RPG Game Play: Rules Lawyers

Last year, I discussed perhaps the important meta-rule in RPGs: Rule Zero.

This week, I wanted to talk about an issue that was driving factor in the creation of Rule Zero: Rules Lawyers.

"Rules Lawyer" is typically a pejorative term used to describe someone who attempts to use the letter of the rules of the game without reference to the spirit, usually in order to gain an advantage for themselves.  As this can be a literal form of "Gaming the system," with the attendant negative consequences, Rule Zero arose.  As I mentioned last year:

"For games where meta decision making is distributed along traditional lines, Rule Zero serves as a manual override to the rules set: in other words, it exists in case someone needs to override the rules when they result a nonsensical result.  Furthermore, it serves the underlying philosophy that the rules should take a back seat if they interfere with having fun."

As  "judge" and "referee," Rule Zero allows GMs to keep a game from slowing down too much or going off the rails for various reasons, Rules Lawyering included.

However, as you might expect, Rules Lawyering can be a problem for some New School games that reject traditional GM authority in favor of greater Player Narrative Fiat, such as GM-less games.

A softer and more proactive way to address Rules Lawyering is with the group's Social Contract.


In addition, in some cases Rules Lawyering and System Mastery (high knowledge of the rules) are just two sides of the same coin, even though the latter is generally viewed positively and encouraged.

Furthermore, a clever GM can sometimes recruit Rules Lawyers to assist in running games, such as serving as a rules reference, managing less focused or experienced players, etc.

RPG Game Play: Really Bad Stats

Last year, I discussed the issue of Stat Inflation (the incentive for players to play characters with higher statistics) in role-playing games which use Random Roll for character creation. 

This week, I wanted to talk about the opposite side of the coin: characters with Really Bad Stats.

If you use Random Roll for character creation, eventually Random Number Generation (RNG) will catch up and give you a character with Really Bad Stats.  And by "Really Bad Stats," I'm not talking merely below average but rather, bottom of the barrel (in D&D terms, I'm talking 3s, 4s or 5s) and I'm talking having more than one Really Bad Stat (even in a well designed game, it's usually possible to play around one Really Bad Stat).

So, this begs the question: Does having a character with Really Bad Stats materially affect fun?

Well, it depends.

Firstly, some players simply don't care about their character having Really Bad Stats.

Secondly, in some games, this is a moot question since some or all stats have no or little mechanical effect.  For example, in OD&D, a PC's Strength, Intelligence and Wisdom no mechanical effect other than possibly an XP bonus.  OD&D's other stats, except for Charisma, don't significantly effect gameplay either.

Thirdly, the circumstances can matter a great deal: it's different playing a character in a one shot or that doesn't otherwise require much mental investment in the character by the player. For example, it's easy enough to play up Really Bad Stats for comedic effect.

However, what about a character where the GM is looking for significant mental investment by the player in the character and wants to play a long-term campaign?  In other words, a player cannot simply wait until next session to play a different character.

Two common reasons that people play tabletop role-playing games are for escapist fantasy and for wish fulfillment.  Really Bad Stats can put a damper on both of those.

There's also the issue of fairness.  It's not really fair to having one character be significantly mechanically worse than the others.  Really Bad Stats can mitigated by the GM if he is able to provide the character with Really Bad Stats alternate ways to be effective and is able to still give the character their time in the spotlight.  However, this does require a level of trust in the GM and really should be expressly stated in the group's social contract.

RPG Game Play: Starting out as GM

Happy New Year!

Recently, it came up in a conversation about how to start out as a Game Master (or GM, for short) in  tabletop role-playing.  Being a GM is the most challenging and demanding position in any gaming group, so this week, I wanted to focus on some of the key issues that new GMs should consider.

First of all, before the game session even starts, beginning GMs should make sure that that their group's Social Contract is in place, to match up everyone's expectations and to prevent easily avoidable problems.

Secondly, it is worthy to note that, with New School games, there are non-traditional ways to distribute the GM's role, including GM-less games such as Fiasco and Microscope and games using  Player-Facing Mechanics, such as Dungeon World.  This post is not aimed at those games.

Anyway, in traditional tabletop role-playing games, being a GM entails wearing many "hats" (e.g., Author, Director, Referee, Manager, etc.)  For example, as Referee, a GM must make judgement calls and decide when to apply Rule Zero.  Consequently, as one can imagine, there are many things to track and manage during a game session, but for beginning GMs, there three areas to focus on where one to get the most mileage:

• Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!
• Be Flexible
• Keep Learning

• Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!

Preparation, as with many things in life, can make all the difference when running a game session.  As you become more experienced as a GM, you'll see more and more situations and learn how to juggle more and more things on the fly.  However, when you're starting out, preparation goes a long way toward preventing problems and keeping things running smoothly.  It will boost your confidence and speed up gameplay since you'll be less likely to struggle to fix things or figure things out.

A key part of preparation is knowing your rules set and the adventure that you have planned to the best of your ability.  The more you've prepared, the faster you'll be able to identify and address potential issues, such as fielding your players' questions.  It will also make it easier to address the next bullet point, Being Flexible.

• Be Flexible

In the words of the great German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke the Elder: “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”  Similarly, your players may (*cough*probably will*cough*) do something unexpected that will fly in the face of all your hard work and preparation.

Don't panic.  If you're caught off guard and need some time to figure out what to do, don't be afraid to call a bathroom break or even end the game session early.

And remember to keep an open mind.  Particularly, don't worry about wasting a plot, a character, a setting or anything else you've spent hours to develop.  In fact, you'll probably have a chance to reskin and recycle it later, with your players none the wiser.

• Keep Learning

Lastly, keep learning!  Curiosity is a natural trait of the best GMs.  You will get better with experience but there's always something that you can work on to become a better GM.

IMHO, one of the best things about being a GM is the opportunity to stretch your creative muscles, but muscles only get stronger with training and use.  Talk to your players and other people- don't be afraid to solicit feedback and don't overreact to criticism.


Obviously, there are many, many, many other things to help start out as a GM and to become a better one, but if you begin with the above three areas, you'll have a head start!

RPG Game Play: Rule Zero

This week, I wanted to talk about an issue that's potentially confusing but hugely important to traditional tabletop role-playing games: Rule Zero of RPGs.

The Game Master is Always Right

By the above, I mean that Rule Zero states that the GM always has the final say, even over the rules as written.  For games where meta decision making is distributed along traditional lines, Rule Zero serves as a manual override to the rules set: in other words, it exists in case someone needs to override the rules when they result a nonsensical result.  Furthermore, it serves the underlying philosophy that the rules should take a back seat if they interfere with having fun.

Rule Zero came about because in role-playing games, player creativity can produce almost unlimited options.  For example, in the board game "Clue" players only have a limited number of things that they can do in their turn.  However, if "Clue" was a role-playing game, Colonel Mustard would be able to set the kitchen on fire.  Also, some rule sets simply have gaps.  Consequently, sometimes someone needs to make a ruling about the "legality" of an action.

Rule Zero also serves as a check upon Rules Lawyers, Munchkins and/or if the players are just being rowdy in general.

Unsurprisingly, Rule Zero is the foundation of GM authority in tabletop role-playing games.  Giving the final decision making to the GM is what allows the GM to override even the rules as written.  It also gave rise to the proliferation of house rules and other aspects of the DIY nature of Old School games.

Of course, Rule Zero assumes that GMs will be reasonable.  However, if abused, Rule Zero  can lead to railroading, turning the players into an unwilling audience for the GMs fan fiction, or even the GM becoming a petty tyrant!

By contrast, some New School games, operate differently since more or all (for those games without GMs) decision making is distributed to the players.  Other New School games, such as the *World games, try to constrain the GM within the rules set (though actual effectiveness of such constrains is questionable).

Rule Zero is, for the most part, an unspoken rule or referred to only obliquely.  However, not only does it remain important to this day (especially in Old School games), but it also is part of the history of  tabletop role-playing games and the reason why old terms for GM included "judge" and "referee".

RPG Game Play: Finding Players

A few months ago, I discussed the importance of the group putting a "social contract" in place, preferably before play begins.  However, before you can have a "social contract" for your game, you need players.  So, this week, I wanted to focus on an issue that affects every game and every table: Finding Players.

This discussion is inspired by a recent conversation and assumes the point of view of a game master.

Being the game master is great fun for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that you get to pick the game you want to play.  However, it's an obvious condition precedent to gaming that you first need to get other people who buy in to your idea for a game or campaign.  Indeed, more than a few campaigns have stalled, collapsed, or not even gotten off the ground due to a lack of players.  Moreover, even if you already have a group, this is something you should still think about recruiting more players because most, if not all, groups suffer constant attrition from the vagaries of life (e.g., new job, new school, changed life circumstances, etc.).

Finding players is a question of marketing, so before you even start looking for players, it behooves you put together a winning pitch to sell your campaign.

When putting together a pitch, you should be able to describe what kind of game you want to run in a short, clear, and engaging manner.  Prospective players should be able to quickly understand what you want to do in a way that (hopefully) fires up the imagination.  For example, I'm currently recruiting for a second concurrent Sorcery & Steel campaign and I pitch it as "Wander the eastern Mediterranean in a tramp freighter during classical Antiquity" or "Traveller/Firefly meets old D&D."

If you are able to interest someone with the pitch, you should have additional details (e.g., Play Location/Method, Game/System, Time/Frequency, etc.) ready.  Don't be discouraged if you don't hook people right away, though if you are having difficulty, perhaps you need to hone your pitch.

Once you have your pitch down, where do you pitch?  Roleplaying is a collaborative form of storytelling, so you need to find collaborators.  To that end, work your social networks, both offline (e.g., friends, family, co-workers, etc.) and online (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).  Don't forget corkboards at your local friendly gaming store (if your town has one), library, etc.

There are also recruiting forums at most online RPG communities and other websites (e.g., Craigslist).  However, the best results I've gotten are from Meetup.com.

Assuming you have the luxury of enough players for your campaign, I like to vet players as much as possible before allowing them to join and sites like Meetup are good because if someone volunteers information about themselves, that's a good sign.  If that information matches your playstyles and other preferences, even better!

Good players are worth their weight in gold, while disruptive players can quickly make things unfun for everyone else, so the time you invest here is more than worth it.  Best of luck!