Previous Topics

4/23/2005 TonyLB: Rules-Recommendation: Responsive Conflicts
In Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal... I'd be interested in hearing what you think of being able to start Conflicts as a reaction to narration. That's hardly rewriting…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, Sydney Freedberg.

4/21/2005 TonyLB: [Capes] Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Eric was playing two characters: Orobouros, a trans-temporal entity that masquerades as a God, and Saura Gul, his lizard high priest. He'd been playing these guys on and off for…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB, Miskatonic, TheCzech, Sydney Freedberg, James_Nostack, Valamir, Michael Brazier, daMoose_Neo, Victor Gijsbers, Lxndr, John Harper, Christopher Weeks, Jaik, Noon, Doug Ruff, Gaerik.

4/19/2005 TonyLB: Meaning at the beginning, middle and end
In "Thematic Causality": What, why and how?, over in the Muse of Fire forums, we hit some very interesting general-purpose questions. Folks reckon, and I agree, that it might be…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Ron Edwards, Troy_Costisick, xenopulse, Miskatonic, Valamir, Ben Lehman, Noon, Simon Marks, JMendes, Sydney Freedberg, Silmenume.

4/18/2005 TonyLB: [Dulcimer Hall] Fallout Scene Mechanics
So close... so very, very close. Sydney sent me a brilliant email a little while ago (yay Sydney!) in which he pointed out that you could (for some purposes) modify…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, Doug Ruff.

4/17/2005 TonyLB: [MLWM] The minions of Otto von Kubir
I got a chance to run a four-hour session of My Life With Master last night. It was a blast to be the Master... but I know that I only…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB, Sydney Freedberg, Miskatonic, Ron Edwards, GB Steve, Paul Czege, Victor Gijsbers, Adam Dray.

4/16/2005 TonyLB: Reciprocity of interest
[quote="Vaxalon"]Why do I get the impression, then, that you don't like it, that I feel that Capes is a great start, but needs a little work to be perfect?[/quote] I…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, Vaxalon, John Harper.

4/16/2005 TonyLB: NJ Local: DexCon booth design
Okay, we're nattering away on a variety of issues over on the Indie Game Explosion 2 Forum, but booth design is clearly going to be a task. I know, for…
In Connections
Participants: TonyLB, Andrew Morris, RobNJ, Helvetian.

4/15/2005 TonyLB: "Thematic Causality": What, why and how?
In Why have Conflicts at all?... The choice itself is important, but without a pattern of what I'm going to call "thematic causality", it has no meaning. Capes is…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, xenopulse, John Harper, Vaxalon, Paganini, C. Edwards, Valamir, Miskatonic, Jinx.

4/15/2005 TonyLB: Why have conflicts at all?
In Takes some getting used to, Andrew raised the following solid general question: Okay, I've been following this Capes thing very closely because I'm interested in the game. I'm…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, Gaerik, Miskatonic, Vaxalon, C. Edwards, John Harper, Valamir, inthisstyle.

4/13/2005 TonyLB: Why narrate at all?
In Takes some getting used to, Ralph wrote: Tony. What do you perceive the purpose of the narration to be? To express your personal creative input (i.e. "because you…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, Vaxalon, Nicolas Crost, Noon, Valamir, hyphz, inthisstyle, Gaerik, Miskatonic, Mike Holmes, John Harper.

4/11/2005 TonyLB: April get-together in DC
We organized a Forgite Dinner in DC, way back when, and people wanted another incarnation. It's happening this Saturday, April 16th, starting at 7p.m. in Alexandria, Virginia, just across the…
In Connections
Participants: TonyLB, Sydney Freedberg, xiombarg, Vaxalon, Nathan.

4/11/2005 TonyLB: What are the tools of pacing?
Okay, first off, what this question is not. I am not asking what tools a GM can use in order to effect changes in pacing. I'm asking why one effects…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Shreyas Sampat, C. Edwards, xenopulse, Harlequin, Gaerik, Bankuei, matthijs, timfire, MatrixGamer, Bill Masek, John Kim, Marco, Alan.

4/9/2005 TonyLB: How To: Interpret Charitably
[i]... or 'How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.'[/i] Capes gives all players tremendous freedom to contribute to the Shared Imaginary Space. Players don't have to justify…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, John Harper.

4/8/2005 TonyLB: [Capes] Let's get conflicted!
I got the great pleasure of running Capes at TerpCon (thanks Josh!) out at U-MD last weekend. It was a hoot. Publishers: Do not let yourself get trapped…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB, Noon, Piers Brown, Sydney Freedberg.

4/8/2005 TonyLB: [ANNOUNCEMENT] Time is running out for a bargain!
All of the first printing Capes books are gone. It's proven wildly popular. Thanks to all those who have made it so! I've had plenty of people commenting in their…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, Jaik.

4/7/2005 TonyLB: [TNaRPG] Dibs! I called it!
Inspired by this thread over on RPG.net, I have thought of a wonderful puff-piece of a game to write: That's Not an RPG!, the RPG I think the way to…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, Gaerik, daMoose_Neo, Aman the Rejected, Selene Tan, Brendan, Mike Holmes, MatrixGamer, killacozzy.

4/5/2005 TonyLB: Tony's Standard Rant #1: Roleplay/Game Duality
This rant brought to you courtesy of discussion in this thread. There is a misconception that's become a pet peeve of mine, and that I want to debunk: The idea…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Jasper, Vaxalon, Shreyas Sampat, Doug Ruff, Andrew Morris, gorckat, Noon, contracycle, C. Edwards, John Kim, Lee Short, JMendes, James Holloway, groundhog, Ron Edwards.

4/4/2005 TonyLB: Folding Tables
Yes, the question really is as strange and seemingly trivial as the subject makes it sound. I need to know whether I can get a cheap 90-degree crescent table, for…
In Connections
Participants: TonyLB, daMoose_Neo, jdagna, Tintros, Knave, abzu, Paul Czege.

3/29/2005 TonyLB: Capes Lite Redraft
Following on the very useful advice given me in Why Capes Lite isn't helpful I have tried to assemble a document that's more like a teaching introduction, and less like…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, Paul Hebble, Stickman, Jack Aidley, Andrew Morris.

3/27/2005 TonyLB: [Dulcimer Hall] Another shot at Resolution
Okay, first go read the Hybrid Resolution document to see where I'm starting from. Now go read Crypto-romance Character Development to see what I want to achieve with…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, MikeSands, Doug Ruff.

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Subsequent Topics

4/28/2005 TonyLB: [That's Not Roleplaying!] Draft mechanics
Okay, after a productive rambling-session with Selene this afternoon, workable mechanics are starting to come together. That's Not Roleplaying is a game of simulating (at break-neck speed) the evolution of…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, Noon, killacozzy, Vaxalon, Miskatonic.

5/2/2005 TonyLB: [Dulcimer Hall] Changing the Past
This references previous discussion on Dulcimer Hall, but not hugely. Dulcimer Hall will examine several things:How you define identity in a world with no certainty Who you allow to influence…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, Valamir, Doug Ruff, Miskatonic, Sydney Freedberg.

5/8/2005 TonyLB: [InSpectres] Threw me for a loop
So I got to run people through some fun in InSpectres last night. Good stuff, but with lots of places where I felt I could do better. We had a…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB, Ron Edwards, Eero Tuovinen, Jared A. Sorensen, hix, Noon, Michael S. Miller.

5/9/2005 TonyLB: [DexCon 8] Schedule of IGE Events
Okay folks, there will be a great meeting of the minds at DexCon. The second Indie Games Explosion! If you have a game to pimp then you really, really want…
In Conventions
Participants: TonyLB, Michael S. Miller, Ben Lehman, abzu, inthisstyle, Helvetian, Andrew Morris.

5/11/2005 TonyLB: [Capes] New cover, early draft for critique
Last time through, people had very solid comments on my cover, but I got them too late into the process to take advantage without throwing away a lot of work.…
In Publishing
Participants: TonyLB, Bret Gillan, Jasper Polane, Brendan, Andrew Morris, timfire, inthisstyle, matthijs, Valamir, paulkdad, Jack Aidley.

5/15/2005 TonyLB: [InSpectres] Am I doing this right?
We ran three missions of InSpectres last night, and had a lot of fun with it. We investigated the haunting of television station WHGL by the ghost of Annabelle the…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB, Jared A. Sorensen.

5/16/2005 TonyLB: [Misery Bubblegum] How do you win at high school?
Previous discussion of Misery Bubblegum (nee Dulcimer Hall) can be found here. I've got this lovely, elegant little positioning mechanism, which will let people shift their resources around in all…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, Kesher, Sydney Freedberg, Valamir, Bill_White, Doug Ruff, Andrew Morris, Allan, Noon, Shim.

5/17/2005 TonyLB: [DexCon 8] Things that will not get done
I have been very happy to step up to coordinate the second Indie Gaming Explosion at DexCon. I'm pleased to have helped get the schedule in place, and to set…
In Conventions
Participants: TonyLB, Helvetian, abzu, nerdnyc, Thor Olavsrud, inthisstyle, Rob Donoghue, Ben Lehman.

5/19/2005 TonyLB: [Capes] I threw a tantrum and nobody minded!
We just had a session that (in my opinion, anyway) hugely rocked... and yet, the thing that sticks with me is that I got to throw a tantrum in character,…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB, Ron Edwards, Sydney Freedberg, Grover.

5/20/2005 TonyLB: Oracle Stance?
[quote="Ron Edwards"]I think it's crucial to understand there are two variables: in-character vs. out-of-character knowledge/perspective as starting constraint (yes or no); character motions/dialogue vs. objects/events external to the character. These…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Ron Edwards, John Burdick, neelk, Troy_Costisick.

5/21/2005 TonyLB: Capes tactics - Precision restraint
Okay, you want some really whacked out, bizarre, intensely human scenes? Don't think about single conflicts, and how they work out. Think about how the Not-Yet restraints of one Conflict…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB.

5/23/2005 TonyLB: The inevitable appropriateness of your character
In (Accept/Reject) x (Text/Meaning) I was eventually convinced that there is something to just plain enjoying your character (absent any other drive). Way back in game design and psychology Emily…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB, xenopulse, Bankuei, Madeline, Frank T, contracycle, Sydney Freedberg, Gordon C. Landis, beingfrank, Noon.

5/24/2005 TonyLB: [Misery Bubblegum] Issues and personalizing situation
Previous Misery Bubblegum discussion here. Source of the ideas I'm about to discuss here. People started discussing, in the actual play thread, how you would support a system where people…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, Doug Ruff, Sydney Freedberg.

5/28/2005 TonyLB: Tony's Standard Rant #2: Disagreement != Dysfunction
Reading Ben Lehman's excellent blog-post on Social Agenda I came upon this statement:In terms of grief players, well, we don't have anyone at the Forge claiming to…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Ben Lehman, Jasper, Grover, Shreyas Sampat, James Holloway, Sydney Freedberg, Blankshield, John Burdick, Noon, bcook1971, contracycle, hyphz, Madeline, WhiteRat, John Kim, Brand_Robins, immlass, Ron Edwards.

5/30/2005 TonyLB: Capes review at Gaming Report
Wayne Tonjes wrote a review of Capes. I'm still in a "jury is out" mode about the review itself... anyone who thinks that you buy extra actions by spending Debt…
In Muse of Fire Games
Participants: TonyLB, Miskatonic, Technocrat13.

6/1/2005 TonyLB: [Capes] This session just keeps getting cooler
A gaming report in three sections: Mechanics and Story interlaced, followed by Integration (wherein I realize, only as I continue to fit pieces together in my mind, how cool the…
In Actual Play
Participants: TonyLB.

6/3/2005 TonyLB: [Misery Bubblegum] I love you the way you are, now change!
In the most recent Misery Bubblegum development thread, Callan posted: The next step is not to discover yourself, so much as to try and break yourself to fit in. Because…
In Indie Game Design
Participants: TonyLB, Doug Ruff, Allan, Sydney Freedberg, Miskatonic, hix, Noon.

6/12/2005 TonyLB: [Capes] New Cover, Second Draft
Way back when, I got critiques (useful as always) on the first rough draft of the new Capes cover. So, working on those, I've expanded to the new second draft…
In Publishing
Participants: TonyLB, Ria, GB Steve, Andrew Morris.

6/12/2005 TonyLB: [DexCon 8] You MUST register
[quote="Vinny"]Please have ANY GMs who are coming with you to run your game go ASAP to the [url=http://www.dexposure.com/dexcon8i.html]registration page.[/url].[/quote] Okay, this is (despite the "please") a pretty serious command from…
In Conventions
Participants: TonyLB.

6/13/2005 TonyLB: I want to roll more dice!
You know what I've heard an awful lot? "Why would you roll dice to argue / manipulate / race / whatever if it's possible to resolve the same conflict between…
In RPG Theory
Participants: TonyLB, Gaerik, Matt Wilson, Warren, C. Edwards, Alan, John Kim, GB Steve, Noon, Remko, Sean, Technocrat13, ErrathofKosh, Andrew Norris, CCW, M. J. Young.

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