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Player knowledge is almost universally limited knowledge in order to place players within their roles. GMs could potentially see all possible outcomes, the number is vast as in Chess. Not to mention DMs are meant to run the game not play it. Yes, like in Pinball the goal is to gain as many...

I love mysteries. Mysteries in roleplaying games are like riddles. They only have one answer and if you require the players to solve the them to further the game's objective, then you are going to have many games resulting in failure for the players. If you want mysteries, remember...

What you describe sounds really fun. And it is similar to how I plan my own games. I need to have purposes for why things are in the gameworld or the players cannot accurately reason from them. And as long as the players can choose to do anything in our game worlds in the same way we two can...

Character advancement is the point/goal of the game. It isn't the sole reason to play, but it is the one that advances the power level of the PCs according to the rules. Complaining that the game doesn't do a good job rewarding other types of fun is just bizarre. It is just a simulation. What...

Interesting responses. Thanks for posting. I don't think Alignment is telling a player how to play the game. I think it is how his PC registers on Detect Alignment and how the Gods view him. Acting evilly changes your alignment. It doesn't hurt your XP rewards. Alignment tracking by the DM...

You can't have narrative balance as you define it in an RPG. Sharing the spotlight is basically an aspect of communication, not playing a game. Players need to determine for themselves how they work together. A game designer would need to write a script for players to follow like in a movie...

I don't know. I think good sportsmanship has more to do with being respectful towards others and honorable as a player and not cheating when playing the game. The Prisoner's Dilemma thing is not meant to be contentious by the way. It is used by many ethicists outside of gaming to explain...

RPGs are one kind of strategy game and one kind of simulation game. It's more obvious on the computer RPGs. They are like wargames as both are strategy simulations, but players don't play roles in wargames. They play entire armies or navies. Roleplaying is about what strategy you take in a...

If we're simulating life and you say all life has plot, then the game has plot. But wouldn't all games have plots then? I'm not accustomed to this particular word in game design coming from a boardgaming perspective. Perhaps we are both referring to the Object of the Game, which changes...

This is pretty cool. Thanks for posting it.

Equipment is treasure. The game should not try and make treasure worth less to the PCs and more to NPCs. Why not hire an NPC to sell treasure by proxy otherwise and get the full 100% price? What about trade, taking items from a cheap place to an expensive place for profit? Maybe it is the...

A simulation has no plot except the place and people you are simulating. If simulating Greenland makes Greenland into a plot, then there is your answer. How players choose to interact with it is what is potentially interesting. Other people are always a potential threat based upon theories of...

XP cost is Level Drain. I don't think Level Drain should be part of magic item creation. Except when it is Artifacts. Then you should lose levels & age prematurely & any other horrible thing that comes with creating Artifax.

qft ;)

That's exactly true. You can give your little token a personality too when playing Monopoly. It is the same thing as D&D and minis. It sounds like your goals in D&D were never supported by the game then. Character development comes through level advancement. Player development comes from...

I still think this means Players play cooperatively because it is a more successful way to play. That it is also a more enjoyable way is a bonus. Having a dangerous environment does not mean it is the only danger. Just like in real life every person is a potential threat. Thanks for clearing...

Then you are playing against the design of the game. Like in my Capture the Flag example. XP is rewarded for killing monsters. Others reward XP for achieving other things defining of one's class(role). Thieves can get XP for monetary value of items stolen for instance. So symmetric meaning...

AD&D1E had XP rewards for killing other PCs. Any PC that is not you is potentially a monster if you see them as threatening. And you will get XP for killing them whether they threaten you or not in return. I think you are talking about making a challenging encounter for the players. Of course...

Yes, playing with other players does make D&D and WoW more enjoyable. As does new and interesting adventure modules or adventure locales. That does not mean players are confusing either with staging a scene for Days of our Lives. It is a completely different activity. Exactly. That is why...

You're looking at things like the 4E designers. D&D is not about single combats. It is a wargame, a strategy game. Winning one fight has little to do with winning the war. One PC completely destroying the opposition in a combat cannot be removed from the game. Like dropping the ceiling on a...