Archive - RPG Design Theories

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…

Mar 8 •

February 2024

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…

Feb 5 •

December 2023

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.

Dec 1, 2023 •

October 2023

Design Toward Rather Than Away

Encouraging good play is better than prohibiting its opposite.

Oct 5, 2023 •

August 2023

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…

Aug 29, 2023 •

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…

Aug 14, 2023 •

July 2023

Succeeding at Failing

Immersion and Participation in Games

Jul 13, 2023 •

May 2023

Player Success Versus Character Success

It’s easy to think that when a character succeeds—whether it be an action from a successful die roll, discovering a great treasure, mission, or quest…

May 30, 2023 •

April 2023

Task resolution serves as the crux of most RPG designs. How do the PCs do things and how do you know if they succeed or fail? In answering that…

Apr 26, 2023 •

Designer Anxiety

I know, I was going to keep going with part two of the series about creating a brand new game. And I will. That article will be coming along shortly…

Apr 12, 2023 •

March 2023

Start With the Heart

I’m getting ready to start designing a brand new game. If you’re curious, it’s the Magnus Archives Roleplaying game that we just announced. When I…

Mar 6, 2023 •

January 2023

Designing for [Bleep]

It was around 2010 or 2011. I’d been asked to lead the 5th edition D&D design team, but it was very early days. And I was on a panel at a convention. A…

Jan 23, 2023 •

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