Previous Topics

3/27/2009 Marshall Burns: [The Rustbelt] Slang collection project
I’m collecting slang terms for an appendix for my game The Rustbelt.  I’m looking for slang that is colorful, rough, earthy, gritty.  Probable good sources include early 20th century hipster…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, Eero Tuovinen, Wolfen, Ron Edwards, ejh.

2/26/2009 Marshall Burns: [Rustbelt] de-ashcanification stage one: I need your eyes
So, I've got a draft of a new Rustbelt text. I'm not happy with it yet, but I don't know what to do to fix it. Specifically, I'm not satisfied…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, JoyWriter, Nocker.

2/10/2009 Marshall Burns: [3:16] one player play
Yesterday, I GMed some 3:16 for my cousin James.  We were actually slated to play some Dread, but the GM (Steven, from all of my previous APs) was sick.  James…
In Actual Play
Participants: Marshall Burns, ShallowThoughts, Gregor Hutton.

2/3/2009 Marshall Burns: [The Rustbelt] attributes for a setting mod: "Heatwave"
So, I'm working on this chapter for Rustbelt 1st ed. in which I explain how to modify the setting.  I do this partially because I know that people love tinkering…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, agony.

1/6/2009 Marshall Burns: I need your gamer knowledge!
Hey everyone, I need you to help me with some research.  I need to know about all the RPGs out there with post-apocalyptic themes, and I need to know as…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, Eero Tuovinen, greyorm, jasonm, Darcy Burgess, Krippler, JoyWriter.

12/17/2008 Marshall Burns: [MASK] Ordinary villains against extraordinary heroes
So, I'm working on a game about mystery men.  Not super heroes, you dig, but their precursors, the guys who have more in common with Dick Tracy than with the…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns, Bret Gillan, ShallowThoughts, chronoplasm, Everspinner, Niedfaru, Ken, Noon, chance.thirteen, Vulpinoid.

11/13/2008 Marshall Burns: [Ride! With Great Justice] prototype ready
I've finished the scratch rules for Ride! With Great Justice, a game in which you play members of an elite police force doing battle with vicious motorgangs in a futuristic…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

11/5/2008 Marshall Burns: [GRiM] Lemme borrow your ears for a bit
Ok, so, as you probably know, I put together a CD of original music to accompany the Rustbelt ashcan.  The idea was for the songs to serve the same purposes…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, davidberg.

10/3/2008 Marshall Burns: [Rustbelt] contemplated rules change: Blood recovery
The Blood recovery rules stick out like a sore thumb to me, but I couldn't think of an alternative until I saw No Country for Old Men (which is a…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

9/16/2008 Marshall Burns: Re-Binding question
Hi Ron, I don't expect this situation will crop up too terribly often, but what exactly is the rule for re-Binding a demon whose master has died? In the "Training…
In Adept Press
Participants: Marshall Burns, Ron Edwards.

8/26/2008 Marshall Burns: RUSTBELT ERRATA
There's a few things that should have made it into the book that did not.  And they are: PACKAGED EFFECTS So, a moment from actual play: Kitt, the shady doctor,…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

8/26/2008 Marshall Burns: Welcome to Beyond the Wire Productions
Hi, welcome to the forum for Beyond the Wire Productions.  BtW consists of me, and a few friends that I'm collaborating with on some new game ideas. I primarily set…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, jasonm, davidberg.

7/22/2008 Marshall Burns: [Misspent Youth] multiple authorities?
Hey Rob, what's your thought on playing Misspent Youth with more than one Authority?  With conflicting goals and means?  With different people playing each one? Because I had this wicked…
In Robert Bohl Games
Participants: Marshall Burns, RobNJ.

7/15/2008 Marshall Burns: [The Rustbelt] "Tell me who killed my cat." & solo play experiment
So, I was supposed to play the Rustbelt with Stephen and my cousin James this weekend, but Stephen couldn't make it, so me & James just played by ourselves. I…
In Playtesting
Participants: Marshall Burns, Krippler.

6/30/2008 Marshall Burns: [The Rustbelt] a mighty rule-change is a-brewin'
So, I was at work the other day when an idea hit me, and I think it's the big fix for the Rustbelt's main problem.  (To recap, that problem is…
In Playtesting
Participants: Marshall Burns, Krippler, jag, Paul Czege.

5/23/2008 Marshall Burns: [While We Were Fighting] an observation & question for the author
[i]While We Were Fighting[/i] is a game in development by Peter Nordstrand about intrigue and such in Rennaissance Italy.  I've been wanting to playtest it for a while, but I…
In Playtesting
Participants: Marshall Burns, Peter Nordstrand, Måns.

5/13/2008 Marshall Burns: [American Wizards] a new way to handle "difficulty"
[i]American Wizards[/i] is a game idea I've been working on about students at a wizard college called the American Institute of Wizard Arts.  I've posted about it [url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=25292.msg244089#msg244089]before[/url], mostly regarding…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns, Plognark, davidberg, Spooky Fanboy, Everspinner.

5/5/2008 Marshall Burns: craps conflict resolution
After using poker as the basis for the conflict resolution of Witch Trails (the structure and the betting work perfectly; the role of cards still needs some hammering out) I…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns, imago, RobNJ.

4/18/2008 Marshall Burns: [Witch Trails] Strange Fruit
[i]Witch Trails:  the Invisible History of the American West[/i] is a game about the Hex Rangers, a secret militia formed to drive out angry spirits and other supernatural threats from…
In Playtesting
Participants: Marshall Burns, jag.

3/24/2008 Marshall Burns: [Uncanny Underground] Roll for Opportunity
[i]Uncanny Underground[/i] is a game I'm working on about a world that coexists simultaneously, both in terms of space and time, with our own, normal, mundane world (although it also…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns.

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Subsequent Topics

5/26/2009 Marshall Burns: [Super Action Now!] a crazy-ass advertisement
So, in preparation for the First Super Action Edition of my favorite stupid little game, Super Action Now!, I asked this guy if he'd be willing to draw some illos…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, DWeird.

6/18/2009 Marshall Burns: [Challenge: Play This!] Rebellion in the Mushroom Kingdom
This is a contest. There won't be a prize, because I can't afford to put one up, but it's still a contest. It's a play contest, you dig? THIS IS…
In Endeavor
Participants: Marshall Burns, Eero Tuovinen, Melinglor.

6/30/2009 Marshall Burns: [MADCorp] buddy mechanics?
[i]MADCorp[/i] is the game of corporate dungeoncrawling horror. (You heard me). You work for MADCorp, the Mercenary/Adventurer/Dungeoneer Corporation. You do the dirty work of going into the dungeons, and MADCorp…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns, M. Burrell, David C.

7/24/2009 Marshall Burns: [Hex Rangers] Strange Fruit revisited
[i]Hex Rangers[/i] is my design that was formerly titled [i]Witch Trails[/i]. It’s a game of investigating and exterminating the paranormal in the American frontier. A couple weeks ago, I ran…
In Playtesting
Participants: Marshall Burns, Patrice, Simon C, DWeird, Mike Sugarbaker, davidberg, Noon, JoyWriter, Emmadexter1970, contracycle, charles ferguson, northerain.

8/3/2009 Marshall Burns: Coffee & Cigarettes Live Action Roleplay
COFFEE & CIGARETTES LIVE ACTION ROLEPLAY inspired by the film by Jim Jarmusch This game is for two players and a director. Each player chooses a famous person to portray.…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

9/2/2009 Marshall Burns: [MADCorp] damage rules must contribute to driving gameplay
Ok, I've finally put together a set of damage rules that I feel good about. I'd like to post them here for some vetting. First off, lemme present the basic…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns, whiteknife, Noon, JoyWriter, MacLeod.

9/3/2009 Marshall Burns: a possibly true fact about pirates
"When pirates are put to death, it is because they have been out on the high seas violating Admiralty Law, whose jurisdiction extends only to the high-tide mark. The implacable…
In lumpley games
Participants: Marshall Burns, Arturo G..

10/28/2009 Marshall Burns: [MADCorp] I'm posting class handbooks on my blog
I'm posting the "Employee Handbooks" (class guide pamphlets for the players) from the design-in-progress MADCorp on my blog. Each week, I'll post between 1 and 3 of them until they're…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

11/20/2009 Marshall Burns: [3:16] These players are crazy
I played 3:16 last weekend on a camping trip. The players were: > my cousin James, with whom I’ve roleplayed often, and with whom I’ve played 3:16 once before. >…
In Actual Play
Participants: Marshall Burns, Noon, JoyWriter, Jaakko Koivula, Gregor Hutton, Jasper Flick, contracycle, Ron Edwards.

1/11/2010 Marshall Burns: [Rustbelt self-parody] The Cookie Crumbles: a tale of pain
Fans of the Rustbelt might get a kick out of this cartoon I drew starring Matchley "Match" Daws, one of the guys on the cover of the ashcan. The cartoon…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns, Ron Edwards.

1/12/2010 Marshall Burns: [The Rustbelt] trepidations about illustrations
I want the 1st edition of Rustbelt to have illustrations. I don't have the money to pay an artist -- I mean, AT ALL. My budget for this project is…
In Publishing
Participants: Marshall Burns, preludetotheend, Ron Edwards, C. Edwards, JoyWriter, Jasper Flick, Charlie Gilb, Paul Czege, Tim C Koppang, Noon, Filip Luszczyk, Luke, davidberg.

2/4/2010 Marshall Burns: [Badass City] stumped for effect mechanics
[i]Badass City[/i] is a Step on Up game that I'm making primarily to figure out certain problems I'm having with a couple other games. But it's also shaping up to…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns, Noon, lumpley, Vulpinoid, Locke, JoyWriter, davidberg, Ar Kayon.

2/24/2010 Marshall Burns: Rules & Precepts for Creating Fantasy
I wrote this because I'm writing a fantasy story. When I write, I have to set ground rules for myself, otherwise I second-guess myself, revise things that don't need revising,…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

6/15/2010 Marshall Burns: [MADcorp] call for alpha testers
Hi everyone, I've got an alpha draft of MADcorp ready, and I need a few outside alpha testers. MADcorp is the game of corporate dungeoncrawling in a world gone weird.…
In Connections
Participants: Marshall Burns.

6/16/2010 Marshall Burns: [Bone Orchard] brainstorming: plot-moving endeavors
Bone Orchard is an idea I had that never got developed much, but I've had ideas for it lately. Now that MADcorp alpha is ready, I can think about Bone…
In First Thoughts
Participants: Marshall Burns.

7/13/2010 Marshall Burns: Musical magic
(I didn't post this in First Thoughts because there's not actually anything I need help with. It's just some musing and design-process-think. But we can still talk about it if…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

7/15/2010 Marshall Burns: [The Rustbelt] first crack at a character sheet; feedback requested!
[url=http://beyondthewireproductions.wikispaces.com/file/view/Rustbelt+Character+Sheet.pdf]Here's my first crack at a Rustbelt character sheet[/url]. I want some feedback on it from a.) layout-savvy peeps and b.) those who have played the Rustbelt. Layout-savvy peeps: What…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

7/15/2010 Marshall Burns: What's all this ISBN business?
Rustbelt inches ever closer to publication, and I've got me a question: what's the deal with ISBN numbers? What are they for? Where do they come from? Why/when should I…
In Publishing
Participants: Marshall Burns, jrs, Eero Tuovinen, Nathan P., Sebastian, Ron Edwards.

7/16/2010 Marshall Burns: [The Rustbelt] So this is my plan
The Rustbelt first edition has been a zero-budget project. This is due to the fact that I'm poor (although hopefully the game will help with that, or at least keep…
In Publishing
Participants: Marshall Burns, Dan Maruschak, Noon.

7/17/2010 Marshall Burns: [BtW store] four games for $2 each!
I'm currently in some dire straights financially right now, but I'm not one to just ask for money, so I'm sellin' some games! I've put together a store webpage where…
In Beyond the Wire Productions
Participants: Marshall Burns.

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