RPG Philosophy

[whswhs]

If the GM did not exist it would be necessary to invent him.
Voltaire

Bill Stoddard

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

The fewer our Disadvantages, the more we resemble the Gods.
--Socrates


(Also noted for saying, in the midst of a campaign: "Crito, I owe 3 CP to Asclepius; will you remind me to pay the debt?")

As I recall, he was forced to leave the game early.


Hans

[ErhnamDJ]

“But whether the rules really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that they have either authorized such a game as we have had, or have been powerless to prevent it. In either case, they are unfit to exist.”

-- Lysander Spooner, after his first session in the Tomb of Horrors.

[sgtcallistan]

A GM who knows the shape of the players, who knows the maps, who is in accord with both heaven and earth, is a jewel beyond price; retain him!'
-Sonny Tzu

[RyanW]

Alea non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. (Dice must not be multiplied beyond necessity)

If an Orc falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, who gets the XP?

For any closed system in equilibrium... Wandering Monster!

And a (slightly modified) Machiavelli quote that I certainly do not hold to be true, but some do:
It is necessary for him who lays out a game and arranges rules for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope.

Edit: Adding More:

Doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous. - Voltaire on dice rolls.
Fatigue is the best pillow. - Benjamin Franklin on marathon game sessions.
When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain. - William Shakespeare's argument against speech as a free action.
I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one. - Mark Twain on the complexity of the Attack of Opportunity rules.

[Anaraxes]

a (slightly modified) Machiavelli quote

Gold does not find good delvers, but good delvers are quite capable of finding gold.

[Daigoro]

What doesn't kill us gives us more XP. - Nietzsche

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen to the GM more and talk over him less. - Diogenes

A PC is two souls abiding in one body. - Diogenes again.

Why not whip the player when the character misbehaves? - more Diogenes

Of what use is a game master who doesn't hurt anybody's hit points?

Discourse on GURPS and they pass by in droves, whistle and play D&D, and you've got an audience.



Okay, I found a Diogenes quote page, the last two are him too.

[Anders]

He must learn to act like two types of characters: knights and thieves. A thief is defenseless against orcs; a knight is defenseless against traps. A delver must learn to act like both the thief and the thief: he must learn, like the thief, how to recognize traps and, like the fighter, how to kill off orcs.

Machiavelli, The Delver

GMs wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.

John Locke

[Michael Cule]

The Scenery-Chewing LARPers Motto: I Play Therefore I Ham! (Graham Arnold, I am looking at you!)

And if we're doing Voltaire:

In that game, they kill a player-character from time to time, to encourage the others.

[sgtcallistan]

Three blind GM's were invited to run a pre-written game module:
the first felt the shape of it's dice and declared it was 'gamist',
the second listened to himself run the game and declared it was 'narrativist',
the last- ah, to **** with it. ;)