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In RPG Theory

9/12/2003 anonymouse: Piece: Ablative Luck.
Was watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico... Got to thinking that a game could have some kind of "luck armor". Heroes get a boatload, mooks probably only have a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, gobi, ethan_greer, mrteapot.

9/12/2003 talysman: another take on "the character doesn't exist"
I've been catching up on the various threads about this whole issue of "do the characters (and presumably, game world) have any kind of existence aside from what the players…
In RPG Theory
Participants: talysman, pete_darby, Marco, Gordon C. Landis, John Kim, Cemendur, Valamir, Hunter Logan, M. J. Young, Alan, Eric J-D, contracycle, simon_hibbs, Christopher Weeks, AgentFresh, Walt Freitag, cruciel, Jonathan Walton, Mike Holmes, Jack Spencer Jr, Ron Edwards.

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.

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.

9/11/2003 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.

9/10/2003 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.

9/10/2003 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 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.

9/9/2003 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.

9/8/2003 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.

9/8/2003 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 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.

9/6/2003 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.

9/5/2003 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.

9/5/2003 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 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.

9/4/2003 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.

9/4/2003 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.

9/3/2003 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.

9/3/2003 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.

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In RPG Theory

9/16/2003 Jonathan Walton: Plato on Polysided Dice
Don't know exactly how I'd go about using this, but I thought I'd pass this neat bit of info onto those who might be ignorant (as I was until this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Matt Snyder, ethan_greer, Andrew Martin, mrteapot, CplFerro, mjk.

9/16/2003 Jonathan Walton: When Can We Stop Making "Games"?
I find myself increasingly frustrated, not by the expectations of those outside of the gaming community, but by the expectations that gamers and designers have set for themselves. To me,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Matt Snyder, ethan_greer, Ben Morgan, pete_darby, Jack Spencer Jr, jdagna, Lxndr, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, M. J. Young, deadpanbob, Marco, taalyn, ejh, Mike Holmes, ross_winn, John Kim, Valamir, xechnao, damion, simon_hibbs.

9/17/2003 John Kim: Immersion and Story
This is a reply to Mike Holmes, split from another take on "the character doesn't exist". Since this isn't talking about whether characters exist (an argument which has…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, David Chunn, gentrification, RaconteurX, Ron Edwards, contracycle, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes.

9/17/2003 bcook1971: Talking To Myself
I just finished writing a lengthy running example that tied together most of the significant points of my combat system. I found the experience to be quite cathartic. I'm reminded…
In RPG Theory
Participants: bcook1971, Lxndr, Mike Holmes, Marco, pete_darby, MongoosePaul.

9/18/2003 M. J. Young: Creating the Other
Over on the thread Characters as Therapy (Split) I was pretty satisfied with the consensus, until Joachim recalled somethingHere's another way of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, cruciel, jdagna, bcook1971, Mike Holmes.

9/18/2003 M. J. Young: Questioning Jack Spencer Jr.'s View of Solo Play
It came up again in Non-electric Interactive Written Solo Entertainment, and it's been discussed before: is it still role playing if you're doing it alone, such as with Choose…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, Walt Freitag, Marco, Mike Holmes, cruciel, Ben Lehman, Gordon C. Landis, pete_darby, AnyaTheBlue, ejh, Ron Edwards.

9/18/2003 ZeOtter: Setting vs Mechanics
I have been reading post here on the Forge for a little while now. I noticed that 99% of the posts in this area of the forums talk about mechanics.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ZeOtter, Ben Morgan, contracycle, Windthin, Mike Holmes, quozl, M. J. Young, Jack Spencer Jr, Marco, xechnao, Valamir, Ben Lehman, damion.

9/19/2003 Sir Thomas: Percentiles and Player-Defined Skills?
I was wondering if anyone here can give any guidance: I love percentiles, and I'm thinking of a system using Unknown Armies' "flip-flops" as narrativist tools, where the player has…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sir Thomas, Lxndr, Ron Edwards, mrteapot, AnyaTheBlue, gobi, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, SumDood.

9/19/2003 xechnao: Most attractive setting for female players
What do you think is the female vs male participation percentage of the rpg gaming sessions of 4 to 8 persons of the various settings? What setting do you think…
In RPG Theory
Participants: xechnao, b_bankhead, Windthin, jdagna, Ron Edwards, CplFerro, AnyaTheBlue, RaconteurX, Christopher Kubasik, John Kim, Anthony I, Heather Manley, taalyn, Jonathan Walton, M. J. Young, damion, Valamir, jrs, Ben Lehman, Bankuei, Christopher Weeks.

9/19/2003 b_bankhead: Yes Virginia they are mostly for reading....
[quote="Ron Edwards"]I was confronted with it in [i]very[/i] committed, no-bones-about-it form recently, during a discussion at GAMA. [/quote] Although I don't agree with it as a creative goal, as a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: b_bankhead, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Christopher Weeks.

9/19/2003 deadpanbob: Reward vs. Punishment....
All: Okay, here's a question I have: It seems much better to me for a game to reward players for play behavior appropriate to the game than to punish them…
In RPG Theory
Participants: deadpanbob, Mike Holmes, Bob McNamee, Sparky, Silmenume, Christopher Weeks, jdagna, contracycle.

9/23/2003 lumpley: I finally got IIEE!
Occasionally my job requires me to sit quietly under very boring and technical circumstances. I was doing that the other day and BAM! So you have some people talking about…
In RPG Theory
Participants: lumpley, Ron Edwards, kalyptein, ethan_greer, pete_darby, cruciel, LordSmerf.

9/23/2003 Christopher Kubasik: People We Like to Game with Are People Like Us
I haven't seen anyone do this before, so I apolgize if I'm breaking a Forge convention. The discussion of "women" and settings and the uselessness (in my view) of talking…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, AnyaTheBlue, Eric J., John Kim, bcook1971.

9/24/2003 LordSmerf: The Evolution of Gaming Preference
After an extended hiatus, i was drawn back to the Forge by this discussion on redundant characters. Other than the fact that i saw, at least to some degree, a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LordSmerf, bcook1971, Ben Lehman, Jack Spencer Jr, John Kim, pete_darby, Ron Edwards, Mark Johnson, contracycle, samdowning, b_bankhead, Marco, M. J. Young.

9/24/2003 pete_darby: No Myth PC's
A random paragraph from the article I'm working on for Matt, but I couldn't resist popping it in front of you guys: be warned, ths contains an idea that I'd…
In RPG Theory
Participants: pete_darby, Lxndr, Bob McNamee, Mike Holmes, Andrew Norris, Buddha Nature, deadpanbob, Walt Freitag.

9/25/2003 GenericAnimeBoy: Computer RP Software
It seems to me looking at computerized RPGs that many of them have static gameplay which revolves either around action and leveling up or around the development of a preprogrammed,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: GenericAnimeBoy, Mark Johnson, anonymouse, xechnao, Ron Edwards, Andrew Norris.

9/25/2003 M. J. Young: Setting as an element of System
This is a spinoff from Front-loaded relationship-driven Nar/Sim overlap, in a way--that's what led me to think this way, and it's relevant to the discussion there. I had been…
In RPG Theory
Participants: M. J. Young, pete_darby, Ron Edwards, damion, Windthin.

9/25/2003 LordSmerf: "Radical" Ideas from Non-gamers
In the When can we stop making "games" thread it was mentioned that often, ideas that people who have spent time gaming find radical, seem rather logical to people who…
In RPG Theory
Participants: LordSmerf, Christopher Kubasik, Jonathan Walton, AnyaTheBlue, bcook1971, Andrew Martin, samdowning, Bankuei, Palaskar, LeftWingPenguin, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young.

9/26/2003 Jonathan Walton: What Magic Is
I was reading some Forge threads, looking at various magic systems that people were working on, when something struck me: Magic is really just a player-empowerment tool, resisting the GM's…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, Christopher Weeks, John Kim, Valamir, bcook1971, C. Edwards, damion, Windthin, M. J. Young, contracycle, Jack Aidley, Marco, Walt Freitag, mjk, Comte, simon_hibbs.

9/27/2003 Mark Johnson: Anti-games
I propose a subclass of RPG texts, the anti-game. Whereas most game texts exist predominantly in service to actual game play, anti-game text exists predominantly to make some other point…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Mark Johnson, Jack Spencer Jr, Jonathan Walton, gobi, Ron Edwards, xiombarg, GB Steve, ejh, Michael S. Miller, Comte, simon_hibbs, Ben Lehman, contracycle, pete_darby.

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