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In RPG Theory

7/30/2003 ejh: Towards a Semiotics of Roleplaying Games
I tried to work this out years ago but there was no Forge then. I'm going back to it now in my blog. Please feel free to comment, but don't…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ejh, Hunter Logan, Gordon C. Landis, Walt Freitag, Ben Lehman, lumpley, Valamir, John Kim, GB Steve, Cemendur.

7/30/2003 gobi: Democratic Mechanic?
(Pasted from Theory) One could in theory devise a system where the player and the referee each propose an outcome of an action, and everyone votes (perhaps as…
In RPG Theory
Participants: gobi, Ben Lehman, Hardpoint, Shreyas Sampat, iago, Mark Johnson, contracycle, simon_hibbs, Rob Donoghue.

7/30/2003 Comte: Metaplots a Rebuttal
I started this as a reply to this thread: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=7333 I got half waythough my point when I realized I would most likely get a moderater teling me ,very politly,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Comte, Lxndr, xiombarg, kalyptein, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Gordon C. Landis, simon_hibbs.

7/28/2003 xiombarg: Kirt's Standard Rant #1: Metaplots
[url=http://www.rpgnews.com/article.php?sid=2583]Recent events[/url] have [url=http://www.livejournal.com/users/xiombarg/319163.html]gotten me thinking[/url]... I've voiced this before, and it's perhaps more relevant to "traditional" RPG publishers who are overly-reliant on the three-tier system, but I think it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: xiombarg, Lxndr, jdagna, John Kim, Hardpoint, pete_darby, kamikaze, Valamir, Ron Edwards, Bogie_71, Mike Holmes, Jack Spencer Jr, contracycle, M. J. Young, talysman, AnyaTheBlue, eyebeams, Green, Gordon C. Landis, James Holloway, Kurosawa.

7/27/2003 Mad-Eye Moody: RPG Theory and Horror gaming
I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on the application of RPG Theory to horror gaming. I can't seem to find anything with the search function of the forum. I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mad-Eye Moody, Jere, permacultureguerilla, M. J. Young, simon_hibbs.

7/26/2003 permacultureguerilla: Paganism and role playing
I'm following a discussion on the link here . . . http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=7187&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15 Which basically boils down to a discussion between Greyorm and Madelf. Madelf wants to get a fictional game…
In RPG Theory
Participants: permacultureguerilla, madelf, greyorm, John Kim.

7/24/2003 permacultureguerilla: Help with word-based system?
Bear in mind it's hard for me to start a post without "braindumping." Also, I've started a few threads. If the moderators mind, feel free to delete some or I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: permacultureguerilla, Ben Lehman, Tony Irwin, Rob Donoghue, M. J. Young.

7/24/2003 permacultureguerilla: Theme: Satiric group therapy game.
Sorry, this is an indie game concept but it is so damn broad I'd call it a theory. It's too silly for me to take seriously and carefully work on,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: permacultureguerilla, WDFlores.

7/23/2003 Shreyas Sampat: Dice & Diceless?
I've been pondering this game design problem for a while now, and thought I'd ask for some input from the Forge crowd. I'm trying to devise a system such that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Shreyas Sampat, Lxndr, xiombarg, Hunter Logan, simon_hibbs, contracycle, Tony Irwin, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Ben Lehman, gobi, Brian Leybourne, Dev, Jonathan Walton, pete_darby, cruciel, ClaudeC, Mike Holmes, Erick Wujcik.

7/21/2003 permacultureguerilla: in-game Biases.
In cyberpunk and a lot of other games, I see slang terms and odd phrases to describe when something happens or that's the nature. There are indeed games that ask…
In RPG Theory
Participants: permacultureguerilla, simon_hibbs, contracycle, Lxndr, Heather Manley, John Kim, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes.

7/20/2003 anonymouse: HEX/cyberpunk characters.
HEX is technically "techno-urban" roleplaying, but traditional cyberpunk is certainly found under that umbrella. I mention HEX specifically because I don't know of anyone else working on such a game…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, M. J. Young, ross_winn.

7/19/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: Mini-maxing
For those following the threads in Actual Play (1) (2), suffice to say that Brian is out of that group, and I personally think it's for the better. One thing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Ben Lehman, Andrew Martin, C. Edwards, pete_darby, John Kim, Marco, Comte, jdagna, M. J. Young, Piers Brown, Jack Aidley, Fletcher, Thierry Michel, Nick Pagnucco, contracycle, Hunter Logan, Akos Szederjei.

7/15/2003 Bankuei: Participation / Illusionism
[quote]Illusionism is in the articles as a valid, functional form of play. A recent poster just spoke out against it and doubted it as a vaild form ... [/quote] That…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, Marco, Nick Pagnucco, Mike Holmes, cruciel, M. J. Young, Lxndr, Ron Edwards, John Kim.

7/18/2003 Jack Aidley: GM, DM, referee, storyteller, storyguide, etc., etc.
I've been thinking lately about what to call the GM in my games, as you can guess from the prior sentence I've always tended to use GM. But I'm wondering…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Aidley, pete_darby, Cadriel, Ben Morgan, Bob McNamee, jdagna, Marco, Ian Charvill, efindel, John Kim, Blake Hutchins, Matt Wilson, xiombarg, M. J. Young, Sylus Thane, Andrew Martin, Levi Kornelsen.

7/16/2003 Jonathan Walton: Cool & Clever?
[quote="On the Nobilis List, R. Sean Borgstrom"]Why do the rules exist? Today I think it is "to get the players to feel cool and clever on a regular basis."[/quote] Wow.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Christopher Kubasik, contracycle, WDFlores, Alan, pete_darby, Shreyas Sampat, Jared A. Sorensen, adaen, Ben Lehman, Marco, Jeffrey Miller, SFEley, Ian Charvill.

7/16/2003 madelf: help with magic?
Greetings to all! I'm new here (my first post). I've noticed some familiar names from RPGnet, so some of you may recognize me from there. Anyway, to get to the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: madelf, talysman, simon_hibbs, contracycle, Kester Pelagius, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, greyorm, John Kim, permacultureguerilla, taalyn.

7/15/2003 Nick Pagnucco: help w/ vocab
I've been trying recently to understand other issues discussed here other than strictly dealing with the three categories of G, N, & S. Specifically, I've been trying to hunt down…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Nick Pagnucco, Jack Spencer Jr, Bankuei, Paul Czege, Marco, Mike Holmes, WDFlores.

7/13/2003 Bankuei: Social Contract Decisions for Coherency
Hi guys, I've been doing a lot of thinking about Coherency in games, and Incoherency as well. I'm coming more and more to the conclusion that Incoherency(in design, at least),…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bankuei, M. J. Young.

7/13/2003 Ben Lehman: [rantish] Interactive Fantasy and Dysfunction
There is a very strong "our way or the highway" vibe at the Forge, and I don't like it particularly, mostly because I think it alienates new people. I've had…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ben Lehman, Cadriel, Bankuei, Dr. Velocity, talysman, Mike Holmes, Gordon C. Landis, Thomas Tamblyn, Andrew Martin, pete_darby.

7/12/2003 Cadriel: In the beginning, there was dysfunction...
This is split from the thread Something by way of a counterpoint because, well, I got intrigued by one of the thoughts that was going on. Specifically, in Justin Dagna's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Cadriel, Bruce Baugh, Marco, Comte, Dr. Velocity, Bankuei, Andrew Martin, hyphz, cruciel, efindel, jdagna, Tony Irwin, Jack Spencer Jr, talysman, Mike Holmes, Lxndr, Green, Jack Aidley.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

8/1/2003 Dev: Blow-by-blow Combat because combat... isn't important?
Was reading this: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=2024&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 And I got thinking. Combat in my current game does run in a relatively turn-by-turn fashion, since that's what I know; and it thusly slows things…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, Jake Norwood, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, iago, kamikaze, Ben Lehman, Cadriel, simon_hibbs.

8/2/2003 Paganini: Finding Characters
This reference thread: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=4738 Is pretty much a theoretical description of a practical approach to creating thematic play. In a nutshell, the goal was to create characters that would produce…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, John Kim, Windthin, Ron Edwards.

8/2/2003 ClaudeC: Are there any rpg games that...
... Allow you to play it with dices or diceless? And what would be the pros and cons of this kind of game? ClaudeC
In RPG Theory
Participants: ClaudeC, gobi, Shreyas Sampat, efindel, kamikaze, mike wiemholt.

8/2/2003 Paganini: The Lumpley Principle Goes Wading
Ejh posted to this old thread: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=6537 And here is my reply: Ejh, I think you're on the right track, but are in semantic danger. The thing is, it really…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, kamikaze, ejh, John Kim, C. Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, lumpley, Lxndr, Marco, Valamir, Matt Snyder, contracycle, Mike Holmes.

8/2/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: How to Design a Fantasy Heartbreaker.
[i]note: although there is a system contained herein, I am posting this more as a matter of general theory. Any comments about that design, if any, should go in the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Ben Lehman, AnyaTheBlue, Hardpoint, kamikaze, Ron Edwards, Comte, Valamir, Jeffrey Miller, madelf, contracycle, Mike Holmes, Chris Goodwin.

8/4/2003 Nicolas Crost: Understanding Spiritual Attributes
I was thinking about using a broadened mechanism of Spiritual Attributes (The Riddle of Steel) in my game. Therefore I was pondering what Spiritual Attributes are in game terms. I…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Nicolas Crost, Valamir, simon_hibbs, Windthin, Rico, Brian Leybourne, cruciel, Jake Norwood, Ron Edwards.

8/4/2003 John Kim: Multiple Reality Roleplaying
OK, I am starting a separate thread on this topic, because it seems like an interesting approach for a game. My idea is to have a game where the intent…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Ben Lehman, Julian Kelsey, contracycle, Lxndr, ejh, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, Rob Donoghue.

8/5/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: RPGs and related media
Over in this thread, the topic of things that may or may not be RPGs cropped up again. A by-no-means complete list of such things are as follows. Solo RPGs…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, James Holloway, Mike Holmes, ejh, John Kim, Ron Edwards, Paganini, M. J. Young.

8/5/2003 Ian Charvill: Examples of the Lumpley Principle in By-The-Rules Play
Over in another thread... Please don't make assertions without some kind of argument to back them up. How is it universal? It does not describe what happens…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Ian Charvill, Alan, Valamir, John Kim, Marco, kamikaze, C. Edwards, contracycle, Nicolas Crost, lumpley, Ron Edwards.

8/5/2003 ejh: System and the Lumpley Principle (split)
I notice also that in this particular formulation of the Lumpley Principle, game rules as written in a book are a subset of System. And in this formulation, the Lumpley…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ejh, Jack Spencer Jr, lumpley, Ron Edwards, C. Edwards, Gordon C. Landis, Alan, Cemendur.

8/7/2003 Dev: Blurring attributes and skills
Most RPGs do have a relatively standard attribute / skill dichotomy. I was recently tooling with my system of choice when I realized that it was very easy mechanically to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, Andrew Martin, gobi, Ron Edwards, Clinton R. Nixon, HMT, Mike Holmes, Valamir, iago, Windthin, M. J. Young.

8/7/2003 FruitSmack!: Suspense in RPGs
Hey all, One thing I’ve been thinking about recently is suspense in role-playing. In most games I’ve ran/played in, suspense is a hard, if not impossible thing to accomplish. Usually,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: FruitSmack!, Troy_Costisick, jdagna, Valamir, Alan, contracycle, Ian Charvill, simon_hibbs, Jonathan Walton.

8/8/2003 M. J. Young: In-game Courtroom Drama
Back somewhere in the incredibly long and multiply derailed Sharks With Lasers On Their Heads thread, I commented that I thought it possible to do courtroom drama if you…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Smithy, pete_darby.

8/8/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: a perspective on roleplaying
This was originally going to be a reply to the RPGs and related media thread, but I'm going to talk about all kinds of things that would most likely derail…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, simon_hibbs, Mike Holmes, John Kim, Jonathan Walton, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Windthin, ejh, Emily Care.

8/9/2003 Sir Thomas: 'Crunchy' scene-resolution
Hi, I'm a long-time lurker at The Forge, and have seen many great ideas that have got me thinking about my game. For a long time now I've GMed a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sir Thomas, cruciel, HMT, Mark Johnson, Windthin, ethan_greer, Ron Edwards, Comte, Clinton R. Nixon, Jack Aidley, Lxndr, Mike Holmes.

8/10/2003 Dune: help out the newbi
i've been really intreasted in making my own RPGs. and i've actually got a ton of ideas, but i'm not quite sure how to actually start the process of creating…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dune, M. J. Young, Alan, Ron Edwards.

8/10/2003 M. J. Young: In-game Fear
I've got a bit of a problem with a scenario, and Fruitsmack's thread on Suspense in RPGs was very close but not quite on it, so I'm starting this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, jdagna, Cemendur, Marco, Jake Norwood, Windthin, Mike Holmes.

8/10/2003 CplFerro: Defining Published-Style RPGs
Ferro’s General Theory of Role-Playing Version 1.02 1 The /idea/ of /published-style role-playing games/ (RPGS) is a meaningful genre, expressed negentropically. That idea causes the hobby worth of specific games…
In RPG Theory
Participants: CplFerro, Mike Holmes, contracycle, Ron Edwards, Valamir, M. J. Young.

8/11/2003 Seidaku: Skill System Woes
I'm part of a team in the process of designing a skill structure for a MUSH. Some fairly unique problems have cropped up; I'm hoping you guys are able to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Seidaku, iago, HMT, Mike Holmes, Shreyas Sampat, M. J. Young, Andrew Martin, Walt Freitag.

8/11/2003 Dev: Bringing In your Angsty Past: ad hoc or pre-fab?
That is to say: a mechanic in my game/setting will be invoking a past "event" to modify some in game event. It would almost be akin to a flashback, really:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, Windthin, contracycle.

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