A no-holds-barred-cage-match arena of death for my ideas. Gladiators are all orphans of my brainmeats. Bets accepted at the window.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Important RPG Quotation!


"Although the rules have been thoroughly play-tested over a period of many months, it is likely that you will eventually find some part that seems ambiguous, unanswered, or unsatisfactory. When such situation arises settle it among yourselves, record the decision in the rules book, and abide by it from then on. These rules may be treated as guide lines around which you form a game that suits you. It is always a good idea to amend the rules to allow for historical precedence or common sense -- follow the spirit of the rules rather than the letter."

-Chainmail, 3rd edition, page 8, by Gary Gygax & Jeff Perren

Game Master means just that. Game. Master. It does not mean merely mastering the rules, nor does it mean slavish devotion to the rules at the expense of sacrificing their spirit. It means that the game is yours and your group's, to do with as you will.

If a GM notices that the rules are actively interfering with the fun, either fix them--Hell, we did it all the damn time with house rules, in the days before the Internet made official errata easy to find and access--or get a new system.

At the same time, GMs cannot blame the rules for interfering with their games. It's the GM's responsibility to see the problem, listen to the players, and have the courage to fix the problem.

(Original quotation taken from Jeff Rients' blog.)

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