Rulemonger vs. House Rules [Archive] - Wizards Community

Rulemonger vs. House Rules [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
WraithXIII
07-06-04, 08:07 PM So when you run a game, do you stick to the rules religiously, or do you create your own house rules to help supplement the basic ground rules? I am not talking about wacky rules that would make the game unrealistic, but rules that add to the flavor and fill in the potholes in the current rules. I myself have a four page list of house rules, though it isn't that bad, it only covers about eight major points of the game. Our group looked at some of the rules and just shook our heads, noting how much some of them just made the game unrealistic or sucked the fun out of playing. I would love to hear what some groups play with.
Cunning Linguist
07-06-04, 08:23 PM I try to stick to the rules as best I can. Since these appear the most fair to all.

It is also a defence I often use when I get "Hey! that was way to hard!"

And I reply: "The monster was within the right CR for your level, if the rules say it's right, then it's right"

Rules are a DM's best friend.
J. Grenemyer
07-06-04, 08:54 PM Hello,

For my Realms Campaign I tend to stick to the RAW as much as possible, but am not afraid to bend or even break the rules to keep things fun and entertaining. I run a 3.5 game, but also cherry pick 3.0 rules and rules from older sourcebooks for use in my game as needed.

I’ve found that despite having access to a comprehensive set of rules, the game still brings up situations where there’s no specific rule to address what’s happening in play, so house rules and DM interpretation/common sense are still quite necessary to keep things moving.

I don’t invite aggressive player interpretations of the rules in situations like this, but instead ask for polite opinions. (My players learned a long time ago that trying to be a rulesmonger in my game would only cause them pain. ;) )

:D
Kuje31
07-06-04, 09:12 PM I use the rules when they are needed, but other wise I toss them if they get in the way of the story, campaign, etc..... The campaign, story, etc, comes before any and all rules.
warlockco
07-06-04, 11:47 PM Originally posted by Kuje31
I use the rules when they are needed, but other wise I toss them if they get in the way of the story, campaign, etc..... The campaign, story, etc, comes before any and all rules.

Ditto

Also be consistent when you are being lax with the rules. I have a GM that is never consistent and never tells us of a "rule change" until it does something to hose one of us. So alot people of the group tend to be scarce when his turn to GM comes up. Then again he is starting to go senile....
Mumm-Ra
07-07-04, 07:33 AM I use the RAW. They have very rarely failed me...yet. In fact, I cannot remember when they have failed me.

And like CL, I use the defence of 'its the same CR as the party, it was about right'. Mostly, if a fight is too tough, its not the CR that is out, its basic player tactics.

house rules include:

odd stats for monsters become even by adding 1 point. For example, a monster with str 17 con 15, dex 14, wis 11, int 8, cha 10 would become str 18 con 16 dex 14 wis 12 int 8 cha 10. I also customise all monsters with different feats if necessary, and i give players and monsters fixed hps:
d4 is 3, d6 is 4, d8 is 5, d10 is 7, d12 is 8. I give comparatively more hps to fighters, paladins, and barbarians because they are the main tanks. I give 3 on a d4 for wizards because giving a 2 would be too harsh.
I do this to remove unfairness between players-i dont want two lvl 10 fighters to have vastly different hps just because one of them rolled badly. I also don't want the player and monster hps to diverge too much.

everyone, even monsters, get max hps at lvl 1.

I make monsters slightly harder this way because my players are good minmaxers and using monsters as written would not be much of a challenge for them.
Dalimar
07-07-04, 09:03 AM I keep to the all the rules in general (well the ones I CAN remember) - if I know it will take 5-10 mins looking something up I'd generally just wing-it and just take a stab in the dark, clarifying it later after the gaming session is over.
I feel in my experience "if its not broken don't fix it".
Autosponge
07-07-04, 01:39 PM Everyone (players and monsters) use MM method for HP. That's pretty much the only thing I've changed.
Cthulhu
07-08-04, 03:44 AM I tend to run with the rules-as-is. The group is there to play not harp on how unrealistic or unbalanced some rules are. Generally most published rule screw-ups are only mildly annoying so we don't bother to change them.

That said my depth of rule adherence changes radically depending on the needs of the game. I frequently ignore suggested skill DCs because it would be too much trouble during a game to look them up for example. Othertimes I pay stricter attention because I have the time and inclination to do so.
dragonheart
07-08-04, 11:56 AM we have a few house rules but mostly follow the basic rules - of course we are more interested in enjoying the game than making sure every i si doted and t crossed so we tend to wing it when we aren't sure and don't wnat to go looking things up.
WraithXIII
07-09-04, 09:42 PM Yeah, for the most part, the handbook is pretty good, I just have a few extra things in place to cover up the holes.

One thing I though about doing was taking certain tables and combat rules and putting them to paper that way we would not have to flip through the PHB at all, flip through the handy dandy notes and its there, something similiar to the DM screen.
Plunderer_of_the_planes
07-09-04, 09:52 PM I houserule like a mad man LOL...Mainly I have combined what I felt was the best of all the D&D editions.

I also may have changed Faerun itself a...erm...tad....

Just look here (http://s7.invisionfree.com/Ravens_Keep/index.php?showtopic=95) for what I did.
WizO_BigSister
07-10-04, 02:00 AM Hmmmmm .... I am a bit like Kuje in that I will bend the rules to stop the story getting utterly derailed, and to avoid any "freak" encounters & ultra high dice rolls wiping out the party. However most of the time I stick to the rules ... it makes a DMs life a lot simpler ;)

However if a player starts to meta-game, saying "you can't do that ... the rules say" then I confess I'll chuck out the rules and fly by the seat of my pants ... I'm the DM and its my multiverse! :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WraithXIII 07-06-04, 08:07 PM	So when you run a game, do you stick to the rules religiously, or do you create your own house rules to help supplement the basic ground rules? I am not talking about wacky rules that would make the game unrealistic, but rules that add to the flavor and fill in the potholes in the current rules. I myself have a four page list of house rules, though it isn't that bad, it only covers about eight major points of the game. Our group looked at some of the rules and just shook our heads, noting how much some of them just made the game unrealistic or sucked the fun out of playing. I would love to hear what some groups play with.
Cunning Linguist 07-06-04, 08:23 PM	I try to stick to the rules as best I can. Since these appear the most fair to all. It is also a defence I often use when I get "Hey! that was way to hard!" And I reply: "The monster was within the right CR for your level, if the rules say it's right, then it's right" Rules are a DM's best friend.
J. Grenemyer 07-06-04, 08:54 PM	Hello, For my Realms Campaign I tend to stick to the RAW as much as possible, but am not afraid to bend or even break the rules to keep things fun and entertaining. I run a 3.5 game, but also cherry pick 3.0 rules and rules from older sourcebooks for use in my game as needed. I’ve found that despite having access to a comprehensive set of rules, the game still brings up situations where there’s no specific rule to address what’s happening in play, so house rules and DM interpretation/common sense are still quite necessary to keep things moving. I don’t invite aggressive player interpretations of the rules in situations like this, but instead ask for polite opinions. (My players learned a long time ago that trying to be a rulesmonger in my game would only cause them pain. ;) ) :D
Kuje31 07-06-04, 09:12 PM	I use the rules when they are needed, but other wise I toss them if they get in the way of the story, campaign, etc..... The campaign, story, etc, comes before any and all rules.
warlockco 07-06-04, 11:47 PM	Originally posted by Kuje31 I use the rules when they are needed, but other wise I toss them if they get in the way of the story, campaign, etc..... The campaign, story, etc, comes before any and all rules. Ditto Also be consistent when you are being lax with the rules. I have a GM that is never consistent and never tells us of a "rule change" until it does something to hose one of us. So alot people of the group tend to be scarce when his turn to GM comes up. Then again he is starting to go senile....
Mumm-Ra 07-07-04, 07:33 AM	I use the RAW. They have very rarely failed me...yet. In fact, I cannot remember when they have failed me. And like CL, I use the defence of 'its the same CR as the party, it was about right'. Mostly, if a fight is too tough, its not the CR that is out, its basic player tactics. house rules include: odd stats for monsters become even by adding 1 point. For example, a monster with str 17 con 15, dex 14, wis 11, int 8, cha 10 would become str 18 con 16 dex 14 wis 12 int 8 cha 10. I also customise all monsters with different feats if necessary, and i give players and monsters fixed hps: d4 is 3, d6 is 4, d8 is 5, d10 is 7, d12 is 8. I give comparatively more hps to fighters, paladins, and barbarians because they are the main tanks. I give 3 on a d4 for wizards because giving a 2 would be too harsh. I do this to remove unfairness between players-i dont want two lvl 10 fighters to have vastly different hps just because one of them rolled badly. I also don't want the player and monster hps to diverge too much. everyone, even monsters, get max hps at lvl 1. I make monsters slightly harder this way because my players are good minmaxers and using monsters as written would not be much of a challenge for them.
Dalimar 07-07-04, 09:03 AM	I keep to the all the rules in general (well the ones I CAN remember) - if I know it will take 5-10 mins looking something up I'd generally just wing-it and just take a stab in the dark, clarifying it later after the gaming session is over. I feel in my experience "if its not broken don't fix it".
Autosponge 07-07-04, 01:39 PM	Everyone (players and monsters) use MM method for HP. That's pretty much the only thing I've changed.
Cthulhu 07-08-04, 03:44 AM	I tend to run with the rules-as-is. The group is there to play not harp on how unrealistic or unbalanced some rules are. Generally most published rule screw-ups are only mildly annoying so we don't bother to change them. That said my depth of rule adherence changes radically depending on the needs of the game. I frequently ignore suggested skill DCs because it would be too much trouble during a game to look them up for example. Othertimes I pay stricter attention because I have the time and inclination to do so.
dragonheart 07-08-04, 11:56 AM	we have a few house rules but mostly follow the basic rules - of course we are more interested in enjoying the game than making sure every i si doted and t crossed so we tend to wing it when we aren't sure and don't wnat to go looking things up.
WraithXIII 07-09-04, 09:42 PM	Yeah, for the most part, the handbook is pretty good, I just have a few extra things in place to cover up the holes. One thing I though about doing was taking certain tables and combat rules and putting them to paper that way we would not have to flip through the PHB at all, flip through the handy dandy notes and its there, something similiar to the DM screen.
Plunderer_of_the_planes 07-09-04, 09:52 PM	I houserule like a mad man LOL...Mainly I have combined what I felt was the best of all the D&D editions. I also may have changed Faerun itself a...erm...tad.... Just look here (http://s7.invisionfree.com/Ravens_Keep/index.php?showtopic=95) for what I did.
WizO_BigSister 07-10-04, 02:00 AM	Hmmmmm .... I am a bit like Kuje in that I will bend the rules to stop the story getting utterly derailed, and to avoid any "freak" encounters & ultra high dice rolls wiping out the party. However most of the time I stick to the rules ... it makes a DMs life a lot simpler ;) However if a player starts to meta-game, saying "you can't do that ... the rules say" then I confess I'll chuck out the rules and fly by the seat of my pants ... I'm the DM and its my multiverse! :D