Previous Topics
In RPG Theory

1/24/2004 Jonathan Walton: "Bounded" Roleplaying
This is split off from: Towards Mythic Storytelling and Mythic Role-play. The topic is: -- restricting player choice as a way of supporting an aesthetic -- formal, required structural elements…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, neelk, gobi, ks13, C. Edwards, M. J. Young, clehrich, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Harlequin, Doctor Xero.

1/24/2004 Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro: The Perfect Role Playing System©
“In general the left and right hemispheres of your brain process information in different ways. We tend to process information using our dominant side. However, the learning and thinking process…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, Jack Aidley, Alan, montag, MachMoth, Calithena, Walt Freitag.

1/24/2004 Noon: Periiiillll!
Okay, a rough idea here to face scrutiny and smoothing down for it. Now, we all know that when the full health fighter wanders into the room full of demons,…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, Ron Edwards, Valamir, Bob McNamee, MachMoth, C. Edwards.

1/24/2004 arxhon: Ingrained gaming habits (split from Feng SHui thoughts)
This is a split from the thread here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=9379&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 (My forge fu is terrible, sorry). If this subject has already been addressed, any linkage would be great. To quickly summarize:…
In RPG Theory
Participants: arxhon, clehrich, Noon, Mike Holmes, urbanpagan, pete_darby, Doctor Xero.

1/23/2004 sirogit: Authentic Anime-style resoloution system
I've been putting together some ideas for a system that would do well at simulating action-centered-anime in the vein of Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell, Fire Emblem, Darkside Blues, etc…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, anonymouse, Shreyas Sampat, Noon, Doctor Xero.

1/23/2004 gobi: Towards Mythic Storytelling and Mythic Role-play
This is a spinoff from the Mysterious Magic thread. They're powerful, but I'm unsure about the heavy emphasis on emotion. To me, that's really not a strong identifier of the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: gobi, Jonathan Walton, Shreyas Sampat, Calithena, greyorm, M. J. Young, clehrich, Harlequin, Bill_White, Mernya.

1/21/2004 Harlequin: Mysterious magic
One completely orthogonal line on the challenge of magic comes in if it's really, really unknown and strange. I don't know that I've ever seen an RPG which handled this…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Harlequin, Ron Edwards, John Kim, M. J. Young, talysman, gobi, Bill_White, inthisstyle, neelk, Calithena, montag, teucer, clehrich.

1/20/2004 MachMoth: Character Depreciation
I had a very vague idea, and instead of butchering it myself, I thought I'd share it. Character depreciation. In some way, characters have a set (or not *shrugs*) lifeline.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: MachMoth, Lxndr, Bob McNamee, Jack Spencer Jr, anonymouse, gobi.

1/20/2004 Calithena: Making a Game out of Magic
This is the kind of thread I never know whether to put here or in RPG theory. I want to discuss some issues relating to RPG magic systems in a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Calithena, Lxndr, gobi, Umberhulk, Shreyas Sampat, Valamir, GreatWolf, Jack Aidley, Christopher Weeks, apeiron, M. J. Young, Paul Czege, BPetroff93, RaconteurX.

1/19/2004 Grover: Combat Rules
Y'know, roleplaying games frequently have much larger rulesets for combat than for other activities. This is often explained as a throwback to wargaming roots, or because the game is focused…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Grover, Andrew Martin, gobi, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Noon, Umberhulk, John Kim, Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, pete_darby, weeble, M. J. Young, Jasper, Maarzan, montag, Shreyas Sampat.

1/18/2004 sirogit: Character Creation/Advancement and "Character Type"
"Character Type" meaning profession, race, faction, or whatever such seperated character options that a game has. I want a system combining Class-like options and point buy systems that has a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: sirogit, Lxndr, HMT, M. J. Young, Andrew Martin, Autocrat, Doctor Xero.

1/16/2004 s3kt0r: Using Charts In Task Resolution
In deciding what type of dice mechanics I was looking for in my RPG, I decided the best method would be using different sided dice and progressing the size as…
In RPG Theory
Participants: s3kt0r, Valamir, Paul Czege, Mark Johnson, M. J. Young, Jack Aidley, Walt Freitag, Lxndr, Mike Holmes.

1/14/2004 anonymouse: making a game out of character creation: Scrabble!
Random bit of system piece.. So, random chat over in #indiegames and I hit upon the idea of using Scrabble, or a similar system, for character generation. You'd get a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, gobi, GB Steve.

1/14/2004 pete_darby: Why people find it fun to be sick...
[size=18px](This post has been rated 15 for language. And C-, must try harder, for content).[/size] So, in a sleep deprived state, and somewhat pleased (though not totally satisfied) from the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: pete_darby, Loki, Noon, Ron Edwards, Wolfen, lumpley, Matt Wilson, M. J. Young, inthisstyle, Calithena, Valamir.

1/14/2004 Steve: Task Resolution Systems
Hi. I'm new to the Forge and I wanted to know what are the basic dice task resolution system?
In RPG Theory
Participants: Steve, Valamir, Jasper, John Kim, M. J. Young.

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.

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 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.

1/11/2004 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.

1/10/2004 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.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

1/26/2004 Calithena: Weapon Traits
Inspired by parts of Sorcerer & Sword, as well as discussions in the TRoS forum, I've been wondering about treating weaponry in fantasy RPGs strictly through the traits of the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Calithena, Ron Edwards, montag, lumpley, Christopher Weeks, talysman, Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, clehrich.

1/27/2004 jpegbert: Exploding dice: Help with calculating averages
I am working on a system that uses exploding dice against a target number. Can someone tell me how to calculate an average roll for an exploding die of any…
In RPG Theory
Participants: jpegbert, Harlequin, Calithena, HMT, Valamir, Ron Edwards, cthulahoops, Jack Aidley.

1/27/2004 Matt Wilson: narration and resource management
Been playing John Harper's "Poodle" pool variant a bit, and thinking about how the anti-pool in general is kind of a narration resource. Resource management seems loaded with potential problems…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Matt Wilson, John Harper, Ron Edwards, Harlequin.

1/29/2004 Umberhulk: "Black Box" Gaming
I've created a diagram that shows the external influences on game play based on the premise that game are simulations. Simulation is defined as: a : The imitative representation of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Umberhulk, Ron Edwards, james_west.

1/29/2004 timfire: Mechanical suggestions for different types of magic?
Hi y'all (sorry this post might be little long), In the fantasy game world I'm trying to develop I want to have different types of magic. I was thinking that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, clehrich, November Kilo, M. J. Young, Technocrat13, urbanpagan, BPetroff93, Autocrat, tauman, Doctor Xero.

1/30/2004 Valamir: Shooting the Sacred Cow
I was going to post this in Indie Design, but then I decided to talk more in generalities than about the specific application to my on going Robots & Rapiers…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Valamir, Matt Wilson, ethan_greer, Matt Snyder, Jonathan Walton, Paganini, Jack Spencer Jr, Doctor Xero, C. Edwards, clehrich, Rob MacDougall.

1/30/2004 Jonathan Walton: Atkins-Friendly RPGs (Shooting Cows Part II)
This came out of my initial response to Ron's "Narrativism" essay, in one section of which he describes games that have Premise-addressing built into their mechanics but then bury it…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, gobi, Ron Edwards, Jack Spencer Jr, Jere, clehrich, John Kim, ascendance, Shreyas Sampat, Nuadha, coxcomb, Noon.

1/30/2004 kalyptein: universal vs specific systems, for challenge in many arenas
I'm fiddling with a game in which I'd like to allow detailed challenge in a number of different areas. In other words, the kind of gamist-oriented play you can get…
In RPG Theory
Participants: kalyptein, Ron Edwards, Doctor Xero, Shreyas Sampat, jhawkins, Autocrat, M. J. Young.

2/1/2004 Doctor Xero: For Magic More Like Folklore/Fairytale/Myth Magic
split from Mysterious Magic http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=9404 I apologize for such a long thread, but I'm interested in efforts to apply a more folkloric form of magic to RPGs. However, first a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Doctor Xero, clehrich, Shreyas Sampat, Christopher Kubasik, AnyaTheBlue, simon_hibbs, John Kirk, Mike Holmes, Peter Nordstrand, contracycle, neelk.

2/1/2004 anonymouse: Quick(?) probability query:
Abe rolls a D6. (He gets a 4.) Barry has to get a number of successes equal to the result, at a TN of said result. (So Barry needs to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: anonymouse, Brian Leybourne, james_west, M. J. Young, Harlequin.

2/1/2004 Scourge108: The state of RPGs
I'm so glad I found this site. I've been gaming since before people decided it was Satanic way back in the good old cold war days. The creative bug does…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Scourge108, Ron Edwards, contracycle, Loki, james_west, Bob the Fighter, MikesLeftHand, gabby2600.

2/2/2004 Doctor Xero: sex, drugs, politics, religion, bigotry, childhood pain
Reading Ron Edwards' links to the Famous Five, particularly the discussion on parallels between how gamer culture relates to mainstream and how gay culture relates to mainstream, made me curious.…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Doctor Xero, clehrich, Lorenzo Rubbo-Ferraro, contracycle, jhawkins, Dev, Noon, Christopher Weeks, Ben Lehman, Thuringwaethiel, Bob the Fighter.

2/2/2004 coxcomb: Conflict Resolution vs. Action Resolution
First, I am sorry if this has already been beaten to death, I haven't spent too much time trolling through the posts. I have read most of Ron's essays and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: coxcomb, Ron Edwards, Valamir, simon_hibbs, clehrich, John Kim, Noon, lumpley, Autocrat, Anthony, Matt Wilson, cruciel, Alan, contracycle, aplath, Paganini.

2/3/2004 shehee: Dice mechanic help
The dice mechanic is this: When you roll, either opposed (like fighting) or unopposed (like driving), you count the evens as successes and the odds you discard. Any roll that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: shehee, Harlequin, Christopher Weeks, M. J. Young, orbsmatt, talysman.

2/4/2004 Scourge108: Universal and established systems
I wanted to know what the general consensus is on designing games for universal and established systems. I usually design things using an existing system already to known to my…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Scourge108, coxcomb, Trevis Martin, Autocrat, Andrew Martin, M. J. Young.

2/4/2004 coxcomb: Setting, Metaplot, and Context
I have noticed some disdain for setting-heavy games here at the forge, and have been wrestling with the topic for quite a while now myself. In this post, I would…
In RPG Theory
Participants: coxcomb, Rob Carriere, Technocrat13, Ron Edwards, M. J. Young, Doctor Xero, RDU Neil, Gordon C. Landis.

2/4/2004 ross_winn: Motivations...
In my own little theory of how RPGs work the motivations of the characters are critically important. Important to the dynamics of the play group and to the dynamics of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ross_winn, Zoetrope10, Alan, Lxndr, jhawkins, Doctor Xero, joshua neff, M. J. Young, RDU Neil, Bankuei, Valamir, clehrich, Gordon C. Landis, Christopher Kubasik, greyorm, Jonathan Walton, contracycle, Ron Edwards, Rich Forest.

2/4/2004 CplFerro: Ferro's General Theory of Roleplaying
Updated version available at the link below. Thanks for the help in refining it: http://www.thelarper.org/issue_summer_2003/manifesto.html
In RPG Theory
Participants: CplFerro.

2/4/2004 james_west: Ritual Discourse in Role-Playing Games
I've just read Lehrich's new article, "Ritual Discourse in Role-Playing Games." The thesis of the article appears to be that Role-Playing Games are ritual in nature, that their primary social…
In RPG Theory
Participants: james_west, clehrich, John Kim, Walt Freitag, RDU Neil, contracycle, Emily Care, Gordon C. Landis, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, chadu, Librisia.

2/5/2004 hermes: List of Indie Superhero RPGs?
It's been a while since I posted anything (though rest assured that I have been lurking in the background) so I feel compelled to contribute something. Sadly, I have nothing…
In RPG Theory
Participants: hermes, Zak Arntson, Clinton R. Nixon, Anthony I, Jeph, Michael S. Miller, Bob McNamee, hardcoremoose, gobi, HMT, M. J. Young, Ian Charvill, xiombarg, Grex.

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