Establish a Rules Policy – Part 2

In case you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1 of Establish a Rules Policy.

In part 1 of **Establish a Rules Policy we looked at the printed materials and determined versions, supplements and the need to set an order of precedence – the only problem is, not everything is covered by the rules.

When you get into a situation where you didn’t plan for something or not everyone at the table agrees on a rule, you need to have a plan on how to handle it. My suggestions follow for inclusion in a Rules Policy.

1. Get the Players’ input.

This may not work for every group but if the situation warrants it and you can keep the discussion period short (remember your timer?) getting everyone to weigh in will help the dynamic as everyone can be involved. Be sure to listen and ask questions if you need something clarified. Maybe there’s a new version of the FAQ or Errata you weren’t aware of and it now covers the situation you’re ruling on or maybe there’s a different way of interpreting the rule you hadn’t considered.

2. The GM always has the final say.

When it comes down to it someone has to make the final call on a rule and that falls on whomever is behind the screen. It’s important not to let that power go to your head though as that can tear apart a group just as fast as a rules argument but you, as the GM have the final say. Take into account the players’ input (point number 1) and make your ruling. If there is still concern over it, table the discussion but stating that the ruling will stand for the session and you’ll consider appeals afterwards.

3. Allow the players to appeal.

So what happens if a player wants to appeal an in game ruling? First off don’t allow it during the session as it will detract from everyone enjoying the game. Second, my suggestion is if you can, handle the appeal by email.

Why by email? The primary reason is that it takes most of the confrontational emotion of out the equation. I can’t speak for everyone but I’ve frequently seen folks get more upset the longer they “discuss” something in person which is what we’re trying to avoid. Second, it gives your players extra time to consider the appeal, quote sources and give a more thought out argument. Third, and probably most important, it gives you time to look everything over and decide if you want to change your stance going forward. Remember, you want to make sure everyone is aware you’re not going to change what happened in the session but you will consider handling things differently going forward.

4. Create a House Rule.

After coming to a final ruling you should create a house rule so you don’t have to go through the same process again. When you do this be sure that you communicate this to your players so everyone is aware of it. I would suggest having a separate “house rules” document that you can update and pass out to the players (or point them to if you keep your campaign information online). After publishing it be sure to spend a couple of minutes reviewing it at your next session – don’t assume that everyone will read it!

A final item that I want to include here (which I should have mentioned in my last post on this topic) is that as a group you should determine the scope of the rules policy. Are you going to have one policy for all your related campaigns or is each GM responsible for creating one for the campaign they’re going to run? Take a few minutes to determine this up front to save on confusion later.

Have you played in a group with a rules policy? Wish you had one in the past? Please post away as I’m sure everyone would benefit from the sharing of your experiences.

May your dice roll well.