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In RPG Theory

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.

2/1/2004 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.

2/1/2004 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 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.

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.

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 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.

1/29/2004 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.

1/29/2004 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.

1/27/2004 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.

1/27/2004 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.

1/26/2004 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.

1/25/2004 Jonathan Walton: My New RPGnet Column
Hey folks, Just wanted to plug my new RPGnet column, which is pretty heavily theory-based. There was this misunderstanding earlier where draft versions of my articles got published over the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jonathan Walton, clehrich, Umberhulk, neelk, pete_darby, Doctor Xero, Jack Spencer Jr.

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.

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Subsequent Topics
In RPG Theory

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.

2/6/2004 timfire: Idea for card-based combat mechanic.
I don't know if this is the best place for this post, but oh well, here goes. I've decided to design a hack-n-slash dungeon-crawl with a card-based resolution system. You…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, Pelinderian, Harlequin, Scripty, M. J. Young, Hereward The Wake, Lxndr, Ulmus, clehrich.

2/6/2004 Paganini: Technique and setting
It's a given that Setting is fundamental. The existence of Characters depends on Setting; so does Situation, since Situation is an interraction between Character and Setting. The core of Narrativist…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Paganini, Bankuei, Valamir, coxcomb, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards.

2/7/2004 Librisia: Yes, MORE on religion and role playing
Salutations, At the urging of my genius game designer spouse, I recently read Mr. Lehrich's article on RPGs as ritual. I was inspired to post my own article to all…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Librisia, clehrich, Christopher Weeks, cthulahoops, Thuringwaethiel, greyorm, John Kim, james_west, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, Valamir, contracycle, S'mon, montag, James Holloway, C. Edwards, Rich Forest, pete_darby, Ron Edwards, Bankuei.

2/7/2004 Noon: Rules that outsource
Hi all, I was having a PM conversation with Mike Holmes and it prompted me to check where I am relative to everyone else on the perceptions of certain mechanics…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Noon, james_west, M. J. Young, Valamir, Mike Holmes, coxcomb, Emily Care, John Kim.

2/7/2004 Itse: Something I cooked up, a model if you like
I've been doing some thinking, about roleplaying discussion and the existing theoretical models. I've also been doing some writing. I could do this forever by myself, but since that wouldn't…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Itse, M. J. Young, MikesLeftHand, Sean, Mike Holmes, Eero Tuovinen, pete_darby, Valamir.

2/9/2004 Librisia: Huge digression - Note on ethnographic data
I will respond to all of your post later, M.J., but I want to be clear about what ethnography isn't: Krista, as I read your questions and answers for the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Librisia, John Kim, james_west, M. J. Young.

2/9/2004 ascendance: What should the D20 awards recognize, and why?
Recently, the call went out on ENWorld for ENnie judges, and like a moth drawn to a flame, or like a geek drawn to a huge and unending pile of…
In RPG Theory
Participants: ascendance, Doctor Xero, M. J. Young, Walt Freitag, S'mon.

2/10/2004 Jack Spencer Jr: detailed settings? nah.
from Atkins-Friendly RPGs (Shooting Cows Part II) It is an interesting setting, not a detailed one, that is a plus. Detail does not correlate with interesting, either.If I read…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Jack Spencer Jr, clehrich, Mike Holmes, neelk, Ron Edwards, Dav, M. J. Young.

2/11/2004 james_west: Feminist Game Design [split from Religion in Role-Playing]
Hello, all ! Some discussion in the 'more on religion and role-playing' thread made me think about what a game meant to address feminist/race issues would look like. I surveyed…
In RPG Theory
Participants: james_west, Ron Edwards, Nick Pagnucco, Bankuei, timfire, John Kim, GB Steve, Doctor Xero, sirogit, pete_darby, Thuringwaethiel, inthisstyle, Matt Wilson, Emily Care, clehrich, lumpley, KingstonC, Librisia, contracycle, Christopher Weeks, Itse, AnyaTheBlue.

2/11/2004 timfire: GM as arbitrator and opponent - conflict of interest?
Does setting up the GM as both an arbitrator of the rules and explicitly as an opponent create a comflict of interest? I did a search but didn't find anything…
In RPG Theory
Participants: timfire, jdagna, Doctor Xero, Loki, Noon, John Harper, talysman, Mike Holmes, Emily Care, Shreyas Sampat, contracycle, Nuadha, Rich Forest, bcook1971.

2/11/2004 Palaskar: Playing a complete RPG game in under 20 minutes?
Hi there, I've been assigned in my psych class at college, along with four other people, to develop a game illustrating some aspect of psychology. Naturally, I fell back on…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Palaskar, Zak Arntson, quozl, jdagna, Paganini, pete_darby, Marhault, Michael S. Miller, xiombarg, Scourge108.

2/12/2004 Morrius: Sell me Universalis
I've been hearing a lot about these collaborative-storytelling games like Universalis. But I'm curious as to how this sort of thing actually functions in practice. Let me put forth a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: Morrius, Clinton R. Nixon, clehrich, Mike Holmes, Ron Edwards, Valamir, james_west, Don D..

2/13/2004 John Kim: Gender/Racial/Other Bias in RPG Texts
[quote="Librisia"]I'll be posting revised statements regarding my hypothesis about the male dominance in rpgs tomorrow or the day after. As veterans of the Forge's culture, can you please advise whether…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Doctor Xero, Bankuei, clehrich, greyorm, Dev, Ron Edwards, cruciel, gobi, S'mon, contracycle, M. J. Young, Green, Thuringwaethiel, Librisia.

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