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26 *198794* Posts in *18708* Topics by *5988* Members Latest Member: * - |
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27 kuljek |
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28 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=6115>* Most |
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29 online today: *113* - most online ever: *271* (February 22, 2006, |
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30 03:03:12 PM) |
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32 + *The Forge <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php>* |
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33 |-+ *Inactive Forums <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php#5>* |
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34 | |-+ *Scattershot <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?board=22.0>* |
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35 | | |-+ *Part I: Core Concept |
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36 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.0>* « previous |
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37 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.0;prev_next=prev> |
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38 next » |
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39 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073;prev_next=next> |
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40 |
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41 *Pages:* [*1*] Print |
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42 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=1073.0> |
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43 |
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44 Author Topic: Part I: Core Concept (Read 962 times) |
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45 |
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46 *Le Joueur <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=73>* |
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47 Member |
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48 |
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49 Posts: 1363 |
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50 |
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51 |
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52 View Profile |
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53 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=73> WWW |
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54 <http://www.scattershotgames.com> |
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55 |
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56 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.msg10066#msg10066> |
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57 *Part I: Core Concept |
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58 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.msg10066#msg10066>* |
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59 « * on:* December 26, 2001, 10:23:00 PM » |
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60 |
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61 |
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62 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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63 December 26th, 2001 - |
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64 |
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65 At the behest of my friends here on the Forge, I will present |
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66 Scattershot at the point I have it. Even though this is a |
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67 work-in-progress, I am not trying to present a diary of the progress. |
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68 Expect the lead component of this thread to undergo changes as |
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69 Scattershot does. This edition was originally put together on |
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70 Wednesday, December 26th, 2001 (think of it as a late Xmas present). |
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71 This series of articles will detail strictly the mechanics of |
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72 Scattershot, articles relating to the techniques of 'how to play' will |
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73 have to wait until I have more of them centralized and organized. The |
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74 third major component of the game, the setting and genre material is |
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75 will be addressed once I get a new batch of playtesters. |
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76 |
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77 Since I have to start somewhere, I will begin with the theories that |
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78 have become the central design premise of the mechanics. This is one of |
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79 a number of articles that inter-relate and I hope to make frequent use |
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80 of links between them (which is part of the reason I have separated them). |
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81 |
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82 The central point of Scattershot is that all gaming is fundamentally |
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83 about context with emotional investment (I described this much earlier |
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84 in this article |
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85 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=457&forum=4>.) |
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86 Concepts like 'suspension of disbelief' and 'flow of play' exist |
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87 primarily to support 'staying in context.' Another central concept is |
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88 that gaming /depends/ on in-game actions having rational consequences. |
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89 |
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90 The formalization of consequences to aid 'flow of play' is exactly |
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91 what Scattershot's mechanics are meant to be. "Aiding the 'flow |
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92 of play'" is one of the reasons that Scattershot's mechanics are |
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93 also deliberately designed to function as a form of communal |
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94 language during play. Instead of having to describe the process |
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95 of using an ability in detail and accounting for potential points |
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96 of contention, a participant can simply refer to using a specific |
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97 mechanic by its name.[/list:u]I know this sounds trite and |
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98 obvious, but it needs to be said; play is shared. |
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99 |
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100 This concept becomes important in fixing the reasons that |
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101 Scattershot has mechanics. Both consistency and |
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102 impartiality are necessary for a kind of sharing that |
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103 participants can feel is 'fair'¹. Because of the emotional |
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104 investment in play, there will be times when emotions can |
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105 run quite high; it is important to have something impartial |
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106 to fall back upon when those times involve conflict between |
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107 the participants.[/list:u]Most of the time play passes |
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108 between participants in no particular order as necessary. |
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109 |
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110 This is an example of how informal most gaming is. |
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111 Under some circumstances, impartiality can become |
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112 highly important to one or more players. At those |
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113 (frequently emotional) times, mechanics can formalize |
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114 even this normative form of play.[/list:u]Obviously, |
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115 under portions of game theory, an awareness of the |
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116 mechanics becomes a part of the play itself. |
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117 |
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118 This is exceptionally important when discussing |
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119 whether or not mechanics should be applied to |
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120 specific situation in a game. This decision has |
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121 a lot to do with how mechanics will be applied |
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122 during play.[/list:u]That's all for this |
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123 installment. Next up, the differences between |
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124 players and gamemasters in Scattershot. |
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125 |
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126 Fang Langford |
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127 |
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128 ¹ That is fairness in the minds of the |
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129 participants. Each will desire their own amount |
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130 of play (and even that will change from session |
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131 to session). Mechanics go a long way towards |
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132 formalizing the tools that can be used to 'get |
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133 your share' of play. |
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134 |
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135 Logged |
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136 |
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137 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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138 Fang Langford is formerly the creator of the Scattershot Role-Playing |
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139 Game System. This project has been permanently suspended. If you have |
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140 any questions regarding the implementation of it or anything else, he |
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141 can be reached at ripjack@mad.scientist.com |
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142 <mailto:ripjack@mad.scientist.com> |
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143 |
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144 *Ron Edwards |
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145 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=9>* |
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146 Global Moderator |
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147 Member |
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148 * |
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149 Posts: 12610 |
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150 |
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151 |
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152 View Profile |
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153 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=9> WWW |
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154 <http://www.sorcerer-rpg.com> |
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155 |
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156 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.msg10076#msg10076> |
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157 *Part I: Core Concept |
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158 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.msg10076#msg10076>* |
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159 « *Reply #1 on:* December 27, 2001, 08:45:00 AM » |
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160 |
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161 |
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162 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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163 Hi Fang, |
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164 |
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165 I'm not sure about what to say, except "Solid," in a kind of 70s accent. |
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166 Concrete mission statements beyond the usual "um, it's role-playing" are |
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167 rare and valuable. |
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168 |
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169 The concept of game mechanics and events being applications |
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170 (expressions?) of emotional investment is excellent. I'm looking forward |
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171 to more. You've set the starting bar very high. |
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172 |
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173 Best, |
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174 Ron |
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175 Logged |
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176 |
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177 *Le Joueur <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=73>* |
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178 Member |
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179 |
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180 Posts: 1363 |
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181 |
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182 |
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183 View Profile |
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184 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=73> WWW |
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185 <http://www.scattershotgames.com> |
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186 |
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187 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.msg10125#msg10125> |
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188 *Part I: Core Concept |
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189 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.msg10125#msg10125>* |
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190 « *Reply #2 on:* December 27, 2001, 02:18:00 PM » |
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191 |
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192 |
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193 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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194 Quote |
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195 Ron Edwards wrote: |
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196 |
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197 I'm not sure about what to say, except "Solid," in a kind of 70s accent. |
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198 |
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199 Actually, this is somewhat on purpose. From my experiences, many of the |
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200 gamers out in the 'hinterlands' still play in a '70s' way. Since one of |
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201 the design specifications of Scattershot (and posting these will be a |
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202 while - I need to find them) is that it be 'familiar' to experienced |
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203 gamers far and wide, it will have an intentional '70s flavor.' |
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204 |
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205 (And I know how you meant that, it just seemed like a good opportunity |
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206 to talk design specifications.) |
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207 |
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208 Quote |
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209 You've set the starting bar very high. |
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210 |
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211 Thank you. I think it is obvious that I do this in all things. |
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212 |
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213 Fang Langford |
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214 Logged |
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215 |
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216 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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217 Fang Langford is formerly the creator of the Scattershot Role-Playing |
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218 Game System. This project has been permanently suspended. If you have |
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219 any questions regarding the implementation of it or anything else, he |
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220 can be reached at ripjack@mad.scientist.com |
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221 <mailto:ripjack@mad.scientist.com> |
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222 |
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223 *Pages:* [*1*] Print |
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224 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=1073.0> |
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225 |
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226 « previous |
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227 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073.0;prev_next=prev> |
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228 next » |
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229 <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1073;prev_next=next> |
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