Establish a Rules Policy

There are few things that can destroy an evening of role-playing as quickly as a rules argument and while your group may not have encountered this particular beast at the gaming table it’s worth looking at. Every group will be different but you should lay some ground rules on the gaming rules you’ll play by so everyone is aware.

So what should go into a rules policy? While I can’t cover every group and every situation I can share what I feel should go into one. Keep in mind that the following is merely suggestion and may not work for every group.

1. Determine the rules version

I’ve lost track of the number of game systems I’ve played over the years and most have been released, updated or expanded many times so to set the playing field choose the system and the version. As an example the group I play in prefers D&D which makes the system choice is easy – D&D. As to the version we’ve decided to stick with 3.5 and will continue with that version even after the 4th edition is released – a matter of personal choice and familiarity. With both those decided we all have a common ground to work from.

2. Determine which supplements are allowed

For some systems this is easy – there are none! Unfortunately for others there are more supplements than there are days in the year, so what to do? Make a list of those supplements that will be allowed, again this puts everyone on the same page which should save headaches down the road. For my last campaign (D&D based, version 3.5) I stated that just the core books (Players’ Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual) could be used. After the campaign had been going for a while I relaxed the restriction some so that I could allow in rules that I felt would enhance the game (in some cases it was to allow additional character classes for the players).

3. Establish an “order of precedence”

At this point you’ve got your system decided on, the version and what supplements you’re going to allow, so what do you do if there are two sources which contradict themselves? You set an order of precedence.

In his comments concerning my post on the 18th of April, Do You Use a Computer at the Gaming Table, user ooklamok mentioned this very issue and why you need it. I think I’ll let his comments speak for themselves:

One thing I do recommend is that if you do use some kind of online reference (in game or not), the GM should set an “order of precedence”.If there is ever a discrepancy between an online rule and a rule printed in a book, we ruled that the book takes precedence. This seems obvious, but by laying this rule down you can avoid alot of possible arguments

Keep in mind that you should include all the references you’ve agreed to in your rankings. So if you play D&D that could include the core books, supplimentals, the FAQs, the Errata, the SRD and of course any house rules that may be in effect in your gaming group.

At this point you may be inclined to believe you’re done and in some cases you are but in part two of Establishing a Rules Policy I’m going to cover those items that lay outside of the rulebooks themselves, things like appeals and spot decisions.

May your dice roll well.

Be sure to check out Part 2 of Establish a Rules Policy