RPG Design Theories

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PCs are Not NPCs
It’s no secret that 3rd Edition D&D made player characters more complex. With the goal of making them more customizable and individualized, characters…
 • 
Monte Cook
7
Keeping to the Theme
I’ve written about the importance of how you describe the rules being as important as the rules themselves before, but it’s worth revisiting. As I…
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Monte Cook
3
Rules With Multiple Purposes
One of the great challenges of writing a rulebook is that you’re creating both a teaching tool and a reference work.
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Monte Cook
8
Design Toward Rather Than Away
Encouraging good play is better than prohibiting its opposite.
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Monte Cook
8
Just a Quick Note...
The crowdfunding campaign for my current work-in-progress design, The Magnus Archives RPG, has launched. Check out in particular the rules primer that…
 • 
Monte Cook
Intentions Before Actions
A few entries back, I said that when you start to design a new game, you start with the heart—and the heart of an RPG is, “What do the characters do…
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Monte Cook
4
Succeeding at Failing
Immersion and Participation in Games
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Monte Cook
14
RPG Design Theories
Thoughts behind tabletop roleplaying games and why we love them.
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