RPG Theory Glossary: C

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Calvinball

A term coined by Ron Edwards based on the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, meaning making up the rules of a game as it is played, especially to help the player win. Within Ron Edwards' Big Model, this is characterized as "a potentially-dysfunctional technique of Hard Core Gamist play".
References:
Calvinball rules
Gamism: Step On Up

 

Challenge

Within Ron Edwards' Big Model, the Situation of play in the Gamist context -- specifically, adversity or imposed risk to player-characters of any kind.
References:
Gamism: Step On Up

 

Character Components

The features of a role-playing character. All are present for all characters, even if one or more is not explicitly part of the textual rules. See Effectiveness, Metagame, and Resource. See also Currency.
References:
Gamism: Step On Up

 

Coherence

Within GNS theory, this is a general term for play where everyon shares a focused priority on a single GNS mode or functional hybrid. Game designs are said to be coherent if they clearly encourage play of this sort: in particular by having mechanics which support the GNS mode encouraged by the text. The opposite is Incoherence.
References:
GNS and Other Matters of Role-playing Theory
Simulationism: The Right to Dream

 

Color

Within Ron Edwards' hierarchical Big Model, one of the five components of Exploration. This refers to imagined details about any or all of System, Character, Setting, or Situation which are added in such a way that does not change aspects of action or resolution.

 

Conflict resolution

A Forge term for a resolution mechanic which depends on the abstract higher-level conflict, rather than on the component tasks within that conflict. For example, one might roll to get past a guard -- regardless of whether you bluff, sneak, or fight your way past him. When using this technique, inanimate objects may be considered to have "interests" at odds with the character, if necessary. Contrast with Task Resolution.

 

Congruence

A term coined by Walt Freitag for play which merges two or more GNS modes. As he puts it: "A congruent decision is a decision made by a participant (GM or player) during play that cannot, on the basis of the visible behavior resulting from the decision, be categorized as belonging to a specific mode of decision-making enumerated by the underlying model. In the context of the GNS model there are exactly four possible congruencies, representing the four combinations of two or more modes for which a decision may be ambiguous." Others have disagreed over whether sustained congruent play is possible.
References:
GNS and "Congruency"

 

Creative Agenda

Within Ron Edwards' Big Model, the "aesthetic priorities and any matters of imaginative interest regarding role-playing", sometimes abbreviated as "CA" on The Forge. The three CAs are Step on Up (Gamist), The Dream (Simulationist), and Story Now (Narrativist). This concept was referred to as "Premise" in Ron Edwards' second GNS essay -- but in the current incarnation "Premise" is specific to Narrativism.
References:
GNS and Other Matters of Role-playing Theory
GNS will fade into the background of RPG Theory
GNS: What is it?
Gamism: Step On Up
The whole model - this is it

 

Credibility

The power to have a statement accepted into the Shared Imaginary Space (or diegesis). In other words, whether what you say is "real" within the game-world. For example, a player may say "I chop his head off" -- but the statement doesn't have credibility until the GM confirms by saying "Indeed, you chop his head off." Coined by Vincent Baker (aka Lumpley) on the Forge as part of The Lumpley Principle.
References:
Vincent's standard rant: power, credibility, and assent
Player power abuse

 

Cross

Within GNS Narrativist play, introducing effects from previous scenes into current scenes, although the scenes do not contain the same protagonists. Coined by Ron Edwards in the "Sex & Sorcery" supplement for Sorcerer.

 

Crunch

In broad usage, this refers to hard-and-fast mechanics which require little subjective interpretation -- aka "Crunchy". As defined in Ron Edwards' Gamism essay, "an application or type of Challenge, based on high predictability relative to risk."
References:
Gamism: Step On Up

 

Crunchy Bits

An idea from Robin Laws' book, where he theorizes that "role-playing is fantasy shopping for guys" -- where the things shopped for are superpowers. Crunchy Bits are the products bought, the concretely- defined powers which players can get.
References:
Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering

 

Currency

A Forge term for exchange rate among different character capabilities, i.e. in-game stats (Effectiveness), spendable points (Resources), and Metagame capabilities. In many games, Currency is explicit in terms of character points, but in principle there is some currency in all RPGs.
References:
Gamism: Step On Up

 

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John H. Kim <jhkim@darkshire.net>

Last modified: Tue Mar 18 15:19:07 2008