History Creator / TheForge

* GameplayRandomization: The Forge theories refer to rolling UsefulNotes/{{dice}} to determine how a character's action goes as "Fortune resolution" (as opposed to Drama[[note]]i.e. negotiating which outcome makes the most (dramatic) sense in the plot[[/note]] and Karma[[note]]a deterministic comparison of a character's stats to a fixed threshold[[/note]] resolutions -- all terms introduced by Creator/JonathanTweet in his 1995 ''TabletopGame/{{Everway}}'') and use the addenda "at the Beginning", "in the Middle", and "at the End" to classify different implementations. Most Forge games use Fortune in the Middle ([[LuckManipulationMechanic with Teeth]]) resolution, but some have experimented with Fortune at the Beginning, as well (traditional [=RPGs=] mostly use [[FunWithAcronyms Fortune at the End]] resolution mechanics).

* SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration: The need for integrating gameplay and story was the core message of Edwards' [[http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/system_does_matter.html "System Does Matter"]] manifesto that guided The Forge's design over the years. While tabletop [=RPGs=] are generally better at it than VideoGames, Edwards suggested starting with a CentralTheme and designing game systems from scratch to specifically generate stories that explore them. Later on, this principle was reformulated as the "[[UsefulNotes/RolePlayingGameTerms fiction-first]]" maxim: in a narrativist game, events within the fiction should determine which GameMechanics are invoked, instead of mechanics dominating the fiction.

** ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld'' (2010), which, in turn, influenced scores of other games UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse

* InAndOutOfCharacter: [[http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/glossary.html The Forge theories]] make a point of distinguishing between IC and OOC ''narration'' (which is basically the difference between saying "[[FirstPersonPerspective I strike the goblin]]" and "my fighter strikes the goblin" in-play) and the ''[[http://socratesrpg.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-is-stance-theory-part1.html Stance]]'', which is about [[PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration how the player relates to their character]] when making the decisions for them (Actor, Author, Pawn, or Director). The Stance theory wasn't a Forge invention, originating at the [[UsefulNotes/{{Usenet}} rec.games.frp.advocacy]] board, but was incorporated into the Big Model.

* UniversalSystem: One of the corollaries of the "System Does Matter" manifesto was that no role-playing game system can be truly universal, since the choice of what activities to stat out to what degree inherently encourages certain kinds of stories and experiences, while making others more difficult to run without extensive HouseRules. Ironically, the Forge's legacy now includes quasi-univesal DIY design ''frameworks'', such as UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse and UsefulNotes/ForgedInTheDark, -- game systems that are so open to [[GameMod modification]], they have been rewritten by other authors for entirely different genres and settings without changing their core mechanics.

** ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld'' (2010), which, in turn, influenced scores of other games TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse

* InAndOutOfCharacter: [[http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/glossary.html The Forge theories]] make a point of distinguishing between IC and OOC ''narration'' (which is basically the difference between saying "[[FirstPersonPerspective I strike the goblin]]" and "my fighter strikes the goblin" in-play) and the ''[[http://socratesrpg.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-is-stance-theory-part1.html Stance]]'', which is about [[PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration how the player relates to their character]] when making the decisions for them (Actor, Author, Pawn, or Director). The Stance theory wasn't a Forge invention, originating at the [[Website/{{Usenet}} rec.games.frp.advocacy]] board, but was incorporated into the Big Model.

* PVPBalanced: A lot of Forge games account for the possibility of player-vs-player conflict by treating them the same way as PvE challenges. For example, in both ''TabletopGame/{{Sorcerer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/TheMountainWitch'', all dice rolls are opposed, and the only difference is who rolls against you, the GM or a fellow player.

* DrivingQuestion: A lot of Forge games express their CentralTheme as a question, such as ''TabletopGame/{{Sorcerer}}''[='=]s "What will you do to get what you want?" or ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark''[='=]s "Can a fledgling crew of scoundrels prosper in the underworld of a haunted city?" Accordingly, one of the main mantras of Forge design is "We play to find out", meaning that the answer to the driving question must arise during play, rather than being preplanned by the GM or the players in advance.

** ''TabletopGame/{{Sorcerer}}'' (1999), which technically predates the Forge itself, but has been a massive influence on the community

* GameplayRandomization: The Forge theories refer to rolling UsefulNotes/{{dice}} to determine how a character's action goes as "Fortune resolution" (as opposed to Drama[[note]]i.e. negotiating which outcome makes the most (dramatic) sense in the plot[[/note]] and Karma[[note]]a deterministic comparison of a character's stats to a fixed threshold[[/note]] resolutions -- all terms introduced by [[TabletopGame/OverTheEdge Jonathan Tweet]] in his 1995 ''TabletopGame/{{Everway}}'') and use the addenda "at the Beginning", "in the Middle", and "at the End" to classify different implementations. Most Forge games use Fortune in the Middle ([[LuckManipulationMechanic with Teeth]]) resolution, but some have experimented with Fortune at the Beginning, as well (traditional [=RPGs=] mostly use [[FunWithAcronyms Fortune at the End]] resolution mechanics).

* TheGMIsACheatingBastard: Most Forge games go an extra mile to eliminate both the reasons and the ways for a GM to cheat other players. First, the GM is discouraged from having a fixed story in their head and [[{{Railroading}} dragging the players along with it]]. Secondly, the so-called "narration rights" (i.e. who is allowed to narrate what in which situations) are usually very clearly defined, so "[[RuleZero the GM is always right]]" becomes "the GM has the final say in these questions, while the player has the final say in those". Thirdly, a lot of Forge designs free the GM from having to roll dice and explicitly let them make judgment calls from the get-go (within their narration rights).

* IndieGame: The Forge's original purpose was to showcase new indie [=RPGs=] (hence its domain name) -- i.e. any that weren't distributed by big publishers of the time, like Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast and Creator/WhiteWolf. After Edwards took over, the site was turned into a discussion hub that developed a set of tools for aspiring RPG designers, such as the [[http://socratesrpg.blogspot.com/2006/01/what-are-power-19-pt-1.html Power 19]] -- a list of questions to flesh out the core design of a game. The community later also helped indie designers to self-publish their games (including on the internet) and to promote their games at conventions.
* InMediasRes: A lot of Forge games start out with the protagonists already having met each other and having preexisting relationships, which are negotiated by their respective players at character creation.

* OffTheRails: This is the core of the "play to find out" premise. Essentially, most Forge games encourage not so much derailing the plot, as not laying down any rails in the first place.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: Inverted in most Forge games, which strive to minimize the "search and handling time"[[note]]the [[http://indie-rpgs.com/_articles/glossary.html Forge's term]] for the time it takes to look up all the rules relevant to the current situation ("search") and to compute all of their effects on the outcome ("handling")[[/note]], because narrativist games generally prefer a smooth narrative to detailed simulation of the game world.

* IndieGame: The Forge's original purpose was to showcase new indie [=RPGs=] (hence its domain name) -- i.e. any that weren't distributed by big publishers of the time, like Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast and Creator/WhiteWolf. After Edwards took over, the site was turned into a discussion hub, and the community later helped indie designers to to self-publish their games on the internet and to promote their games at conventions and such.

* SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration: The need for integrating gameplay and story was the core message of Edwards' [[http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/system_does_matter.html "System Does Matter"]] manifesto that guided The Forge's design over the years. While tabletop [=RPGs=] are generally better at it than VideoGames, Edwards suggested starting with a CentralTheme and designing game systems from scratch to specifically generate stories that explore them.

* UniversalSystem: One of the corollaries of the "System Does Matter" manifesto was that no role-playing game system can be truly universal, since the choice of what activities to stat out to what degree inherently encourages certain kinds of stories and experiences, while making others more difficult to run without extensive HouseRules. Ironically, the Forge's legacy now includes quasi-univesal DIY design ''frameworks'', such as UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse and UsefulNotes/ForgedInTheDark, -- systems are so open to [[GameMod modification]], they have been rewritten by other authors for entirely different genres and settings without changing their core mechanics.

* {{Railroading}}: A lot of the Forge's discourse centered on this trope, so they had a bunch of terms for it, including "[[DemotedToExtra de-protagonizing]]"[[note]]though this one was broader, as it also referred to other players (not just the GM) controlling what your character does for you[[/note]], "illusionism", and [[http://socratesrpg.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-titb4b-and-whys-it-bad.html "The Impossible Thing Before Breakfast"]] or [=TITB4B=], commonly expressed as "The GM writes the story and the players decide what the characters do". Forge members believed that this expression is inherently self-contradictory and leads to dysfunctional play, tracing its origins to the early '90s Creator/WhiteWolf productions like ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', whose {{Metaplot}} -- a form of publisher-mandated railroading -- was ramping ramping up for its GrandFinale at the time of the Forge's founding.

!!Tropes found in The Forge's role-playing games and body of criticism:

* IndieGame: The Forge's original purpose was to showcase new indie [=RPGs=] (hence its domain name) -- i.e. any that weren't distributed by big publishers of the time, like Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast and Creator/WhiteWolf. After Edwards took over, the site was turned into a discussion hub, and the community later helped indie designers to self-publish their games on the internet and to promote their games at conventions and such.

* {{Railroading}}: A lot of the Forge's discourse centered on this trope, so they had a bunch of terms for it, including "[[DemotedToExtra de-protagonizing]]"[[note]]though this one was broader, as it also referred to other players (not just the GM) controlling what your character does for you[[/note]], "illusionism", and [[http://socratesrpg.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-titb4b-and-whys-it-bad.html "The Impossible Thing Before Breakfast"]] or [=TITB4B=], commonly expressed as "The GM writes the story and the players decide what the characters do". Forge members believed that this expression is inherently self-contradictory and leads to dysfunctional play, tracing its origins to the early '90s Creator/WhiteWolf productions like ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''.

* Adept Press: Ron Edwards

* Black and Green Games: Emily Care Boss

* Bully Pulpit Games: Jason Morningstar, Steve Segedy

* Burning Wheel: Luke Crane

* CRN Games: Clinton R. Nixon

* Galileo Games: Brennan Taylor

* lumpley games: D. Vincent and Meguey Baker

* Memento-Mori Theatricks: Jared A. Sorensen

* one.seven design: John Harper

* ''TabletopGame/LittleFears'' (2001, 2009) by Jason L. Blair (Key 20 Publishing)

* ''TabletopGame/MyLifeWithMaster'' (2003) by Paul Czege (Half Meme Press)

* InAndOutOfCharacter: [[http://www.indie-rpgs.com/_articles/glossary.html The Forge theories]] make a point of distinguishing between IC and OOC ''narration'' (which is basically the difference between saying "[[FirstPersonPerspective I strike the goblin]]" and "my fighter strikes the goblin" in-play) and the ''[[http://socratesrpg.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-is-stance-theory-part1.html Stance]]'', which is about [[PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration how the player relates to their character]] when making the decisions for them (Actor, Author, Pawn, or Director). The Stance theory wasn't a Forge invention, originating in RFGA on-line discussions, but was incorporated into the Big Model.