What is "The Forge?"

What is "The Forge?" I've seen a couple of passing references to it - it sounds llike some sort of gaming think-tank.

(Please feel free to ridicule my weak gamer-fu.)

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/

It's an site focused on creating independent RPGs. Quite a few have come out of there.

There was some discussion on RPG Theory (and the "GNS Model"), but those forums have been shut down. (The discussion continues, but only in reference to actual games being played and the issues that arise from them.)

There are some articles about the GNS (gamist/narrativist/simulationist) Model on the site as well. It's about identifying the goals that individuals want out of a game, as well as common pitfalls of "incoherent" games (where there is a clash as to what you're trying to get out of the game).

I'd start off with System Does Matter and from there GNS and Other Matters of RPG theory.

I stumbled on it about 2 months ago and it really helped rekindle my waning interest in RPGs (in general, and D&D in particular).

Which one?

Bastion's campaign setting The Forge of Oathbound?

- or -

The Forge Studios?

- or -

Independent Game Publisher Forums?

The Shaman said:

What is "The Forge?" I've seen a couple of passing references to it - it sounds llike some sort of gaming think-tank.

(Please feel free to ridicule my weak gamer-fu.)

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Well... there are two entities who call themsevles 'The Forge'. The first of these is a kind of rolepaying thinktank and the second is a publishing company unaffiliated with the first. The former Forge has, through years of claiming to be The Illuminati of RPGs (i.e., some kind of secret cabal responsible for all important innovation in the hobby), alienated the vast majority of the roleplaying community. The height of this delusion was revealed in a recent thread on RPGnet.

In this thread Luke Crane (the creator of the Burning Wheel) and other Forge members claimed that their theory was the driving force behind the success of D&D 3x, Shadowrun 4e, Hero and a lot of other games that really have very little (if anything) to do with The Forge. They went so far as to openly suggest that several respected designers such as Bruce Baugh, Justin Achilli, and others were deeply in debt to The Forge, but refused to pay them homage for fear of The Forge's vast superiority (I kid you not).

What's really sad is that The Forge might have had an impact on the hobby if they hadn't been so given to hubris and delusions of grandeur that they actually started to believe much of their own propaganda. That recent thread on RPGnet (I believe it is entitled "Ron closes Theory and Design forums" or something) really puts things in perspective. For years, a lot of people have jokingly referred to The Forge as "The Cult of Ron" - but if that thread is any indicator, it's no longer a joke

[Edit: Here is a link to the RPGnet thread. Sorry, I know cross-posting is frowned upon, but I didn't want to say what I did and not offer proof to back it up. So there it is - crazy at its finest.]

What jdrakeh said.

jdrakeh said:

For years, a lot of people have jokingly referred to The Forge as "The Cult of Ron" - but if that thread is any indicator, it's no longer a joke

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YEEEIKES!
I can only hope I'm reading "A theory rejected or a theory embraced -- either way it's a theory that influences" wrong -- because the way it reads, it's an absurd statement, and one that implies that "Even if you say I didn't influence you, the fact that i exist influenced you."

Henry said:

I can only hope I'm reading "A theory rejected or a theory embraced -- either way it's a theory that influences" wrong -- because the way it reads, it's an absurd statement, and one that implies that "Even if you say I didn't influence you, the fact that i exist influenced you."

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Nope. That is, as explained later in the linked thread, the thrust of the statement in question. BTW, just so everybody knows - I was a former Forge 'follower' and I'm certain that if a current Forge member stumbles across this thread, they'll use this as an opportunity to say that my current outlook on The Forge is just a case of 'sour grapes' (I've seen them attack other former contributors turned detractors on these grounds before). I'd like to state, for the record, that this isn't the case.

Hmm...it's a shame there's so much crazy there, because some of the games on the Forge are really good. I've got a couple in my sig...

Dr. Awkward said:

Hmm...it's a shame there's so much crazy there, because some of the games on the Forge are really good.

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Yep. That's the other real shame. To say that The Forge hasn't produced some good games would be a lie. In the end, though, the 'be all, end all' mentality of the community and its willingness to openly attack all of those who disagree with their ideas as inferior beings has finally become its defining feature

jdrakeh said:

In the end, though, the 'be all, end all' mentality of the community and its willingness to openly attack all of those who disagree with their ideas as inferior beings has finally become its defining feature

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I've been lurking around the Forge for a while now and haven't seen this sort of behaviour. At least I don't think so.

Anyway. I went into the Forge having a vague idea of its reputation. But I didn't focus on that; instead, I looked for what I could get out of the Forge for use in my own games. It's really helped; I probably would have quit playing if I hadn't come across that site.

I guess I'd say that anyone who wants to take a look at the Forge should go there with the intent of getting whatever they can out of (the theory, posting in Actual Play, games you might enjoy but didn't hear about elsewhere) and forget about anything else.