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Right. Gangbusters is another in which it might be easier for some people to see it -- and also a splendid description of a D&D-style "sandbox" game. D&D easily includes Boot Hill's milieu and Gamma World's and Metamorphosis Alpha's (all explictly referred to in AD&D works) and more. A...

I don't think that's the real issue. A footprint is not enough. In old D&D, we players have a chance to look for spoor. We have a chance to do research and reconnaissance even before venturing into Medusa-Land -- or deciding to give it a wide berth. I think that's probably beyond the scope of...

Is there some context missing here, some relevance to the role being played? Yes, but what is this "roleplaying"? What must people do to meet your criterion, or else be "not roleplaying"? I think that is imprecise, because "I attack" or "I sweet-talk her" are certainly descriptions. If we had...

This is not very helpful. When you are telling someone, "You are not role-playing," by what measure is he or she not "playing the role"? How is it that you are in a better position to say how "this person would act"? There are very basic questions as to what you mean by "the role" and "this...

I see a lot of rationales for why there should be many well-known RPGs that are "always with the killing" that miss the boat for explaining why there are not many RPGs that are otherwise. If you take for granted that all entertainments are so thoroughly dominated by such an emphasis on...

That is basically to the extent that it is "up for grabs" in normal English. The DMG glossary entry is not a binding rule of usage, prohibiting dungeon key entries from being called "encounters". Neither does that latter usage supersede the ordinary usage in the old works. That is right. Call...

To me this at first suggests that, in this context, combat and role-playing are mutually exclusive. Role-playing is a strictly non-combat activity. At the end, though, it appears to make a "mechanical sde" and role-playing mutually exclusive. This suggests that having some amount of...

This is not a mere rhetorical question, but in earnest: What does "roleplaying" mean in this context?

I have stated no such thing. I am pretty sure I have not used the phrase "linear design" at all. If I knew what you mean by "linear design" and how, in your mind, it differs from "a railroad", then I could tell you what I actually think. It might be that I would agree with you -- on the...

That's good to know. It can be helpful sometimes to refer someone to a book for further details.

That is not what I read in what you actually wrote. What I read in what you actually wrote was a claim that D&D is too vague, in comparison with other games, even specifically other RPGs, not simply for Kzach's players but by the normative standard. It is not enough for you to know what you...

That impression is false. Disagreement with an opinion concerning subject A does not imply ignorance of irrelevant subject X. "Sandboxes" are not static. By "sandbox" I mean here a game like that described in Dungeons & Dragons (1974) and The First Fantasy Campaign (1977).

oops - wrong thread

RPGs for the most part keep imitating the original, D&D. D&D originated as an adaptation of war game rules to a "dungeon adventure" scenario inspired largely by monster movies and action-adventure and horror stories. All the early publishers of FRP ("fantasy role playing") games also had lines...

The original Dungeons & Dragons set of three "little brown books" laid out a very convenient plan. Less convenient is WotC's withdrawal of legal PDFs. Arneson's The First Fantasy Campaign (Judges Guild, 1977) may be easier to acquire. It is a collection of miscellaneous material from the...

For heaven's sake, use some common sense. If it's not a problem that your plot gets messed up, then you can just ignore advice about how to avoid getting one's plot messed up. It makes no difference to me, because I don't impose a plot in the first place.

Whereas the glossary in the 1st DMG offers: "Encounter -- An unexpected confrontation with a monster, another party, etc." If we've got to go through ABC... because the GM has determined that we shall, then that is EXACTLY what "railroad" means to me. I guess this is archaic in a certain...

I am interpreting you as being confused as to (a) where it is (and is meant to remain) wide open, and (b) where it is as practically focused as most games in the wide world of games, from Mancala to Halo 3. Specifically, it comes from the field of wargames campaigns. In D&D, you have objectives...

That must have been before the game was published. Swimming rules are on page 33 of Volume 3.

I think you are in disagreement both with Mr. Gygax, developer of D&D, and with Mr. Arneson, innovator of the "dungeon adventure" concept and the role-playing game as we know it. It's not a simple binary switch. It is certainly not the case that the game is defined only by numbers looked up in...