Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

1/1/2004 Valamir: Bad Roleplaying? I blame Tolkien.
Ok, after several aborted attempts at rereading LotR, I decided to get the books on CD and have them read to me on my long long long drives over the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Valamir, Mark Johnson, Lxndr, LordSmerf, Paganini, Trevis Martin, Brian Leybourne, M. J. Young, quozl, John Kim, Endoperez, Eero Tuovinen, xechnao, Troy_Costisick, Jack Spencer Jr, greyorm, mark2v, Dr. Velocity, jdagna, Noon, ethan_greer, Calithena, Andrew Norris, b_bankhead, Gordon C. Landis, Caldis, C. Edwards, s3kt0r, apeiron, Matt Wilson, Ozymandias, Taina, Bob McNamee, contracycle, Halzebier, Ron Edwards.

12/31/2003 kwill: theory with comix (contains no graphics)
in the "thinking, talking, gaming" thread I've discussed gaming issues with comix (well, not so much sequential and hardly art, but you get the idea) - and I'd like…
In RPG Theory
Participants: kwill, Ron Edwards.

12/31/2003 kwill: thinking, talking, gaming (PNG graphics, 15kB total)
in some recent discussions in the forums I felt that talk about simulationism, immersionism (simulationism focussing on Exploration of Character in a method-acting kind of way) and IC dialog were…
In RPG Theory
Participants: kwill, bcook1971, Jasper.

12/31/2003 rafial: Monopoly vs. RPGs, rule evolution, and the social contract
I was inspired with the following thought based on Christopher Kubasik's thread on clarity in rule writing, and his choice of Monopoly as an iconic game to represent the world…
In RPG Theory
Participants: rafial, Noon, jdagna, contracycle, Jack Aidley, Bill_White.

12/30/2003 C. Edwards: Social Reinforcement
Over in the Game Rule Clarity thread, Jack Spencer Jr wrote: Perhaps it would work if everyone played "please everyone else most?" I was going to reply in that thread,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: C. Edwards, Shreyas Sampat, M. J. Young, gobi.

12/30/2003 sirogit: Types of mechanics?
What different types of mechanics can a game system have? Immediately, I can think of: Task-resoloution Metagame-quality management Resource management Character creation In-game creation:Items, spells, etc etc Narrative Structure Personality-tracking…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, M. J. Young.

12/29/2003 Christopher Kubasik: Game Rule Clarity: Monopoly vs. any RPG
Hi All, On my way out to my cousins on Christmas eve, I listened to a NPR program. The theme was games: computer games, board games, old tactical wargames from…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Christopher Kubasik, rafial, anonymouse, Ian Charvill, efindel, jdagna, C. Edwards, M. J. Young, Paul Czege, Noon, Jack Spencer Jr, Scripty, James V. West, Ron Edwards, Andrew Martin.

12/28/2003 Palaskar: Applying Martial Arts Theory to RPGs
I've been studying Tai Chi for about 6 years now, and it occured to me that there are some interesting parallels between martial arts theory and RPG theory. The two…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Palaskar, Jasper, Andrew Martin, cruciel.

12/28/2003 doubtofbuddha: Social Context (split from older thread)
I just found this thread and thought I would go ahead and reply to it... 1. Consider yourself and the people you role-play with. Do you ever socialize with…
In RPG Theory
Participants: doubtofbuddha, Ron Edwards.

12/27/2003 Jody_Butt: Re: When Can We Stop Making "Games"?
[quote="Jonathan Walton"]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…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jody_Butt, Troy_Costisick, Ron Edwards, Palaskar, quozl, Noon, contracycle, neelk, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes.

12/26/2003 gobi: The Fun of Game Design
In response to the What are your goals as a game designer? thread, I'd like to ask slightly different questions. It is often said among big-time movie production crews that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: gobi, Lxndr, M. J. Young, ethan_greer, Palaskar, jdagna.

12/21/2003 Endoperez: Advice wanted for a Percentile system
A long time ago, I found free rpg rules system called Knights of Legend from internet. It is a percentile system, and it has main attributes, attributes counted from them…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Endoperez, John Kim, Andrew Martin, Anthony I, M. J. Young.

12/20/2003 gobi: Off-Balance Resolution: A mechanic looking for a home
A mechanic just jumped out at me over breakfast, but I'm having trouble thinking of a setting or genre in which it would be most ideally suited. It's a mechanic…
In RPG Theory
Participants: gobi, Noon, Bob McNamee, Andrew Martin, Chris Goodwin, Marhault, happyelf, M. J. Young, Shreyas Sampat, Harlequin.

12/17/2003 hyphz: Betrayal
In a gamist D&D3E game I've run recently, the players complained several times about being betrayed by either NPCs or environment construction. Hypothesis: In a Gamist/Illusionist game, betrayal of one…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hyphz, Andrew Norris, MachMoth, jdagna, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Noon, epweissengruber, Comte, Troy_Costisick.

12/16/2003 anonymouse: Thoughts on a roleplaying-combat philosophy.
((NOTE: bcook tossed in some gnarly Last Samurai spoilers in his post, so beware!)) Inspiration: M.J. Young in this thread: One thing is that players have to work with contingencies:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, bcook1971, rafial, Noon, Jeph, M. J. Young, xechnao, hatheg-kla, Mark Johnson, Wolfen, Ian Cooper, Lxndr.

12/15/2003 Pteryx: Four main forms of RPGs (split)
As most of my RP experience has been online in various text-based forms, I hope I can be of help in clarifying the differences between them. From what I've seen,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Pteryx, Ron Edwards.

12/15/2003 Dev: Best system for Play-by-Post play?
I've noticed (and overheard, from other threads), that certain systems are particularly ill-suited for the time-lag inherent in play-by-post. The one PbP game I ran ultimately broke because I ran…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Dev, Christopher Weeks, MachMoth, M. J. Young, Andrew Norris, mark2v, The Benj, Grex, drozdal, RaconteurX, ejh.

12/13/2003 hawklord2112: Lumpley Principle (split)
[quote="lumpley"]At any moment during play any participant can stop using the game mechanics as written. At that moment, whether the game comes to a (likely screeching) halt or continues, changed,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hawklord2112, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag, John Kim, Paganini, greyorm.

12/13/2003 hawklord2112: A New take on the Lumpley Principal - or a new application?
OK so i'm going to stick my neck out here since a) i'm at work and a little pressured b) i dont fully understand the principle inthe first place and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hawklord2112, Jonathan Walton, greyorm, Eero Tuovinen, Paganini, Bob McNamee, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards.

12/13/2003 eyebeams: Observation on Open-Ended Systems
Just something that;s come up for me lately: In an open-ended system (one where you can acheive many results beyond the scope of the ability of any GM to necessarily…
In RPG Theory
Participants: eyebeams, Noon, Mike Holmes, Walt Freitag.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

1/4/2004 greyorm: What is Bad Roleplaying?
Over in Bad Roleplaying? I blame Tolkien, Taina brought up a new subject, so I'm starting a new thread to exploer the issue. Given all this discussion about what influences…
In RPG Theory
Participants: greyorm, jdagna, xechnao, Jack Spencer Jr, Wolfen, Taina, M. J. Young.

1/4/2004 xechnao: Bad roleplaying-> blame fantasy
In the popular thread about bad role-playing and blaming tolkien poster apeiron mentioned: "In D&D it gets harder and harder to make challenges without shattering suspension of disbelief. How do…
In RPG Theory
Participants: xechnao, Ron Edwards, Brian Leybourne.

1/5/2004 johndehope3: Non-Combat Fortune at the Beginning
Let's say you have a combat system with fortune at the beginning. Something like... each guy rolls, the guy with the higher roll picks a battle result, based on how…
In RPG Theory
Participants: johndehope3, anonymouse, greyorm, Lxndr, Matt Wilson, M. J. Young.

1/5/2004 John Kim: Writing Style, Detail, and Simulationism
The following are comments from the Bad Roleplaying? I blame Tolkien thread. I think the more general question which comes out of it is important, though. most…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Matt Wilson, Ben Lehman, lumpley, Gordon C. Landis, M. J. Young, contracycle, pete_darby, Valamir, cruciel, C. Edwards, Ian Charvill, Emily Care, Paul Czege, Mike Holmes.

1/5/2004 jeffd: alternate reward systems
The reward system in most RPGs is premised around increasing effectiveness in terms of the system (ie, better stats). Usually the currency is experience (or XP or whatever) that is…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jeffd, Jeph, Alan, M. J. Young, Michael S. Miller, Noon, Mike Holmes.

1/7/2004 Noon: More rules = more roleplay! (or 'Perception overload')
More rules means more roleplay! Ah, I love that title. It's quite wrong, yet it's basically what I'm about to suggest. And by suggest I mean in a 'I'm experimenting…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Mike Holmes, anonymouse, C. Edwards, montag, Harlequin, jdagna, simon_hibbs, wyrm.

1/7/2004 hatheg-kla: Mechanic for weak characters to surmount the odds -comments?
Hi there. I'm still juggling with rules and reward systems for a light-weight quasi-simulationist game set in Middle Earth. (I'm tentatively calling it Tales Of Middle Earth at the moment.)…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hatheg-kla, Valamir, timfire, xiombarg, buserian, Noon, M. J. Young, Loki, greyorm, Grex, Marhault, Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, Ron Edwards, Shreyas Sampat, montag, Ben Lehman.

1/7/2004 Calithena: Resolution Mechanic Query
After some initial experimentation I really like the method of opposed dice pool resolution in Sorcerer and Donjon. One thing I like about it is that I don't know exactly…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Calithena, Mike Holmes.

1/7/2004 timfire: What are some RPG's that use playing cards?
I was curious about games that use playing cards instead of dice. I had a thought about a game that would work exactly like a dice-game except players would choose…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, jdagna, Ron Edwards, Grex, Aknaton, rafial, Adam, Zathreyel, beholdsa, Lxndr, clehrich, xiombarg, Mernya, jhawkins, JamesSterrett, Doctor Xero, apeiron, AlecAustin, M. J. Young, Hereward The Wake, Nuadha.

1/7/2004 hatheg-kla: Bit off topic - trying to remember name of game...
I came across a game a while back which had some interesting concepts. I was hoping that someone might be able to identify it from the following terse description! It…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hatheg-kla, Aknaton, Michael S. Miller.

1/8/2004 Sparky: Prince Valiant mechanic help?
I'd like to explore this as an opposed roll mechanic, but I need a formula for figuring out the percentages (if it can be had.) I hand wrote a result…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Sparky, Ian Charvill, Eero Tuovinen.

1/8/2004 sirogit: The different stages of preperation when running a game?
This is an attempt to create a model of the "phases" one would use for preperation while running a game. The main reason for doing so is that I've been…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Noon.

1/9/2004 RobNJ: Action vs. Danger vs. Character complexity
Be it resolved that: 1. Role Playing Games are almost always action stories, involving fighting and bodily peril. 2. You want a sword to be able to kill someone. Anyone.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: RobNJ, Valamir, C. Edwards, Lxndr, Gordon C. Landis, kalyptein, Christopher Kubasik, M. J. Young, Mark Johnson, John Kim, cruciel, Noon, Shreyas Sampat, Paka.

1/9/2004 quozl: What are your favorite RPGs and why?
List a top 5, 10, 20, or whatever. Then tell us why you picked these games as your favorites.
In RPG Theory
Participants: quozl, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, anonymouse, Zathreyel, ross_winn, pete_darby, Bob McNamee, Matt Wilson, contracycle, Umberhulk, Paul Czege, Jack Spencer Jr, hatheg-kla, Anthony, talysman, ADGBoss, Comte, Dauntless, urbanpagan, clehrich, MikesLeftHand, Scourge108, Doctor Xero, RDU Neil, Nuadha, hermes, ascendance.

1/10/2004 RfC_Pyxis: Dice in General
Most gamers are probably old-hands at figuring out probability distributions of dice rolling systems (Ye Old 2d6, 2d10, 100d100, etc.), they know that in a roll of 2d6, the most…
In RPG Theory
Participants: RfC_Pyxis, montag, Mark Johnson, Andrew Martin, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes.

1/10/2004 Jack Spencer Jr: diffusing the drama
I have been wondering about a roleplaying phenomenom. PC: "Can I go down that corridor?" Me: "Sure" PC: "Okay, I go. Does…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, Shreyas Sampat, montag, Bob McNamee.

1/11/2004 Michael Hopcroft: Building systems to help with relationships
In the process of designing The Kevin & Kell Roleplaying Game for Seraphim Guard, I am facing the design problem of relationships as a vital -- in not the most…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Michael Hopcroft, Ron Edwards, Mark Johnson, jdagna, M. J. Young.

1/13/2004 realms_creator: Armor rating
I would like to have some imput on the armor system for our game setting. Please post only honest replies. Thanks Protection Type Armor Rating Armor Points Leather Armor 30%…
In RPG Theory
Participants: realms_creator, Andrew Martin, Calithena, Jack Aidley, Gordon C. Landis, Drifter Bob, Dr. Velocity.

1/13/2004 Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro: Character Creation
I have discovered an interesting, and as far as I know, unique (surely it’s been done before) form of character creation that could be used for many RPG’s – especially…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, Andrew Martin, xiombarg, Lxndr, The Benj, Jeph, Mike Holmes, Zak Arntson, Maarzan, inthisstyle.

1/13/2004 sirogit: How do you make a situation a character cannot walk out of?
I'm very intereasted in capturing what Valamir calls in a RPG.net post: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88152&perpage=10&pagenumber=1 Situation-driven play. I read the thread a few pages across but it seemed to be very largely…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Paganini, pete_darby, Valamir, Matt Wilson, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Noon, John Kim.

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