RPG THEORY

This page covers various attempts to describe RPGs in general terms. There are many sources for advice on role-playing games, but most of these try to promote a "One True Way" of playing. Rather than telling you how to roleplay, this is a collection of articles on what the different ways are -- and the pros and cons of different choices. Many of the articles here were inspired by discussion on the newsgroup rec.games.frp.advocacy, discussion on the web-based bulletin board The Forge as well as the RPGnet Forums, and ideas from a number of RPG blogs (see the Blog Links of my journal).

PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS

SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT

HISTORY OF ROLE-PLAYING

MODELS OF ROLE-PLAYING

GENDER ISSUES

RACE ISSUES

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

PLOTTING & GENRE

CHARACTER DESIGN AND ROLE-PLAY

How to encourage role -playing by Al Petterson and Sarah Kahn (edited by John Kim)

by Al Petterson and Sarah Kahn (edited by John Kim) Moral Tests by Mary Kuhner

by Mary Kuhner Personality Mechanics by John Kim

by John Kim Player Input: Re-active vs Pro-active

Use of Disadvantages

SCENES & RESOLUTION

EXAMPLES OF PLAY

FORUMS & SOURCES

John H. Kim <jhkim-at-darkshire-dot-net>