RPG Design Sub-Index

. Per request, here’s a quick subindex of the major RPG design articles and some of the articles with general RPG discussions. There’s a lot more scattered around of course, but with nearly twelve hundred articles up, a subindex is just going to have to settle for a sampling.

General RPG Design:

• Backstory: why it’s vital.
• Game vrs World: the fantasy world versus the rules of the game.
• Getting your Encounters in the Zone; fitting your encounters to your world and vice-versa.
• The Elements of Magic: things to consider when creating a magic system.
• Battling the Balanced Encounter: the advantages and disadvantages thereof.
• Small Changes and Large Changes – a pair of essays on how tinkering with racial characteristics may – or may not – lead to massive social changes.
• The Basic Adventure: a basic guide for game masters.
• Role Playing Game Design Part I: a general look at designing tabletop RPG’s, using L5R as an example.
• Realistic and Unrealistic Injuries: making the combat system reflect the world you want.
• Creating Skill Systems: Basic Considerations, Fundamental Skills, Optional Skills, Practical Example – Revised d20 Skills.
• Wild Dawn: an example of a quick on-the-fly rules system
• Shapeshifters and Cursed Lycanthropes: making Lycanthropy something to fear. A few d20 specifics, mostly general.
• The Corruption of Power: how does power corrupt and what can be done to prevent it?
• Ceremonial Magic. a general system for creating magical effects without great personal power.
• The Revised Human: why humans are unique – and more than just the “baseline” for playable races. The mentioned mechanics are d20, the biological basics are generic.
• Elemental Physics: considering the consequences of a classical-element world.
• Bools and Shows to Games: a few how-to-convert examples: Building Gandalf and the Balrog in Eclipse – and why they’re not really all that high a level. Building the TARDIS – the difference between plot devices and tools. Charms and Talismans of the Rings: Matching up the Charms and Talismans from The Practical Enchanter with the items used in the Lord of the Rings. Characteristic Scaling and Amber – and why games are never like the books. Finally, the Silmarils of the Manifold – the version of Tolkien’s Silmarils that have made an appearance in the Federation-Apocalypse Campaign.
• Archetypes and Roles:  Aristocrat, Berserker, Commander, Laborer, Magus, Messenger, Shadow, Wanderer, and Wise Companion,Broken Spirit, Brute, Elder, Great Leader, Official, Scholar, and Shaman, Centurion, El Diablo, Performer, Romantic, and Thief, Fortunate Scion, Merchant, Seducer, and Stoic, and the How-to-use-them guide. The mechanics are d20, but they should be easy to convert.
• The Ri’aal: A change-of-pace nonhumanoid player-character species for d20 games which has innate magical powers instead of the ability to use tools and equipment.
• Building the Fair Folk: Races and Templates for Lesser, Greater, and High Fey, along with the powers of the fey. d20 mechanics, but adapted to create classical fey, as found in literature.
• The Codex Draconis. The history of the Celestial Dragons and of Earth’s Dragon Circle. Creating a playable race of primal elders. Originally for Champions, but the background writeup is pretty much mechanics-free.
• Champions Minus II – Building the Base Character, including senses, reproduction, and species-defining disadvantages. Champions mechanics, but some items to consider when creating species.
Martial Arts Basics. Designing your own combat styles, and using them for Weapons Design and Sample Weapons. Continuum II Mechanics.
Designing game mechanics to meet Style and Player Goals.
The Mathematics of Practical Melee Weapons.
Narrative Mechanics: With a d20 Template to buy them in less story-oriented games.
Designing Freeform Magic Systems.
The Eightfold Soul: Adding some mythic depth to the spirits of the dead.
The Laws of Death: How to prepare for and handle character deaths.
Making Magic Mysterious: Making magic in your game a thing of wonder any mystery again.
New Technologies: Why you should always carefully examine new gadgets before turning them loose in your games.
The Magical Worldview, The Magical Ruler (general theory, d20 mechanics), The God-Favored (general theory, d20 mechanics), The Noble-Blooded (general theory, d20 mechanics), Offices (general theory, d20 mechanics), and The Divine Ruler (general theory, d20 mechanics).
Star Trek Physics: Keeping new principles to a minimum in science-fiction RPG’s.
How detailed a Combat System do you really need?
Character Types – The Expert: General requirements and limitations of such characters, and how to build one in Eclipse.
Complex Encounters and Refreshing Abilities: The narrative limitations of “per encounter” abilities.
Creating Realistic Species: How to make believable creatures.
The High-Tech Warrior: The problems and benefits of high-end warriors.
The Fellowship of the Ring d20: Converting characters from books – and the perils and pitfalls thereof.
You Have No Power Over Me!: Purchasing immunities to particular foes and types of foes.
Sci-Fi Settings and Rules: Writing rules to fit your setting – from hard Sci-Fi to complete fantasy.
Designing Subraces: How to make subraces fit into the world, with a d20 example – the Mothu.
Roleplaying Disadvantages with Teeth: Why taking a vague, role-playing, disadvantage is NOT the soft option.
Bringing Fictional Characters into RPG’s: Guidelines for character conversions.
Realmsong: An artifact-flute suitable for characters of any power level.
Knight-Errant Smart Uniforms: Clothes that every well-dressed hero should be wearing.
Skills and Powers: Making Skills Exotic
Spell Progressions in Eclipse: How the progression costs were derived.
Old School Skills: How to manage narrative skills.
The Common Humanity: Why pretty much every game uses humans as a base.
Overkill Penalties: Why going overboard isn’t always a good idea.
Character Advancement, d20, and Eclipse: Why faster isn’t always better.
Geek The Healer!: Why medics are not – and should not – be off-limits targets in roleplaying games.
Spinning on the Axis of Evil: Do you really need an alignment system?

Setting Features:

• Medieval Price List and Economics: a realistic price list for medieval settings, for both major and minor purchases.
• Dark Ages Cultural Worldviews: for Celtic, Nordic, and Christian characters in classical medieval settings.
• Building a Multiverse – the introduction to the Manifold Setting: The Quantum Worlds, Intro to Quantum Realities, Realms, Souls, and Mana.
• Malavon Player’s Handout: a sample world background handout.
• Cliff Notes for the 1940’s: how to make a 1940’s-1950’s setting convincing.
• Features of Victorian Settings: the basic characteristics of a Victorian-style world.
• The Merrow Mansion: A base, haunted house of sorcerers, and mini-campaign setting.
• The Scale of the Galaxy: How to cut the statistics of the universe down to size. Originally for Star Wars, but applicable to many galactic settings.
• A population of plot hooks: Lost Artifacts and Expeditions. Some of the legendary items which may lie within the borders of Chelm.
• The Magical Languages of the Twilight Isles: The unusual effects of languages. Eclipse d20 mechanics, but not much of them.
• Glowstone Alchemy: the Basics (including the benefits and costs of using Glowstone) and the Items – for when you want to introduce radioactive temptation into your world.
• Village Heroes: Building A Campaign (the basics of building an Eclipse campaign – and a sample setup for a low-level low-powered campaign setting), Village Hero Package Deals Part I and Part II (background package deals for low-powered local characters), Argius and Jamiel (a hedge mage and a village smith), Ethan and Kordov (an apprentice forester and a militia trainee), Tarvel and Raymund (a streetwise youngster and a scholarly initiate), Nagindeyu (a wannabee adventurer), and Maylindarin Vrilnassyr (elven archer-mystic).
• The Dreamspawn: The Basic Template, Timothy and Verendior, Dunangylaz and Antaeus Varin, Lerona and Queen Yintor, Oridon and Yinsloth. Small Children and the Horrific Alien Monsters who love them.
• Hedge Magic Heroes: Practical magic for low-level characters: Part I, Part II and Part III (level zero spells), Part IV (level one spells), Part V and Part VI (level two spells and technological hedge magic), and Part VII (summary list and sample enchantments).
• The Low-Level Hero Template: Using Eclipse to run low-powered, slow-advancement, d20 games.

Fantasy Faiths:

Some sample religions from the various campaign worlds.

• The Varnic Church – a warrior-faith and one of the major religions of Western Atheria.
• Priestly Examples of how various groups of priests relate to their deities.
• the Ecumenical Council – the Unified Church of the Federation-Apocalypse campaign.
• The (Un-)Forgotten Gods of the Ancient Realm, as remembered in Kharidath and the Mri Desert.
• The Theology of Cemar and the Xin Clerical Orders.
• The Book of Thoth: The count of ages, the great cycle, the prophecy, and the relationships between the elements, races, gods, and powers of Thera
• Theran Faiths and Religions.
• Shamanism, the Agnostic Faith: Playing classical Shamans, and why they make near-ideal characters.
• Faiths, Religions, and Spiritual Realms of the Twilight Isles

Literary Magic Items and Sample Relics:

d20 mechanics, but the descriptions should be simple enough to use anywhere.

• Part I: General information on how to build and use relics and on the role of other magic items in the game, the Hat of the Demon Pirate Ferret, the Chessboard of the Invisible Hand (a device of political manipulation), the Cloak of Zorro (for dashing heroes who do not wish to be indentified), the Kether Scrolls, The Malachite Bindings (a tome of dark magics), the Skull of Scykanthos (a tool of lycanthropic ritual magic), and Arnwen’s Sacred Sunstone.
• Part II: The Gossamer Shroud of Death, The Clasp of the Mandarin (a social device), and Grimfang the Oath-Blade of Heroes.
• Part II: The Seals of Seigrun – devices which provide limited spellcasting in any one field at a time – and Lawgiver, a paladin’s blade of atrocious power.
• Part IV: Weapons of Legend, Stormbreaker, the Bracer of the Archmagi, and the Lion Bracer.
• Part V: A Quill which forges Scrolls, a Sigil which commands Undead Thieves, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Dragon Crowns – superheroic power devices.
• Part VI: A Demonslayer’s Helm, Parrying Dagger, Metamagical Rings, and Skill Enhancing Relics.
• Part VII:  Index, Summary, the Coronet of Command, the Sheathe of Excalibur, the Sortilege Staff, and several dozen minor relics.
• The Tongues of Heaven: Combined enchantment-relics and quest objects.