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In First Thoughts

5/1/2009 Jasper Flick: Dice distribution calculator
I made a little online calculator for dice distributions and like to share it: http://catlikecoding.com/dice/ You can use any linear combination of dice, like 1d6, 2d10, or 1d6 + 6d10…
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Participants: Jasper Flick, zmobie, Egonblaidd, mjbauer, Seamus, chance.thirteen, Guy Srinivasan, Wordman, Selene Tan, Akos Szederjei, Devenger, dindenver.

4/29/2009 John Blaz: d20 or 3d10? A skill improvement system question
Hey Forgers! It's me again (you know the guy that posts an idea for a new system about once a month). Anyway, I have an idea for a Swords &…
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Participants: John Blaz, Selene Tan, MacLeod, zmobie, Egonblaidd.

4/29/2009 Vordark: How "Complete" Do You Want Your Rules?
RPGs require a certain number/character of rules to define it and the various types of things common to the game such as task resolution, perhaps combat, etc.  But many RPGs…
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Participants: Vordark, Noon, JoyWriter, Luke, Vulpinoid, Seamus, mjbauer, chance.thirteen, Egonblaidd, LandonSuffered.

4/28/2009 GozerTC: World Books vs. A full RPG for a first project?
Greetings friends, this is my first post here and as always I did a search to see if this has been asked before.  Of course my search criteria could just…
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Participants: GozerTC, Luke.

4/27/2009 chronoplasm: Questions regarding character advancement
What do you think of games where characters advance at different rates as a balance mechanism? Let's say that you are playing a game where you are allowed to play…
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Participants: chronoplasm, jerry, Egonblaidd, chance.thirteen, JoyWriter, whiteknife, LandonSuffered.

4/27/2009 Wolfen: Mage Blade: Character Creation
I feel this needs something of an intro. Mage Blade first came to the Forge about 7-8 years ago. It was something of a heartbreaker then, and I've shelved it…
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Participants: Wolfen, SilasMalkav, MacLeod, lumpley, Egonblaidd, Darcy Burgess, Luke, Lance D. Allen, GozerTC, chance.thirteen, Simon C.

4/27/2009 Aegir: dLITE: A setting without humans?
We're working on a sci fantasy setting to go with the release of this dLITE system, and while we're trying to push the envelope with several factors, perhaps the biggest…
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Participants: Aegir, chronoplasm, MacLeod, Vulpinoid, zmobie, Wolfen, visioNationstudios, Lance D. Allen, GozerTC, LandonSuffered.

4/25/2009 Thunder_God: [Juiced Rider][Repost] Modular Memory Shuffle Rules.
I really didn't know where to post this, but I guess the default forum is as good a bet as any. Anyhow, I've been on a kick recently to take…
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Participants: Thunder_God, TheDeadlyPlatypus.

4/25/2009 Vulpinoid: Quincunx Public Archive
I just thought I'd share a site I've been working on recently to set the premise for my roleplaying game of supernatural hunters and reality television. The Quincunx Public Archive.…
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Participants: Vulpinoid, whiteknife, dauvis, MacLeod, DWeird, Jasper Flick.

4/24/2009 Seamus: "you" versus "your character'
So I am designing a few rule books that I am going to publish myself. I am so accustomed to using other peoples' style guides, it is a bit a…
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Participants: Seamus, Vulpinoid, Egonblaidd, ShallowThoughts, Luke, Monk, mjbauer.

4/24/2009 Aegir: dLITE: Simple system for narrative (and PbP) games
So, we're working on a system we're currently calling dLITE. Its specifically geared towards largely freeform gaming - and PbP play in particular - so its a very light system,…
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Participants: Aegir, JoyWriter, MacLeod, visioNationstudios, Selene Tan.

4/23/2009 Vordark: Seeking Suggestions For "Mixed Blessing" Powers
I'm brainstorming for ideas of powers that not only provide some benefit, but also create a weakness or otherwise have an at least somewhat nasty trade-off.  As an example... A…
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Participants: Vordark, chronoplasm, Egonblaidd, Brimshack, JoyWriter, GozerTC, phatonin.

4/23/2009 chronoplasm: I'd Like to make a Heartbreaker...
One of the points I keep hearing regarding old OD&D is that the system is so simple and threadbare that it can support any character concept and any situation through…
In First Thoughts
Participants: chronoplasm, Vordark, greyorm, Brimshack, whiteknife, MacLeod, Seamus.

4/23/2009 Egonblaidd: Attribute/Skill Hierarchy for a Universal System
Vordark's threads about Genesys have gotten me thinking to how I would design a universal system.  I think it would be a good exercise even if I can't/don't make one…
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Participants: Egonblaidd, Ayyavazi, visioNationstudios, Vordark, Vulpinoid, TheDeadlyPlatypus, Selene Tan.

4/23/2009 mjbauer: I Made a Break-Through
Not in the game I'm designing, but in my understanding of game design in general. It's like the light finally came on. I know this is probably just the basics…
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Participants: mjbauer, Wolfen, ShallowThoughts, Seamus, Noon, TheDeadlyPlatypus, JoyWriter, Selene Tan.

4/22/2009 MacLeod: Naming Convention
I have a pretty simple question... I'm working on an easy-to-use yet tabletop tactically robust... and I was wondering if anyone has any idea of what I should name a…
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Participants: MacLeod, whiteknife, Wolfen, Luke, Paul Czege, JoyWriter, DanielM, chance.thirteen.

4/21/2009 Monk: Downward Granularity with dice pools
So the system that we're working on uses dice pools constructed by adding together various characteristics and skills that are being used. So far, everything works beautifully, but I'm working…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Monk, creatfire, Guy Srinivasan, chance.thirteen, Wordman.

4/21/2009 Brimshack: Critical Absences
More and more, I am thinking about what I DON'T want in the bag of tricks for my game. And by that I do not mean major points of style…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Brimshack, Vordark, chance.thirteen, Luke, Noon, Egonblaidd, phatonin, chronoplasm, ShallowThoughts.

4/17/2009 Vordark: Selecting Attributes For Your Game
Let's say we're talking about traditional RPGs where there's a GM that runs "the world" and a number of players, each of which has their own character.  Let's further say…
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Participants: Vordark, Vulpinoid, greyorm, MacLeod, Egonblaidd, mjbauer, Ayyavazi, chance.thirteen, Luke, kschewe, Gurnard, ShallowThoughts, brianbloodaxe, SteveMND, JoyWriter, Noon, Devenger.

4/17/2009 kschewe: [Wagon Tracks] Power 19
I am excited to be making my first post, and have been holding back until now because I know I would not have the time I would want to dedicate…
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Participants: kschewe, JoyWriter, DanielM, phatonin.

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In First Thoughts

5/4/2009 mjbauer: Using Hearts as a Combat System
[i]This is still in the very early stages, but I thought I'd get it out and see what you think. It's a combat system for a squad-based tactical game. I'm…
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Participants: mjbauer, Vulpinoid, Simon C, Noon.

5/5/2009 izlear: Card Based Mechanics I came up with
This just popped into my head and I was wondering what opinions of it would be to see if it may be worth pursuing (or if its actually unoriginal after…
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Participants: izlear, JoyWriter, mjbauer, Vulpinoid.

5/6/2009 Certified: Fractured Kingdom World Overview and Glossary
Back in September I posted a new setting concept along with power 19. Since then I've continued to develop the setting and have recently run the first play test. Although…
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Participants: Certified, JoyWriter, RandomCitizenx.

5/6/2009 Vulpinoid: Quincunx: Power 19
The game is designed to be played on a few levels, so I'll answer these questions twice. The first response is a superficial look at the game. The second response…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Vulpinoid, JoyWriter.

5/7/2009 Nev the Deranged: "Fuse dice", wacky DRYH inspired mechanic, free to good home
So I was thinking about the funky ways DRYH uses dice, and wondering if I could come up with something similar. I came up with something, how useful it might…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Nev the Deranged, Wordman.

5/7/2009 ghashsnaga: Wanderer: A fantasy version of Traveller and 3 questions
There are several version of this kickin around on the internet. So I am creating my own version (Book 1 mostly done) under the OGL. One of the things I…
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Participants: ghashsnaga, Abkajud.

5/7/2009 Jason Kottler: A Learning Experience
I recently ran an indie game that provided me a lot of insight - in a bad way. For all the details, check out my post: http://blog.ultrablamtacular.com/2009/05/04/antipatterns/ In other news,…
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Participants: Jason Kottler, JoyWriter, Pilsnerquest, Noon, Vulpinoid, ShallowThoughts, Brimshack.

5/7/2009 zmobie: Swordfighting system - Link
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=188 The link above is for a video-game sword fighting system, but I thought it would also be great for an rpg. What kinds of adaptations do you think you…
In First Thoughts
Participants: zmobie, JoyWriter, ShallowThoughts, MacLeod, Vulpinoid.

5/8/2009 brianbloodaxe: My take on card-based combat.
I've been lurking for a little while and seeing a few threads about card-based combat systems I thought I should put my ideas out there for your perusal. The concept…
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Participants: brianbloodaxe, mjbauer, redalastor.

5/8/2009 northerain: [Dark Days] Character Descriptions Matter!
In Dark Days, characters are mortals that came back from the dead, infected with an entity called Darkness. This entity gives them creepy ass powers but it ultimately wants to…
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Participants: northerain, Noon, C. Edwards, Selene Tan, Certified, Warrior Monk.

5/8/2009 k2lu: CCG - RPG hybrid system
Hello, all. First post, just getting some ideas down for consideration. I've been poking around with the idea of a CCG - RPG hybrid because, well, I like playing CCGs,…
In First Thoughts
Participants: k2lu, whiteknife, MacLeod, Vulpinoid, ShallowThoughts, zmobie.

5/10/2009 David C: Sandbox Games, can it be applied to RPGs?
Sandbox games are very popular in the video game world.  You have Grand Theft Auto and The Sims selling more copies than anything else in the market.  I know when…
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Participants: David C, Vulpinoid, northerain, MacLeod, Egonblaidd, whiteknife.

5/10/2009 SolitudeGames: Just an intro
Hi all just wanted to intro myself , not much to tell just another rpg fan who just started getting more into writing and design. I written off  and on…
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Participants: SolitudeGames.

5/11/2009 Brimshack: Learning Curves and Tipping Points
Okay, I'm facing a dilemma. I have been developing this RPG (tentatively entitled, "Worlds of Hurt") for about 2 years now, not counting the year or so of working on…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Brimshack, JoyWriter, MacLeod, Luke.

5/11/2009 EllePepper: [mistic] tabletop rpg, gage question.
Hi, it's elle, back from the dead. My specific question is this... I am using a modified Double-gage system for most players.  A Humanity gage for those who are dual…
In First Thoughts
Participants: EllePepper, Vulpinoid, chronoplasm.

5/11/2009 redalastor: Graphical ways to represent plot development?
I'm working on a LARP management software to make tracking all the huge pile of info that goes into a LARP bearable. It's going to track players, characters, xp, etc.…
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Participants: redalastor, dauvis, pells.

5/12/2009 chronoplasm: Interesting Quote
From ENWorld, in a discussion regarding the roles in 4E D&D: The fact is that in any point-based resolution system like D&D combat, there's only two things to…
In First Thoughts
Participants: chronoplasm, whiteknife, Noon, Guy Srinivasan, Vulpinoid, ShallowThoughts.

5/13/2009 AJ_Flowers: A Half-Cooked Narrativist Giant Robo Battle Mechanic
So, though I haven't had one in ages, here is a crackpot design idea from me that may or may not go somewhere.  A lot of my peer group is…
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Participants: AJ_Flowers, whiteknife, Wordman, Axe4Eye.

5/13/2009 whiteknife: GM or no GM?
Having abandoned, rediscovered, tweaked, re-tweaked, and re-re-tweaked my game, I've come to an impasse. The game is Tamers, and after much thinking I've decided that it's theme is exploration. You…
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Participants: whiteknife, chronoplasm, Jasper Flick.

5/13/2009 Silvana: system without stage manager
I'm searching for a system without a stage manager for my game I'm creating (I'm a really beginner in this world). It's a game based on a theatreplay (3 sisters/…
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Participants: Silvana.

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