I'd like to begin this setting as a series of rants, so I can receive some feedback before writing an actual book. This idea has been around my mind for some time, and I'll use the discovery of this site as an excuse to plasm it somewhere ^_^.

The idea is creating an RPG where the rewards come not for what the players do, but how and why they do it. The game has 8 ideals (subject to feedback), which are opposed by pairs:

Light: represents all that is honest, open and truthful. A "Light" action would be uncovering a con, telling your enemy of your plans before using against them, or telling a person that he has cancer without roundabouts. Opposed to Shadow.

The premise

There are three things that count when trying to determine if a certain task is done:

+ The skill on such area
+ The difficulty of the task
+ The degree of success

While making a Dice/Cards/Whatever mechanic to settle the result of an attempt, what we do is assigning this 3 values as the numeric variables of the draw/roll/whatever.

For example:

d20:

+ Skill: a numeric bonus (higher = better).
+ Difficulty: a numeric threshold (higher = more difficult).
+ Degree of success: difference between 1d20+skill and difficulty.

WoD (pre Requiem):

Trying to make a new RPG that doesnt use dice but the page count i keep seeing head is rediculous...too much information...too many variables...not enough space.
Makes my head hurt...

You will be able to understand everything I write here, but you can look at all this as the extensions to my functions model if you exchange content element to function in the text. Elements of content can be anything from story elements to things like the GM asking a player to roll the dice.

A roleplaying session is made up of people introducing content to the game. Usually that means that the GM introduces many-many prepared content and all players (inclusively the GM) adlib some content while playing.

Let's have a look at this act of content generating. The adventure writing is somewhat complex, so its discussion will be postponed. Now it is time for the adlibbed content.

Cross-posted here.

Functions

Everything the GM sais has a goal, a purpose. Let's call that purpose FUNCTION. For example if the GM tells the players to do a skill check, that's a function. If you want the players to get intrigued by an NPC, that's a function, too.

A game session consists of such functions. When you are GMing, you GM to achieve these functions and if you achieved the purpose of the functions in a session, it is a successful session. You achieve catharsis by the good chosen pattern of successful functions. For example if you want to make the players laugh or cry, that's not a function, because it's very hard to tell one single function wich would achieve that. But a combination of functions could help. So, don't forget: a function alone won't have a big impact on the players - always think about the function as the direct purposes and goals of a story element. For example rolling the dice or uncovering an information.

Of course these functions aren't static. Sometimes (or many times) you have to alter functions on the fly, that's fine. But always be aware how that will affect the game session (the pattern of functions) and how that will affect what you are telling the players.

Well, I'd like to think i'm off to a good start here at RPG Laboratory. I have met some intersting people, and have found some really cool rpg's to play. I have also started to write one of my own which has allready recieved around 50 reads. So I would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome.

Well they power cord for my laptop went up in a puff of smoke, caused by the small explosion of wires frazzling. Hurrah, I have no laptop. Want this means is that until I get a new power cable (sometime next week) I can't get to my geek files and I can't develop any more of my games.

On the plus side this gives me time to decide where I want my games to go, sometimes it's good to stand back and get a little percpective.

Foreword

I think that the core of every roleplaying is the act of roleplaying itself, wich means that the RPGs are only there to make/do the so-called adventures. Thatswhy I think it is important for us to talk/think about the adventures themselves to understand what is the purpose of an RPG, and after that we should only streamline our RPGs for their purposes.

This is a describing language of adventures wich helps me to think about adventures ad I think it should be thought about adventures. The succession of interactive effects between the players. This version is made for the classical set-up (one almighty GM and more players with one character each).

You don't have to understand anything what I've written before, here you will find no theory at all. You can use this article in its own.

I would like to know how to create rpg games

Let´s Think in Gurps shall we?