6/7/2003 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.

6/6/2003 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.

6/2/2003 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.

6/2/2003 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.

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.

5/30/2003 epweissengruber: Where did the discussion of stances start
I tried doing a search to find the first definitions of "Stances, but didn't quite get what I was looking for. Can anyone help me find the snowball that started…
In RPG Theory
Participants: epweissengruber, Ron Edwards.

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.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

6/22/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Interactive Entertainment
The recent threads struck me that the advent of both RPGs and computer/video games was a step in the evolution of interactive entertainment. Unlike passive entertainments; like stage, screen, and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, talysman, Michael S. Miller.

6/22/2003 Comte: To experience is to know CRPGs
Okay it is hard not to notice the recent surge of interest in CRPGs and thier history. While lots of us are talking about them I realized it would be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Comte, Dr. Velocity, Jack Spencer Jr, Wolfen, Eric J., contracycle, Walt Freitag, lumpley, John Kim, Marco, WDFlores, Ian Charvill.

6/20/2003 Jason Aaron: Species/Race/Culture (split)
This is my first post at the Forge, so my apologies if it is somewhat off topic (and heavily biased). I think that something that may help designers, authors, or…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jason Aaron, M. J. Young, contracycle, Matt Wilson, Bankuei, John Kim, Garbanzo, damion, simon_hibbs.

6/23/2003 xiombarg: fantasy heartbreakers: a theory
[url=http://www.rpgnews.com/article.php?sid=2509]Working at rpgnews.com[/url] has gotten me thinking about [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/9/]Fantasy Heartbreakers[/url] again. Slap me down if this insight is trivial and/or someone already popped out with it and I missed the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: xiombarg, Valamir, Bankuei, Ron Edwards, WDFlores, Cadriel, Marco, John Kim, M. J. Young.

6/25/2003 Sylus Thane: Can RPG's be collectable?
Now I don't mean in the sense "I collect rpg's because I like them" but more in the sense of how Magic Cards are collectable. Other card games can be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sylus Thane, ethan_greer, xiombarg, damion, Cadriel, Ron Edwards, Jonathan Walton, Reprisal, Adrian Jay, efindel, Lxndr, Jason Aaron, Comte, Michael S. Miller.

7/1/2003 Aknaton: Issues with repetition
After reading Christopher Kubasik's The Interactive Toolkit I've been thinking a bit. :-) I now think that one of my biggest issues with traditional (and here I'll leave the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Aknaton, Bankuei, xiombarg, Christopher Kubasik, Marco, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Paul Czege, Thomas Tamblyn, John Kim.

7/1/2003 ADGBoss: Why We Fight! (long)
A lil patriotic flare for those of you who know of or have seen the Why We Fight series on video or DVD (or possibly in person if you’re a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ADGBoss, contracycle, simon_hibbs, WDFlores, Mike Holmes.

7/4/2003 Cadriel: The Party Principle.
This is something that has always bothered me in roleplaying games: there almost instinctively a "party" or general group that becomes the collective protagonists of the game. For the most…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Cadriel, BPetroff93, M. J. Young, Marco, Dr. Velocity, RobMuadib, Ben Morgan, Lxndr, Jack Spencer Jr, Bob McNamee, pete_darby, Ron Edwards, SFEley, Christopher Kubasik, simon_hibbs, contracycle.

7/6/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Sharks With Lasers On Their Heads!!
Over in this thread I wrote the following: Side note: I am disturbed, but not surprised by your suggestion of the dead body in the trunk. It seems to be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Marco, Cadriel, jdagna, Comte, Christopher Kubasik, RobMuadib, Roy, BPetroff93, M. J. Young, ross_winn, Mike Holmes, John Kim, Bruce Baugh, pete_darby, komradebob2, Jared A. Sorensen, Ian Charvill, Lxndr, SFEley, contracycle, Ron Edwards.

7/7/2003 Christopher Kubasik: Action, the Core Resolution or Just a Dull Habit?
Hi all, This thread is picking up a new trail from Jack's Shark/Laser thread. Ross asked, "I heartily agree. Do you have any ideas for resolution systems that are not…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, ross_winn, Marco, ethan_greer, Mike Holmes, John Kim, John Harper, Thomas Tamblyn, Ben Lehman, Lxndr, M. J. Young, Jeph, Mortaneus.

7/8/2003 SFEley: The Anti-Party Principle
Hi all, This is a tangent (at nearly 180 degrees, okay, but a tangent nevertheless) ]8-] to the Party Principle thread. I initially posted it there, but was informed that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: SFEley, Ben Morgan, Comte, mythusmage, Ron Edwards, jrs, Mike Holmes, Lxndr.

7/8/2003 Comte: Party-based play
Okay I have lost sleep over the topic of this thread. This is for two reasons, one of them is my competence as a GM, and the other is the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Comte, Ron Edwards, Dr. Velocity, Bankuei, mythusmage, Ben Morgan, SFEley, Mike Holmes, Marco, Sparky, M. J. Young.

7/8/2003 mythusmage: Understanding Roleplaying Games
Nota Bene: This is more in the nature of random scribblings. Feedback will certainly affect the final thesis and how it's presented. First to present a description of RPGs. A…
In RPG Theory
Participants: mythusmage, Alan, lumpley, Bankuei, John Kim, M. J. Young.

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