Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

9/1/2003 MachMoth: D20 Donjon... Uh, wait!
I think this topic could have stood up in Actual Play, but I always consider the Theory forum as a catch all. Anyways, my players have shown interest in playing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MachMoth, Bankuei, jdagna, Dev.

8/30/2003 Cemendur: Towards an Addictive Personality Model of Lousy Play
Towards an Addictive Personality Model of Lousy Play · the Hero: tries to make the group look good by achieving success. · the Scapegoat: diverts attention from the problem by…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Cemendur, talysman, Ron Edwards.

8/30/2003 Michael Bjorklund: How to avoid Railroading!
Hi! This is the first time I am actively participating in this great forum, which I have only recently discovered. So your comments will be welcome:-) The following on railroading…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Michael Bjorklund, Bankuei, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young.

8/30/2003 Bogie_71: Are attributes necessary?
If this is in the wrong forum, I apologize, I wasn't sure if it was theory or game design. Alright, I know I don't read all this as much as…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Bogie_71, gobi, HMT, talysman, MachMoth, Simon W, M. J. Young, simon_hibbs, Nathaniel.

8/30/2003 bcook1971: Plotting for Group Involvement
(If this is well-trodden ground, whoever references the respective posts, please share your approach to searching.) My core dilemma is creating game play that features the functional value of involvment…
In RPG Theory
Participants: bcook1971, Rob Donoghue.

8/28/2003 Mike Holmes: Mike's Standard Rant #6: Concepts are Dime a Dozen
I've had all I can takes and I can't stands it no more! As usual, I'm posting this as shorthand for a post that I make all too often. It's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mike Holmes, Bankuei, John Kim, Jeph, M. J. Young, WDFlores, simon_hibbs, Lxndr, Jack Spencer Jr, Windthin.

8/26/2003 Windthin: Wordpower: Terminology at Work
There's been talk of late here about terminology. I've noticed that most games strive to develop their own terminology. They borrow a bit from others, but it's their own terms…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Windthin, HMT, Mike Holmes, John Kim, M. J. Young, contracycle, simon_hibbs, Alan.

8/25/2003 Windthin: What is Freeform?
This thread shoots off, basially, of "Stumbling Around a Rebuttal" and "What is a Mechanic". Somebody mentioned defining freeform... so let's. Some seem to think of freemform as formless, devoid…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Windthin, Lxndr, jdagna, lumpley, Hunter Logan, John Kim, M. J. Young, Halzebier, Mike Holmes, Jack Spencer Jr, Cemendur, Emily Care.

8/25/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: What is a Mechanic?
The discussion in this thread has been sidetracked a bit by some disagreement on what constitues a mechanic or not. This seems like an worthwhile topic to discuss. In that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes, Valamir, lumpley, Lxndr, Walt Freitag, Wormwood, iago, Hunter Logan, jdagna, Cemendur, M. J. Young, simon_hibbs, HMT, Marco, Erick Wujcik.

8/25/2003 Lxndr: Stumbling Around A Rebuttal
This is in response to Erick Wujcik's recent article that he submitted to the Forge. I'm not sure if I've got my thoughts in order, but I wanted to put…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Lxndr, Alan, Jack Spencer Jr, Noon, Tony Irwin, Hunter Logan, lumpley, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, Halzebier, C. Edwards, Erick Wujcik, Cemendur.

8/23/2003 Dave Panchyk: Social software considerations
When I pointed this article out to Ron, he suggested I post it here. This article focuses on groups on the Internet and how they behave (and have always behaved)…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dave Panchyk, lumpley, Bankuei, cruciel, John Kim, Valamir, Marco, Mike Holmes.

8/20/2003 Dev: Pure Probabilty mechanic
(Just an idea, no game attached.) Imagine if you just had a big index of probabilities for lots and lots of stuff that might just randomly happen, and whenever something…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, MachMoth, M. J. Young.

8/20/2003 Windthin: Proficiency and Pitfalls
Well... I've been thinking about how to show mastery, proficiency, in skills, and these are some thoughts that occured, and a possible solution I'd like feedback on. First off, I've…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Windthin, iago, bcook1971, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Andrew Martin.

8/20/2003 bcook1971: Bag of Questions and a Dilemma
Some questions. (This starts out RPG Theory and turns GNS. Wasn’t sure where to post it.) I’ve been trying to find a comprehensive glossary of terms and acronyms with no…
In RPG Theory
Participants: bcook1971, Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, Alan, ethan_greer, Garbanzo, jburneko, M. J. Young, Bankuei, Emily Care.

8/17/2003 Jeph: Character sheets as the equivalent of plot webs?
So yeah. Do you remember, back in elementary school, when your fourth grade teacher told you how to start planning a story? You made a little blurb in the center…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jeph, Andrew Martin, jdagna, M. J. Young, Ben Morgan, gobi, iago, Ron Edwards, Nathaniel, Windthin, David Chunn, Mike Holmes, WDFlores, ross_winn.

8/17/2003 jdagna: The System's Role in Exhaustion Escalation
I've been lurking on Exhaustion Escalation in Illusionist Play but I've never been a part of enough illusionist play to contribute much there. However, system got only a small…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jdagna, Jack Spencer Jr, M. J. Young, Rob MacDougall, Windthin.

8/16/2003 Jack Spencer Jr: generic genre?
I continue to pick up games when I find them Scored Top Secret & Star Frontiers for $2. Not bad. Browsing the Top Secret book, I noticed something. the Foreword…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, AgentFresh, Mark Johnson, Marco, M. J. Young, kamikaze, simon_hibbs, John Kim, Cemendur, Mike Holmes.

8/15/2003 Jonathan Walton: The Limits of Roleplaying: Solitaire
Reflecting on a bunch of the stuff that was brought up in this thread, I was especially drawn to the idea that roleplaying necessarily involved "shared imaginative space." This goes…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, M. J. Young, Mark Johnson, ejh, Tim Alexander, Jack Spencer Jr, simon_hibbs, RARodger, Noon.

8/15/2003 talysman: an approach to multiple simultaneous GMs
over in the Smacked Upside the Head with a Guitar thread, which I just now noticed (having just gotten back from a trip,) Michael (anonymouse) raised the idea of swapping/reversing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: talysman, gobi.

8/15/2003 Marco: The gap between CRPG's and Pen and Paper breached!
Check this out: http://www.gamespy.com/fargo/august03/realrpg/ It's a joke (a pretty good one, IMO)--but it does raise issues with the pervasiveness of trends of dysfunction in the RPG experience. My own experience…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Marco, Windthin.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

9/2/2003 linux: More Indecision
I am trying to weigh the pros and cons of the following problem I have. This pertains to the relationship between skills and attributes in my system. (D denotes things…
In RPG Theory
Participants: linux, Noon.

9/3/2003 Marco: Video Games aren't fun enough ...
One thing that's often said here is that RPG's won't be main-stream in their current configurations (i.e. even popular games fall short of being pop-culture or main-stream intertainment). Here's an…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Marco, pete_darby, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Gordon C. Landis, talysman, contracycle, cruciel.

9/3/2003 Dev: Character and Game Balance! or... um, not.
Please point me to the right thread if this has come up before. <g> Among the many reasons I can't sleep tonight is this singular, eerie thought: I'm happily playing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, anonymouse, Noon, Ben Morgan, Mike Holmes, Rob Donoghue, Marco, Ben Lehman, RaconteurX, Michael Bjorklund, M. J. Young, contracycle.

9/3/2003 MongoosePaul: d20 and narratavism
Not sure if this fits better here or in the GNS forum but given it's not specifically GNS I opted for here. Ohh and long time reader, first time poster,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MongoosePaul, joshua neff, Rob Donoghue, Mike Holmes, Bankuei, greyorm, Cemendur, Ron Edwards, Clinton R. Nixon, Ben Morgan, RaconteurX.

9/4/2003 MachMoth: Metagame & Mechanics
It's my new game. In M&M, you play the part of a person playing a roleplaying game. You gain experience points for actions such as taking advantage of rules, hammy…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MachMoth, Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, Cemendur, pete_darby, Ron Edwards, mrteapot, Christopher Weeks, Dauntless, John Kim, Halzebier, M. J. Young, Valamir, Marco.

9/4/2003 sirogit: Rules for accuracy in a near free form setting
I had an idea for a rule to enforce accuracy within a near-free-form setting. That is, characters have some sort of readout of ability/status, Attribuites, skills, Traits, what have you,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Mike Holmes, Noon.

9/5/2003 Carson: Designing a TV show for Gamers
Hi all, I spent some time designing a TV show about gamers and roleplayers, mainly DND players. I am now in the semi-finals, going up against other TV show ideas,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Carson, Little_Rat, Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes, Tim Alexander, hix, Perrina.

9/5/2003 MachMoth: Character Generations (no the other kind)
I was talking about a game I had run, on another forum, and wondered if any formal (I use the term loosely) RPG had been done like it. I originally…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MachMoth, Andrew Martin, contracycle, Tim Alexander, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, RaconteurX.

9/5/2003 Andrew Martin: Pushing the envelope / tragedy of the commons
M. J. Young wrote this in http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=7826 : Because the player actually doing the write-up of the abilities isn't playing that character, he's less tempted to push the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Andrew Martin, John Kim, Mike Holmes, Marco, cruciel, simon_hibbs, M. J. Young.

9/6/2003 ch1kopp1: Plot Determination Mechanics
Hi all, I'm looking for reference material for a game concept. I'd like to build a game in which the GM assigns basic elements to a plot, such as antagonist(s),…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ch1kopp1, RaconteurX, Sparky, anonymouse, M. J. Young.

9/8/2003 Sylus Thane: Can having 2 mechanics for the same game hurt?
I was wondering, all other things aside, can it hurt to have more than one option of game mechainc for your game? I've been pondering for awhile now, and it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sylus Thane, Jack Spencer Jr, Andrew Martin, Mike Holmes, simon_hibbs, Ron Edwards, John Kim, Jasper, M. J. Young.

9/8/2003 Aelios: Money is Currency?
I appologize if this has been discussed before; if so could somebody please show me where? Last night I was searching through all my RPG books looking for different ways…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Aelios, Jack Spencer Jr, bigsimon, Ron Edwards, gentrification, M. J. Young, contracycle, Walt Freitag, MachMoth.

9/8/2003 Christopher Weeks: Who cares?
In a current thread: but what I care is secondary to what the character cares Sorry. Characters are pencil scribblings on a piece of paper. No RPG character…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Weeks, Jack Spencer Jr, Marco, Valamir, Ron Edwards, John Kim, ejh, MachMoth, kalyptein, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, contracycle, Gordon C. Landis, jdagna, erithromycin, pete_darby, cruciel, lumpley.

9/9/2003 Christopher Kubasik: And now, Plato
The dead man wrote: "And a third kind of possession and madness comes from the Muses. This takes hold upon a gentle and pure soul, arouses it and inspires it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, Cemendur, pete_darby, Ron Edwards, Valamir, John Kim, Gordon C. Landis, Matt Snyder, ejh, Walt Freitag, cruciel, Mike Holmes, Jack Spencer Jr.

9/10/2003 lumpley: Character and Our Weird Gamer Friends
At the risk of bringing the Forge's fearsome analytical powers to bear on, y'know, us: Read this thread: Who cares? and this one: And now, Plato. Know what I think?…
In RPG Theory
Participants: lumpley, MachMoth, Christopher Kubasik, Gordon C. Landis, Clinton R. Nixon, Christopher Weeks, pete_darby, cruciel, C. Edwards, Ron Edwards, Wormwood, Ben Lehman, M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr.

9/10/2003 M. J. Young: My Character Would
In Who Cares? before Ron declared it finished,It may just be the groups that I play with, but I only encounter "my character" when people are objecting…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Gordon C. Landis, Cemendur, erithromycin, jdagna, cruciel, Lxndr, MachMoth, Jack Aidley, pete_darby, Christopher Kubasik, Valamir, John Kim.

9/10/2003 cruciel: Characters as Therapy (split)
Over in Vincent's Character and Our Weird Gamer Friends thread Clinton raised the idea that a character is in some way an expression of an issue you need to work…
In RPG Theory
Participants: cruciel, M. J. Young, Clinton R. Nixon, Daredevil.

9/11/2003 Wayne: Non-electric Interactive Written Solo Entertainment
What is next in interactive written solo entertainment of the non-electrical kind? 1. First there were Books 2. then Choose Your Own Story 3. then Choose Your Own Adventure 4.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Wayne, Dr. Velocity, Valamir, Jack Spencer Jr, ejh, Christopher Weeks, Lxndr, M. J. Young, pete_darby, Walt Freitag, Gordon C. Landis.

9/11/2003 MachMoth: Time Paradoxes, just a paradigm?
Well, I decided to go ahead and start work on my Generations Project. I figure my idea is different enough from Pendragon to make it worth my effort. The working…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MachMoth, jdagna, M. J. Young.

9/12/2003 M. J. Young: Man Against Himself: Personality Mechanics
There have been several threads about personality mechanics recently, but I suddenly had a thought about these that might be worth addressing. I think it was Personality Mechanics that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Trevis Martin, Mike Holmes, Dauntless, John Kim.

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