🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec24.001604.6727@trl.oz.au> s.mathers@trl.oz.au writes:
>I am getting bored with talk of mechanics.  I think mechanics are of
>secondary importance when designing a RPG, and I think you would
>get a better and more consistent set of mechanics if you worried
>about them only after you have a reasonable idea of where the game
>will take place and what the world is like. (world=universe)

I agree with your sentiments.  I have always said that genre (and
hence, world) must be considered before any other desicisions are
made.  net.rpg, however, is designed to be a multi-genre (and hence,
multi-world) game system.  One might begin a discussion on how
game worlds are to be created, but discussion on one world would,
in my opinion, not fit within the net.rpg discussions.

The discussion on magic which was started prior to break was an
example of a world-specific discussion which still could be put
under a net.rpg heading.  Though not all worlds will have magic
in them, some will and we must consider the consequences of that
addition during the game design stage.  

Many interesting views were expressed concerning magic, and it is 
probably impossible to create a single magic system from those
views, nor is it necessary given the choice of a multi-genre
game system.  If we wanted to create a single fantasy world,
however, we would have to come to a consensus on how magic was
to be handled which would not be easy.  It would also likely
leave many out in the cold when their views were discarded in
favor of someone else's.

So, although I personally agree with most of your post, I would
say that discussion of the specifics (for example geography, 
population, etc.) of a particular game world is not the
province of net.rpg; such a discussion is more aplicable to 
private work by each individual or by a small group of 
individuals.

--
Charles F. Fitzgerald | '...it's a tale, told by an idiot,
Iowa State University | full of sound and fury,
cffitzge@iastate.edu  | signifying nothing.'
                      | _MacBeth_, by W. Shakespeare.