The Forge </> 	The Internet Home for Independent Role-Playing Games
About the Forge </about/> | Support The Forge </donate.php> | Articles
</articles/> | Reviews </reviews/> | Resource Library </resources/> |
Forums </>
 


  The Provisional Glossary

by Ron Edwards <sorcerer@sorcerer-rpg.com
<mailto:sorcerer@sorcerer-rpg.com>>
Copyright 2004 Adept Press

Many thanks to Vincent Baker, Emily Care Boss, Steve Samson, Julie
Stauffer, and Ralph Mazza for their help with the first draft for this
project.

As the title implies, this is a provisional version of what I hope will
become a standing Glossary for the Forge. Everyone is invited to comment
according to the following guidelines:

    *

      We can debate endlessly about the exact perfect phrasing for a
      definition, but let's not. Please take into account that at least
      a hundred other people have just as much justification for their
      favored phrasings as you do for yours. If you propose an alternate
      phrasing, please do so by backing up your point with thread
      references.

    *

      The purpose for the Glossary is solely to provide help to people
      as they enter into discussions at the Forge. It is not supposed to
      be the primary teaching instrument for any concept, nor is it a
      belief system that must be accepted or agreed with in order to
      participate.

The main reason this whole thing has taken so long is that I do not see
an easy way to separate a Forge Glossary authored by myself from a
presentation/essay about my particular take on issues discussed at the
Forge. It is flatly impossible for me to please everyone by representing
all of their individual takes on these issues ? some of you may find
terms that I've pegged as controversial as perfectly clear; others may
find terms that I don't peg controversial as being so. So I say these
two things:

    *

      Yes, I wrote this document. So yes, it reflects a lot of my values
      and the framework for role-playing that at present I think makes
      the most sense.

    *

      My goal, as I stated above, is utility for others, especially
      those who haven't been involved in debating these issues for
      years. So bear that in mind ? it's not supposed to represent your
      sophisticated understanding of controversial nuances. Evaluate it
      from the eyes of someone who needs it.

So if you think that my personal take on the issues has clouded the goal
for any particular term, then say so and try to back up your argument
with clear logic. I'm willing to make changes on this basis, but not on
the basis that you ?feel? a newcomer will be confused.

I haven't included the actual links to the indicated threads, mainly
because that would delay this posting by at least a week, and it's time
to get it off the ground. They'll get added in the next iteration. I
figure maybe a month of discussion about this version is a good plan. If
you can think of other relevant threads (remember: helpfulness), then
suggest them. I'm also interested in getting links to articles by others
for specific terms (e.g. M.J./s 'Applied Design/, etc); the question is,
which terms.

Finally, some of the terms are desperately in need of discussion and
revision: ?Metagame? as a character component really sucks; and I'm
proposing ?Positioning? instead. In fact, ?metagame mechanics? seems to
be a broken term as well (an older thread convinced me). And a few
others. I'm certainly happy to see what people think of these, but
again, please do the reading and reflection necessary before you bomb in
with your reactions.


    Part One: the Big Model

The following key concepts and how they inter-relate form a foundation
for nearly all of the other terms, which provide examples, refinements,
or sub-sets for them.

The key concepts are:

*The Big Model, Social Contract, Exploration, Shared Imagined Space,
Creative Agenda, Techniques, Ephemera, Lumpley Principle, and Coherence*

Most of the other terms on the list only take on their meaning when
considered in the framework of these concepts and their interactions.

Big model pic (PDF) <http://indie-rpgs.com/_articles/bigmodelpic.pdf>

Big model, the

    A description of role-playing procedures as embedded in the social
    interactions and creative priorities of the participants. Each
    internal "box," "layer," or "skin" of the model is considered to be
    an expression of the box(es) containing it. See the discussion in
    /Narrativism: Story Now/ and /The big model - this is it/.

Coherence

    The degree to which one or a combination of Creative Agendas are
    accepted and reinforced among members of a role-playing group.
    Coherence may also be applied to game design, but only indirectly,
    in terms of whether it does or does not facilitate such a shared
    agenda.

Creative Agenda (CA)

    The aesthetic priorities and any matters of imaginative interest
    regarding role-playing. Three distinct Creative Agendas are
    currently recognized: Step On Up (Gamist), The Right to Dream
    (Simulationist), and Story Now (Narrativist). This definition
    replaces all uses of "Premise" in /GNS and other matters of
    role-playing theory/ aside from the specific Creative Agenda of
    Narrativist play. Creative Agenda is expressed using all Components
    of Exploration, but most especially System.

Ephemera

    Moment-to-moment or sentence-to-sentence actions and statements
    during play. Combinations of Ephemera often construct Techniques.
    Changes in Stance represent one example of an Ephemeral aspect of play.

Exploration

    The imagination of fictional events, established through
    communicating among one another. Exploration includes five
    Components: Character, Setting, Situation, System, and Color. See
    also Shared Imagined Space (a near or total synonym).

Lumpley Principle, the

    "System (including but not limited to 'the rules') is defined as the
    means by which the group agrees to imagined events during play." The
    author of the principle is Vincent Baker, see Vincent?s standard
    rant: power, credibility, and assent and Player power abuse.

Social Contract

    All interactions and relationships among the role-playing group,
    including emotional connections, logistic arrangements, and
    expectations. All role-playing is a subset of the Social Contract.

Techniques

    Specific procedures of play which, when employed together, are
    sufficient to introduce fictional characters, places, or events into
    the Shared Imagined Space. Many different Techniques may be used, in
    different games, to establish the same sorts of events. A given
    Technique is composed of a group of Ephemera which are employed
    together. Taken in their entirety for a given instance of
    role-playing, Techniques comprise System.


    Part Two: the terms list

I've tried to avoid outright tautology (B says "see A," A says "see B"),
but if you encounter a term that uses lots of other terms in the
definition, then you know you're pretty deep down in the key concept
framework.

Abashed

    Game design which displays features of one or more Creative Agenda
    that, in their applications, are operationally contradictory. It is
    a minor form of design Incoherence. However, an Abashed design is
    easily correctable by ignoring or altering isolated portions of the
    rules (minor Drift) during play. See /Abashed Vanillaism/ and /my
    review/ of Little Fears.

Actor Stance

    The person playing a character determines the character's decisions
    and actions using only knowledge and perceptions that the character
    would have. This stance does not necessarily include identifying
    with the character and feeling what he or she "feels," nor does it
    require in-character dialogue. See Stance.

Address Premise, to

    To establish, develop, and resolve a Premise during play, with
    emphasis on the decisions made by the protagonist characters. See
    also Premise, Protagonism, and Story Now.

Author Stance

    The person playing a character determines the character's decisions
    and actions based on the person's priorities, independently of the
    character?s knowledge and perceptions. Author Stance may or may not
    include a retroactive "motivation" of the character to perform the
    actions. When it lacks this feature, it is called Pawn Stance.

Authority

    The privilege given to a person, process, or written material to
    establish anything into the Shared Imaginary Space. A controversial
    topic; see also Credibility.

Balance

    This term is undefined. Used without clarification by the user, it
    typically diminishes the value of discussions about role-playing.
    See the discussion in /Gamism: Step On Up/.

Balance of Power

    How the "buck stops here" authority regarding resolution in play is
    distributed among members of a role-playing group. A feature of
    Social Contract, related to Credibility and GM-tasks, which directly
    affects System. This term was first applied to role-playing
    interactions by Hunter Logan.

Bang

    The Technique of introducing events into the game which make a
    thematically-significant or at least evocative choice necessary for
    a player. The term is taken from the rules of Sorcerer. See also
    Kicker.

Beeg Horseshoe Theory, the

    A proposed visual model for the relationship among the three
    Creative Agendas around a flat circle, with an "open space" for
    Simulationist play, because it may not exist. First proposed by
    Jared Sorensen as a criticism of Simulationist play (or
    pseudo-play), then re-proposed by Mike Holmes in an effort to
    validate Simulationist play. A controversial topic; see /The Beeg
    Horseshoe Theory/, /Beeg Horseshoe Theory revisited/, and /The Roots
    of Sim II/.

Big Model, the

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section.

Black Curtain

    The effects of a variety of Techniques a GM may employ to keep his
    use of Force hidden from the other participants in the game, such
    that they are at least somewhat under the impression that their
    characters' significant decisions are under their control. See
    Illusionism, Force, and the discussion in /Narrativism: Story Now/.

Blood Opera

    Play in which character generation focuses on potentially
    irreconcilable differences among at least some of the characters,
    and in which scenario generation is designed to put as much pressure
    on these differences (and therefore on unexpected alliances as
    possible). Notable for high mortality rates among characters. An
    example of Situation. Term coined by Ralph Mazza, Jake Norwood, and
    Ron Edwards.

Bob

    The Technique of withholding response or otherwise mandating a
    "rest" in the action of play. Term coined in /Sex & Sorcery/.

Breaking the game

    A dysfunctional Technique of Hard Core Gamist play, characterized by
    rendering other participants' efforts ineffective without recourse.

Calvinball

    A potentially-dysfunctional Technique of Hard Core Gamist play,
    characterized by making up the rules of a game as it is played,
    especially in the immediate context of advantaging oneself and
    disadvantaging one's opponents. "Tagged you! Tags mean you're out!"
    "It's Tuesday! Tagging doesn't work on Tuesdays!" Most so-called
    "rules-lawyering" is actually Calvinballing. The term is taken from
    the comic strip /Calvin & Hobbes/; see also /The Unofficial Official
    Rules of Calvinball/.

Challenge

    The Situation, i.e., adversity or imposed risk to player-characters
    of any kind, in the context of Gamist play. It's the imaginative
    arena for the Creative Agenda of Step On Up. See the Gamble and the
    Crunch.

Character

    A fictional person or entity which may perform actions in the
    imaginary situation. One of the Components of Exploration.

Character Components

    The System-specific features of a role-playing character. All are
    present for all characters, even if one or more is not explicitly
    part of the textual rules. See Effectiveness, Positioning, and
    Resource; also see Currency.

Coherence

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section.

Color

    Imagined details about any or all of System, Character, Setting, or
    Situation, added in such a way that does not change aspects of
    action or resolution in the imagined scene. One of the Components of
    Exploration.

Competition

    Conflicts of interest such that goals achieved by one person bring a
    disadvantage to one or more others. Competition may operate
    independently (a) among people engaged in role-playing or (b) among
    imaginary characters. An example of a Dial during play. Competition
    may or may not be associated with Gamist play, but when it is
    present among people, Gamist play is very likely to be occurring.
    See /Gamism: Step On Up/.

Components of Exploration

    In combination, the necessary parts of the imaginary content of a
    role-playing situation. Separately, they include Character, Setting,
    Situation, System, Color; see Exploration.

Conflict resolution

    A Technique in which the mechanisms of play focus on conflicts of
    interest, rather than on the component tasks within that conflict.
    When using this Technique, inanimate objects are conceived to have
    "interests" at odds with the character, if necessary. Contrast with
    Task resolution.

Congruence

    Play in which two or more different Creative Agendas may be
    expressed in such a way that they neither interfere with one another
    nor are easily distinguished through observation. The term was
    coined by Walt Freitag in /GNS and "Congruency"/. A controversial
    topic.

Creative agenda (CA)

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section.

Credibility

    The degree to which a given statement is adopted into the imaginary
    events of play, with or without reference to rules. A feature of the
    Lumpley Principle. Credibility may be applied to the statement
    (imaginary event) itself or to the person who supplies it; see also
    Authority.

Cross

    The Technique of introducing effects from previous scenes into
    current scenes, although the scenes do not contain the same
    player-characters. Term coined in /Sex & Sorcery/.

Crunch, the

    An application or type of Challenge, based on high predictability
    relative to risk. A feature of Gamist play.

Currency

    The exchange rate within and among Character Components. Currency
    may or may not be explicit (e.g. "character points"), but it is a
    universal feature of System, specifically as it relates to Character.

Death spiral

    The effects of a mechanic which not only has negative effects on a
    character, but also diminishes the Effectiveness of the ability to
    resist the re-application of the mechanic.

Deprotagonize (Paul Czege)

    To limit or devalue another person's opportunity to establish their
    character as a protagonist during Narrativist play. Note that this
    is specific to Paul's use of Protagonism strictly in the limited
    Narrativist context.

Design

    This term is used in two distinct ways. (1) Referring to actual
    play, it is the sum of interactions among Techniques. (2) Referring
    to text, it is the written version of such interactions with the
    implication of author intent.

DFK

    Short for Drama, Fortune, and Karma, referring to the Resolution
    mechanics of a given System, which may include any combination or
    blending of the three. Terms originally presented in the game
    /Everway/; altered in current usage.

Dial

    A feature of System by which a given aspect of the imaginary
    material may be increased or decreased, in terms of Effectiveness,
    Color, or Points-of-Contact. Depending on the system, dials may be
    "spun" before play (in which case their value is expected to be
    fixed) or during play. The term was first presented in /Champions
    Millenium/.

Diceless

    Usually but not always referring to the absence of Fortune-based
    resolution during play. Alternatively, refers to relying on Drama
    Techniques for Resolution. See /GNS and other matters of
    role-playing theory/ as well as /Dice and diceless: one designer?s
    radical opinion/. A controversial topic.

Dickweed character

    A character defined and played according to conflicts of interest
    with the other characters; potentially a primary source of
    adversity. The presence of a dickweed character does not require or
    imply inter-player competition.

Director Stance

    The person playing a character determines aspects of the environment
    relative to the character in some fashion, entirely separately from
    the character's knowledge or ability to influence events. Therefore
    the player has not only determined the character's actions, but the
    context, timing, and spatial circumstances of those actions, or even
    features of the world separate from the characters. Director Stance
    is often confused with narration of an in-game event, but the two
    concepts are not necessarily related.

Drama

    Resolving imaginary events based on stated outcomes without
    reference to numerical values or (in some cases) statements that
    have been previously established (e.g. written on a character
    sheet). See also DFK and Resolution.

Dramatism

    One of the three styles of role-playing identified by Mary Kuhner in
    the Threefold Model, but not recognized as a distinct Creative
    Agenda in the Big Model.

Drift

    Changing from one Creative Agenda to another, or from the lack of
    shared Creative Agenda to a specific one, during play, typically
    through changing the System. In observational terms, often marked by
    openly deciding to ignore or alter the use of a given rule.

Dysfunction

    Simply, role-playing which is not fun. Most Forge discussions
    presume that un-fun role-playing is worse than no role-playing.

Effectiveness

    A Character Component: quantities or terms which are directly used
    to determine the success or extent of a character?s actions during
    play.

Egri, Lajos

    The author of /The Art of Dramatic Writing/ (1946); see Premise.

El Dorado

    A term for the unrealizable ideal of consistently addressing Premise
    through explicitly Simulationist play. This term is often
    mis-interpreted as Simulationist-Narrativist hybrid play or any
    number of other concepts. Coined by Paul Czege; see /Simulationism
    and Narrativism under the same roof/ and /El Dorado/.

Ephemera

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section.

Exploration

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section..

Fantasy Heartbreaker

    A published role-playing game which retains specific aesthetic
    assumptions from pre-3rd edition versions of Dungeons & Dragons. See
    /Fantasy Heartbreakers/ and /More Fantasy Heartbreakers/.

Five elements of Exploration

    See "Components of Exploration."

Force

    The Technique of control over characters' thematically-significant
    decisions by anyone who is not the character's player. When Force is
    applied in a manner which disrupts the Social Contract, the result
    is Railroading. Originally called "GM-oomph" (Ron Edwards), then
    "GM-Force" (Mike Holmes).

Fortune

    A method of resolution employing unpredictable non-behavioral
    elements, usually based on physical objects such as dice, cards, or
    similar. See also DFK and Resolution.

Fortune-at-the-End (FatE)

    Employing a Fortune Resolution technique (dice, cards, etc)
    /following/ the full descriptions of actions, physical placement,
    and communication among characters. See "Fortune in the Middle" and
    associated links.

Fortune-in-the-Middle (FitM)

    Employing a Fortune Resolution technique (dice, cards, etc) prior to
    fully describing the specific actions of, physical placement of, and
    communication among characters. The Fortune outcome is employed in
    establishing these elements retroactively. This technique may be
    employed with the dice/etc as the ultimate authority of success or
    failure (e.g. /Sorcerer/) or with the dice/etc outcome being
    potentially adjusted by a metagame mechanic (e.g. /HeroQuest/). See
    /my review/ of Hero Wars, see also discussions in the /Alyria forum/.

Gamble, the

    An application or type of Challenge, based on high risk relative to
    predictability. A feature of Gamist play.

Gamism (Gamist play)

    One of the three currently-recognized Creative Agendas. The term was
    first proposed by Mary Kuhner for the Threefold Model; its usage is
    very similar in the Big Model. See Step On Up.

Generalist

    A role-playing game design which is non-specific for Setting.
    Typically such games correspond to the Purist-for-System parameters.
    See /Simulationism: the Right to Dream/.

Genre

    This term is undefined, in practice, and requires clarification by
    its user to be meaningful. Arguably its content is accounted for
    upon identifying the Components of Exploration in a role-playing
    situation. See /GNS and related matters of role-playing theory/ for
    the complete discussion.

Genre Expectations

    A Technique of establishing the Components of Exploration through a
    pre-play discussion among the participants, usually with references
    to previous sources, articulating what is to be customized or
    conformed to; highly integrated with thematic elements. The term was
    employed regarding role-playing by Fang Langford.

GM (Game Master)

    Traditionally, a designated person given responsibility for some or
    all of the GMing Tasks. Since the actual tasks and authority over
    them varies widely across role-playing, this term has many different
    meanings. See GMing Tasks. The phrase "/the/ GM" implies that the
    GMing-tasks are concentrated in the hands of one person.

GM-Force

    See Force.

GM-ful play

    The Technique of distributing GMing Tasks across all the members of
    a role-playing group, up to and including re-distributing them
    during play, as opposed to concentrating them in one person. Coined
    by Emily Care Boss. See /An approach for mechanics and innovation/.

GM-oomph

    See Force.

GMing-Tasks

    A family of tasks which are necessary to establish the Components of
    Exploration as play proceeds. They all concern Credibility regarding
    Scene Framing, IIEE, and Resolution. Significantly, not all
    instances of role-playing include the same GMing tasks or organize
    them in the same way; using the term "GM" or "GMing" is often
    problematic as different people organize and negotiate GMing tasks
    differently. See /Narrativism: Story Now/ for a list of GMing tasks.

Gnarliburr

    A character which cannot engage in relevant interaction with other
    characters and lacks identification-value for participants. Term
    introduced by David Kwill and the CLAWS society; see /Suspension of
    reality and playing odd characters/.

GNS

    Abbreviation for Gamism, Narrativism, and Simulationism. When used
    as a single term, synonymous with Creative Agenda. Formerly referred
    to as "G/N/S."

Handling Time

    The real time required to process, calculate, and interpret a
    resolution Technique once its procedures have been applied. See also
    Search Time.

Hard Core

    Gamist play with minimal or even absent Exploration and high levels
    of inter-player competition; see Breaking the game, Calvinball,
    Powergaming, and Turnin'.

High-Concept Simulationism

    Play which strongly emphasizes an embedded theme and possibly a
    fixed storyline. Contrast with Purist for System. See
    /Simulationism: the Right to Dream/.

Hybrid

    Play which combines two or more Creative Agendas. Observed
    functional hybrids to date include only two rather than all three,
    and one of the agendas is apparently primary or dominant, with the
    other playing a supportive role. See /my review/ of /The Riddle of
    Steel/.

IIEE

    Intent, Initiation, Execution, and Effect - how actions and events
    in the imaginary game-world are resolved in terms of (1) real-world
    announcement and (2) imaginary order of occurrence. See /The four
    steps of action/ and /What is IIEC?/ A necessary feature of System
    during play, usually represented by several Techniques and many
    Ephemera.

Illusionism

    A family of Techniques in which a GM, usually in the interests of
    story creation, story creation, exerts Force over player-character
    decisions, in which he or she has authority over
    resolution-outcomes, and in which the players do not necessarily
    recognize these features. See /Illusionism: a new look and a new
    approach/ and /Illusionism and GNS/. Term coined by Paul Elliott.

Immersion

    This term has no single definition. Some uses, among others,
    include: (a) undivided attention to the Shared Imagined Space, (b)
    the absence of overtly stating features of Social Contract and
    Creative Agenda, (c) strong identification with one?s imaginary
    character. See /Why immersion is a tar baby 'and 'Immersive Story/
    by John Kim.

Impossible Thing Before Breakfast, the

    "The GM is the author of the story and the players direct the
    actions of the protagonists." Widely repeated across many
    role-playing texts. Neither sub-clause in the sentence is possible
    in the presence of the other. See /Narrativism: Story Now/.

In-character (IC)

    An Ephemera. A style of narration using first-person point of view
    to describe character dialogue or actions. Neither IC or
    Out-of-Character (OOC) should be confused with Stance.

Incoherence

    Play which includes incompatible combinations of Creative Agendas
    among participants. Incoherent play is considered to contribute to
    Dysfunctional play, but does not define it. Incoherence may be
    applied indirectly to game rules. Abashedness represents a minor,
    correctable form of Incoherence.

Infamous Five, the

    A series of threads and sub-threads examining all the major topics
    of the Forge in relation to one another, and which helped to shape
    the community of the site. See /The Infamous Five/ for a complete
    listing of links.

Instance of play

    Sufficient time spent on role-playing necessary to identify all
    features of System in operation. According to the Big Model, once
    these features are identified and evaluated in terms of a given
    group?s Social Contract, then Creative Agenda (or its absence) may
    also be identified. In practice, an Instance of play is rarely
    shorter than a full session, and may be much longer.

Intuitive continuity

    A method of preparing role-playing sessions in which the GM uses the
    players? interests and actions during initial play to construct the
    back-story of the scenario retroactively. The term was first
    presented in the game /Underworld/.

Karma

    Resolution based on comparison of Effectiveness values alone. See
    DFK and Resolution.

Kicker

    Player-authored Situation incorporated into the character-creation
    System; a formal version of Positioning. The term was first
    presented in the game /Sorcerer/.

Layering

    The relationship between the initial numbers derived for a character
    (e.g. attributes) to the numbers eventually used most commonly in
    play (Effectiveness values; e.g. combat to-hit values). The more
    steps of derivation, the more the character creation system is said
    to be layered.

Line, the

    Techniques which reinforce the limits for content that is not
    permitted to be included in the Explorative content of play, for a
    particular group. See also the Veil. The term was introduced in /Sex
    & Sorcery/.

Lumpley Principle, the

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section.

Mechanics

    Individual and specific features of System; Mechanics in text form
    are "rules."

Metagame (a Character Component)

    See Positioning.

Metagame (general)

    All aspects of play that concern non-Explorative matters or
    priorities; in terms of the Big Model, the levels of Social Contract
    and Creative Agenda.

Metagame mechanics

    Techniques which do not require justification using in-game cause,
    in many cases including Author and Director Stances. In terms of the
    Big Model, System is being conducted solely in terms of the Social
    Contract, without Exploration as the medium. As it stands, this term
    is misleading and is under discussion for renaming; see
    Meta-metagame for links.

Meta-metagame

    Synonymous with Metagame as the latter term is currently defined,
    but contradictory to "metagame mechanic," which is currently under
    revision. See /Purpose of rules/ and /Metagame & mechanics/.

Metaplot

    This term is used in several different ways. (1) A sequence of
    large-scale changes in setting and actions of NPCs which stimulate
    conflicts, especially when planned to occur well in advance of play;
    (2) a version of #1 generated through publications and expected to
    be implemented by customers in their games, usually through the
    agency of the GM; #2 or #3 which override players? degree of choice
    regarding their characters? role, which is to say, which require
    significant use of Force, usually by the GM.

Munchkin

    A derogatory term used in several different ways, including by
    non-Gamists vs. Gamists in general, by Hard Core or heavy-Step
    Gamists vs. Wimps, and by high-Exploration Gamists vs. Hard Core
    play. See /Gamism: Step On Up/.

Narration

    A type of Ephemera. What is said by a game participant to alter or
    add to the Shared Imaginary Space. How narration is distributed
    among participants varies widely; to be fully accepted, narration
    requires Credibility.

Narrativism (Narrativist play)

    One of the three currently-recognized Creative Agendas. See Story Now.

No Myth

    Intuitive Continuity which includes all Setting features (i.e. more
    than just Situation). An extreme version of the general principle
    that the Shared Imagined Space is established by people
    communicating with one another. Term coined by Fang Langford.

Omni-play

    A controversial term coined by Mike Holmes. Play in which two or
    more distinctive and separate Creative Agendas are included;
    conceivably a functional form of Incoherent play. See also
    Congruence and Hybrid, as well as /The Omni-player/.

One-step-removed

    Character Exploration which utilizes an intermediary persona for
    different characters in episodic, unrelated settings and situations,
    as in /Amazing Engine/, /Tales from the Crypt/, /Hong Kong Action
    Theater/, and /Extreme Vengeance/. Term coined by John Marron.

Ouija-board role-playing

    A form of Illusionism practiced among all the participants upon one
    another to conceal both Step On Up and Story Now priorities from one
    another. Term coined by Ron Edwards; see /Narrativism: Story Now/.

Out-of-character (OOC)

    An Ephemera. A style of narration describing character actions or
    dialogue in the third person. Neither OOC nor In-character (IC)
    narration should be confused with any of the three Stances, nor with
    any particular Creative Agenda.

Participationism

    The Technique of using Force without the Black Curtain. Term coined
    by Mike Holmes.

Pastiche

    An artistic production which relies on invoking pre-existing
    productions' features for its primary effect; at worst, a simple
    imitation, but at best, potentially a strong secondary comment on
    the original text. Often associated with "fanfic" or other forms of
    homage.

Pawn Stance

    A subset of Author Stance which lacks the retroactive "motivation"
    of the character to perform the actions. Often but wrongly
    identified with Gamist play. See Stance.

Paying to Suck

    A feature of System in which buying an ability for a character with
    some sort of Currency nets him with an low chance of success that is
    even worse than an unskilled attempt. Widely considered undesirable.
    Term?s origin uncertain; Ron Edwards first heard it employed by Rick
    Ford.

Pervy

    Game-play in which the Creative Agenda relies on highly-specific
    Techniques and Ephemera, often applied multiple times per imaginary
    event during play. More generally covered by the concept of Points
    of Contact, which concerns the degree to which System is Explored.
    See /Vanilla Narrativism/ and /Points of Contact/.

Player

    A problematic term. (a) Any participant in a role-playing
    experience, including the one or ones who carry out GM-tasks; or (b)
    a participant who does not, or temporarily does not, carry out any
    GM-tasks, and therefore concentrates primarily on the actions of a
    single character.

Points of Contact

    The steps of rules-consultation, either in the text or internally,
    per unit of established imaginary content. This is not the same as
    the long-standing debate between Rules-light and Rules-heavy
    systems; either low or high Points of Contact systems can rely on
    strict rules. See /Vanilla and Pervy/, /Pervy in my head/, /Cannot
    stand cutesie-poo terms/, /Pervy Sim/, /points of contact,
    accessibility/.

Positioning

    A Character Component. Behavioral, social, and contextual statements
    about a character. Formerly (and confusingly) called Metagame. See
    also Currency.

Powergaming

    A potentially dysfunctional technique of Hard Core Gamist play,
    characterized by maximizing character impact on the game-world or
    player impact on the dialogue of play by whatever means available.

Premise (adapted from Egri)

    A generalizable, problematic aspect of human interactions. Early in
    the process of creating or experiencing a story, a Premise is best
    understood as a proposition or perhaps an ideological challenge to
    the world represented by the protagonist's passions. Later in the
    process, resolving the conflicts of the story transforms Premise
    into a theme - a judgmental statement about how to act, behave, or
    believe. In role-playing, "protagonist" typically indicates a
    character mainly controlled by one person. A defining feature of
    Story Now.

Prima Donna

    A Narrativist player who engages in Premise-addressing, but will not
    share screen time or Premise-significant decision-making time with
    other participants. An extremely dysfunctional subset of Narrativist
    play.

Protagonism

    A problematic term with two possible meanings. (1) A characteristic
    of the main characters of stories, regardless of who produced the
    stories in whatever way. (2) A characteristic set of behaviors among
    people during role-playing, associated with Narrativist play, with a
    necessary unnamed equivalent in Gamist play and possibly another in
    Simulationist play. In the latter sense, coined by Paul Czege.

Purist for System

    A category of design which emphasizes applying a set of simulated
    physical and other in-game causes to a wide variety of possible
    settings, characters, and situations. See /Simulationism: the Right
    to Dream/.

Railroading

    Control of a player-character's decisions, or opportunities for
    decisions, by another person (not the player of the character) in
    any way which breaks the Social Contract for that group, in the eyes
    of the character's player. The term describes an interpretation of a
    social and creative outcome rather than any specific Technique.

Realism

    This term is undefined and must be locally specified in order to
    make sense in a discussion of role-playing.

Relationship map

    A Technique for play-preparation which primarily, although not
    exclusively, outlines the ties of sexual contact and kinship among
    characters. Typically these ties are not immediately known to the
    protagonist characters. The term was first presented in /The
    Sorcerer?s Soul/. Compare to the group-based and more general
    Technique of Storymapping.

Resolution

    Establishing fictional events into the time-sequence of the Shared
    Imaginary Space. Includes DFK, IIEE, and narration, among other
    things. A necessary feature of System.

Resource

    A Character Component. An available quantity upon which
    Effectiveness or Positioning mechanics may draw, or which are
    reduced to reflect harm to the character. Arguably applicable to
    non-character components of play as well.

Reward System

    (a) The personal and social gratification derived from role-playing,
    a feature of Creative Agenda. (b) In-game changes, usually to a
    player-character, a feature of System and Character. (c) As a subset
    to (b), improvement to one or more of the character?s Components.
    Typically, the term refers to how (a) is facilitated by (b).

Right to Dream, the

    Commitment to the imagined events of play, specifically their
    in-game causes and pre-established thematic elements. One of the
    three currently-recognized Creative Agendas. As a top priority for
    role-playing, the defining feature of Simulationist play. See
    /Simulationism: the Right to Dream/.

Roads to Rome

    A technique of scenario preparation in which the GM has prepared a
    climactic scene and maneuvers or otherwise determines that character
    activity leads to this scene.

Roles, "role levels

    "(1) The player's social role in terms of his character - the mom,
    the jokester, the organizer, the placator, etc. (2) The character's
    thematic or operational role relative to the other characters - the
    leader, the brick, the betrayer, the ingenue, etc. (3) The
    character's in-game occupation or social role - the pilot, the
    mercenary, the alien wanderer, etc. (4) The character's specific
    Effectiveness values - armor rating, weapon attributes, specific
    skills and their values, available funds, etc. See /The class issue/.

Rules

    Textual instruction about (a) anything and everything concerning
    role-playing this particular game, or (b) specifically Techniques
    and Ephemera. Used in this sense, Rules are distinct from the System
    actually employed during play, although it may be used as a
    reference or justification for it.

Scene Framing

    A GM-task in which many possible Techniques are used to establish
    when a sequence of imaginary events begins and ends, what characters
    are involved, and where it takes place. Analogous to a "cut" in film
    editing which skips fictional time and/or changes location. A
    necessary feature of System.

Screen Time

    The extent of attention afforded to a given player's Explorative
    contributions from the other participants, with special emphasis on
    that participant?s access to applying the System. A type of Ephemera.

Search Time

    The real time required to determine necessary values or information
    prior to applying a resolution Technique. See also Handling Time.

Setting

    Elements described about a fictitious game world including period,
    locations, cultures, historical events, and characters, usually at a
    large scale relative to the presence of the player-characters. A
    Component of Exploration.

Shared Imagined Space (SIS, Shared Imagination)

    The fictional content of play as it is established among
    participants through role-playing interactions. See also Transcript
    (which is a summary of the SIS after play) and Exploration (a near
    or total synonym).

Skewer

    A description of a given person?s preferred way to role-play,
    "piercing" down from Social Contract through all the layers of the
    Big Model. Most player-classification lists (/Strike Force/,
    /Champions 4th edition/, /Robin?s Laws/) present Skewers. Term
    coined by Ron Edwards.

Simulationism (Simulationist play)

    One of the three currently-recognized Creative Agendas. See The
    Right to Dream.

Simulationist-by-habit

    A form of Synecdoche which defines "role-playing" according to
    certain historically-widespread Simulationist approaches to play.
    The system's job is to provide the physics of the game-world" is a
    good example. Term coined by Jesse Burneko.

Situation

    Dynamic interaction between specific characters and small-scale
    setting elements; Situations are divided into scenes. A component of
    Exploration, considered to be the "central node" linking Character
    and Setting, and which changes according to System. See also Kicker,
    Bang, and Challenge.

Social Context

    How role-playing as an activity relates to one's social life in
    general. See /Social Context/ and /What does role-playing gaming
    accomplish?/.

Social Contract

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section.

Stakes

    What stands to be lost and/or gained during Gamist play; the term
    may be applied at either or both Step on Up (participants) or
    Challenge (characters) levels of play.

Stance

    The cognitive position of a person to a fictional character.
    Differences among Stances should not be confused with IC vs. OOC
    narration. Originally coined in the RFGA on-line discussions; see
    /John Kim?s website/ for archives. Current usage modified in /GNS
    and other matters of role-playing theory/. See Author, Actor, and
    Director Stance.

Step On Up

    Social assessment of personal strategy and guts among the
    participants in the face of risk. One of the three
    currently-recognized Creative Agendas. As a top priority of
    role-playing, the defining feature of Gamist play.

Story

    An imaginary series of events which includes at least one
    protagonist, at least one conflict, and events which may be
    construed as a resolution of the conflict. A Story is a subset of
    Transcript distinguished by its thematic content. Role-playing may
    produce a Story regardless of which Creative Agenda is employed.

Story Now

    Commitment to Addressing (producing, heightening, and resolving)
    Premise through play itself. The epiphenomenal outcome for the
    Transcript from such play is almost always a story. One of the three
    currently-recognized Creative Agendas. As a top priority of
    role-playing, the defining feature of Narrativist play.

Storymap

    A technique of scenario preparation in which all participants
    present situations, locales, problems, and characters, after which
    most of the participants choose characters to play individually.
    First presented in /Legends of Alyria/.

Switch

    A customizable aspect of System which allows participants to allow
    it to be present or absent during play, often for the whole of that
    particular group?s play. A Dial with two settings (on/off). Also
    called a toggle. The term was first presented in /Champions Millenium/.

Synecdoche

    Taking a part for the whole, or vice versa. A common problem in
    discussing Creative Agenda; see /GNS and other matters of
    role-playing theory/.

System

    The means by which imaginary events are established during play,
    including character creation, resolution of imaginary events, reward
    procedures, and more. It may be considered to introduce fictional
    time into the Shared Imagined Space. See also the Lumpley Principle.

Task resolution

    A Technique in which the Resolution mechanisms of play focus on
    within-game cause, in linear in-game time, in terms of whether the
    acting character is competent to perform a task. Contrast with
    Conflict resolution.

Techniques

    /This is a key concept/. See the first section.

Tells

    Social indicators of a given person?s preference for a Creative
    Agenda, during play.

Theme

    The point, message, or key emotional conclusion perceived by an
    audience member, about a fictional series of events. The presence of
    a theme is the defining feature of Story as opposed to Transcript.
    See /Narrativism: Story Now/.

Threefold Model

    A description of three distinct "styles" of role-playing, proposed
    by Mary Kuhner and further developed in on-line discussions. See
    /John Kim?s website/ for archives. The Threefold Model inspired but
    is not identical to the Creative Agenda feature of the Big Model.

Trailblazing

    A set of Techniques including Scene Framing and Force, but reducing
    Force when resolving conflicts within the scene. Term coined by M.J.
    Young; see /Does module play equal Participationism?/.

Transcript

    An account of the imaginary events of play without reference to
    role-playing procedures. A Transcript may or may not be a Story.

Transition

    Theoretically, changing from one Creative Agenda to another through
    the course of play using rules designed to make that process easy.
    Coined by Fang Langford in reference to his unfinished game design
    /Scattershot/.

Transparency

    Rules design that does not call attention to the rules in operation.
    A controversial term; I suggest that it is subsumed within Coherence
    without reference to any degree of rules? detail or their
    quantitative vs. qualitative features. See /Transparency/ and
    /Transparency again/.

Turku role-playing (Elaaytyjivism)

    A mode of play presented as a manifesto, in which in-character
    feeling and thinking is given the highest priority, to such an
    extent that even communicating the experience to others is
    secondary. By my terminology, Turku play is comprised of
    Simulationism emphasizing Character Exploration, resolved mainly
    using Drama or low Points-of-Contact Fortune mechanics, and highly
    reinforced through an explicit Social Contract. See /The Turku
    School/, /LARP manifesting/ in /The LARPer/ magazine, and /Dogma 99/.

Turnin'

    A potentially dysfunctional technique of Hard Core Gamist play,
    characterized by treating one another's characters as the primary
    source of Challenge. A functional equivalent in Narrativist play is
    Blood Opera.

Typhoid Mary

    A GM who employs Force in the interests of "a better story," usually
    identifiable as addressing Premise; however, in doing so, the GM
    automatically de-protagonizes Narrativist players and therefore
    undercuts his or her own priorities of play, as well as being
    perceived as a railroader by the players. An extremely dysfunctional
    subset of Narrativist play.

Underbelly

    A Technique of preparation and play using a canonical setting and
    storyline, known to all participants, in which the events of play
    create a "hidden" storyline to enrich and reinforce the primary one,
    which is treated as a creative constraint. Term coined by Ron
    Edwards; also sometimes called "inverse metaplot." See /Metaplots,
    railroading, and settings/ and /Open/closed setting (Pyron?s woes
    take 165)/.

Universal

    Design with the goal of applying System to multiple Settings. Such
    design typically corresponds to Purist for System. A mildly
    controversial term; see also Generalist.

Vanilla

    Game-play in which the Creative Agenda requires few if any complex
    or specific Techniques, as opposed to Pervy. More generally covered
    by the concept of Points of Contact, which concerns the degree to
    which System is Explored.

Vanilla Narrativism

    Narrativist play without notable use of the following Techniques:
    Director Stance, atypical distribution of GM tasks, verbalizing the
    Premise in abstract terms, overt organization of narration, or
    improvised additions to the setting or situations. People who
    typically play in this fashion often fail to recognize their
    Creative Agenda as Narrativist. See /Vanilla Narrativism/ and the
    links listed under Points of Contact.

Veil, the

    Techniques for describing events without providing specific imagery
    or details. Originally presented in /Sex & Sorcery/.

Weave

    The Technique of bringing non-player-character (NPC) activities
    closer to the player-characters and to introduce multiple responses
    among NPC and player-character actions. Term coined in /Sex & Sorcery/.

Wheedler

    A participant who achieves his or her goals during role-playing
    primarily through influencing the other participants directly,
    whether through hinting, badgering, pleading, or other similar
    behaviors. Term coined by John Kim.

Whiff Factor

    The effect of a high failure-rate for a given Resolution mechanic,
    especially when the rate does not accord with the character?s
    expected competence. A common source of Deprotagonizing; usually
    considered a Design flaw.

Wimpiness

    A dysfunctional form of Gamism characterized by poor sportsmanship,
    i.e., the unwillingness to accept a loss.

Zilchplay

    Desiring characters to be active particpants in an imagined world,
    but also to do as little as possible to make that shared imagining
    happen. A type of Simulationism by default, because in the absence
    of a desire to actively pursue a Gamist or Narrativist agenda the
    only focus is on exploration. A controversial term, coined by Walt
    Freitag; see /Zilchplay (split from Understanding: the "it")/.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last updated 08-May-2004 08:58:29 CDT

/The Forge/ created and administrated by Clinton R. Nixon
<mailto:webmaster@indie-rpgs.com> and Ron Edwards
<mailto:sorcerer@sorcerer-rpg.com>.
All articles, reviews, and posts on this site are copyright their
designated author.