D&D 5E Tabletop Rules and Guidelines

Hey guys, I'm running a campaign and my table has come up with a few guidelines to keep the sessions running smoothly. Some of these came about from specific instances of trouble that just needed to be rectified and prevented in the future and some came from othe DMs' tips. I wanted to hear what kind of rules or guidelines you guys use at your tables too or give me your thoughts on mine.

Here's mine:

1. No rolling dice against other PCs. Interactions between PCs must be role played.
2. No dice shall be rolled unless the DM calls for a roll.
3. No books shall be open during combat
4. PCs have 1-3 seconds after the DM asks "what do you do" to decide on a course of action or they lose their turn to indecision and simply take the Dodge action
5. The DM's rulings are final.
6. Try to keep distractions such as side tangents to a minimum.

That sounds like too much micromanagement to me. I think i have a good idea why you came up with these tables rules, but i think may be a bit too drastic. Calling every die roll is way too much for me, considering PCs make attacks rolls, damage rolls, sneak attack and other extra damage rolls etc.. I call for initiative, ability checks and saves, they know when to roll the rest if they need to make attack and damage rolls. If i deem a roll is inapropriate, i will tell a player. Usually they'll ask if they are not sure if they can make an ability check or something else though.

They also usually know what to do when their turns comes up and i don't put pressure on them unless the situation is dire and they're under great stress and time pressured. Again, if a player has the habbit of taking too much time on his turn to decide, i will address it with him directly. Usually other players are good to let him know too

DM's rulings are final i agree. I let players makes input as anyone can make mistakes or forget things, but if there's a disagreement, i make a rulecall and we keep going. I am always open to continue discuss any issues after the session.

Not opening books also seems like it could be limiting in situation where an information must be consuted. I trust my players to check it for me so i don't need to do this everytime.

We also limit outside distraction, especially during hockey season, no TV on , no internet surfing etc...

Finally you don't want to have players punching each other because their PC are fighting over a disagreement don't you? They rarely roll dice against one another, and usually the DM is in between or calling them depending on the situation.

I was teaching a group of folks D&D, a great bunch of gents and ladies who didn't speaking English as their primary language.

We decided to lay down some table/game rules. My intent being to develop an environment of mutual respect, where folks listened to one another and agreed to work together for a better gaming experience for all.

So I was a little surprised when I asked the group for suggestions of our new rules/guidelines and the first response, shouted out aloud was:

"NO BITING."

Ok. Yup. Why not. After that I knew it was going to an interesting experience for all..

To this day, rule number one at any table I'm at is NO BITING.

TenkayCrit said:

Hey guys, I'm running a campaign and my table has come up with a few guidelines to keep the sessions running smoothly. Some of these came about from specific instances of trouble that just needed to be rectified and prevented in the future and some came from othe DMs' tips. I wanted to hear what kind of rules or guidelines you guys use at your tables too or give me your thoughts on mine.

Here's mine:

1. No rolling dice against other PCs. Interactions between PCs must be role played.
2. No dice shall be rolled unless the DM calls for a roll.
3. No books shall be open during combat
4. PCs have 1-3 seconds after the DM asks "what do you do" to decide on a course of action or they lose their turn to indecision and simply take the Dodge action
5. The DM's rulings are final.
6. Try to keep distractions such as side tangents to a minimum.

Click to expand...

Wow. Are you playing D&D or proctoring an exam?

Sorry, but you did ask for my thoughts. And I think D&D is supposed to be a recreational activity.

TenkayCrit said:

Hey guys, I'm running a campaign and my table has come up with a few guidelines to keep the sessions running smoothly. Some of these came about from specific instances of trouble that just needed to be rectified and prevented in the future and some came from othe DMs' tips. I wanted to hear what kind of rules or guidelines you guys use at your tables too or give me your thoughts on mine.

Here's mine:

1. No rolling dice against other PCs. Interactions between PCs must be role played.
2. No dice shall be rolled unless the DM calls for a roll.
3. No books shall be open during combat
4. PCs have 1-3 seconds after the DM asks "what do you do" to decide on a course of action or they lose their turn to indecision and simply take the Dodge action
5. The DM's rulings are final.
6. Try to keep distractions such as side tangents to a minimum.

Click to expand...

I like them all except 4. I had one single past experience with a DM who (sometimes) counted seconds to solicit decisions, and I detested it! One thing I absolutely love about a RPG, is that it's not a timed game, there is no rush. If someone takes that away, I don't enjoy it anymore.

First off, thanks for all the input guys!
[MENTION=6701422]Plaguescarred[/MENTION] I guess I should have been more clear. I meant all d20 rolls. My PC's love to toss their d20s for no reason. Mostly when they get excited. As in "I take the hide action *rolls d20*" Me: Your in the middle of the street on a sunny day..."
[MENTION=6846794]Gardens & Goblins[/MENTION] I'll certainly have to add "No biting!" to my list!
[MENTION=6683613]TheCosmicKid[/MENTION] I don't see how any of these are out of the norm of regular D&D. #1 means more RP which means more fun and less mechanics. #2 is pretty standard since the only time dice are really rolled is if the outcome is unknown and only the DM knows if the outcome is unknown. #2 and #6 keep players focused and #5 is, again, common practice. (I will address #4 below). Out of these I fail to see anything that does not enhance the recreational-ness of the game.
[MENTION=1465]Li Shenron[/MENTION] I agree that having a DM count down would be infuriating as hell! When I say 1-3 seconds its really to keep the combat fluid. I wouldn't be saying "what do you do?...3....2...1...OOH out of time!" It'd be much more of an in my head thing with some allowances for newer players. The reason for #4 (and a lot of these other ones) is because in my last session we made it through one and a half (I say a half because a mage ran away and they cornered him in the next room) combats in four hours due to people being distracted or not prepping their moves before initiative came around to them. That was a bit tedious. These were not hard encounters by the way, It was 5 bandits and a mage.

I’m a fan of #1, most of the time. I hate when one PC tries to use persuasion or deception on another PC, or otherwise messes with another PC using a dice roll.

TenkayCrit said:

1. No rolling dice against other PCs. Interactions between PCs must be role played.
2. No dice shall be rolled unless the DM calls for a roll.

Click to expand...

I only have a few table rules.

If you are sitting at the table, what you say your characters says.

If I make a ruling, we can discuss it after the game. Until then, it stands.

No, NPCs and monsters do not have to work exactly like they do in the book. If I say that orcs shoot lazers from their eyes, they shoot lazers from their eyes. Why? Because lazers. 'Nuff said.

I can't even imagine how you could play without access to books during combat.

I ask for player buy-in on the following ground rules before we play together:

1. Before doing or saying anything, remember to consider the goals of play by asking yourself, "Is what I'm about to do or say going to be fun for everyone at the table? Is what I'm about to do or say going to help create an exciting, memorable story?" If the answer to either of those questions is "No" or "I'm not sure," then choose to do or say something else. If you find yourself thinking, "What would my character do?" the answer is always the same: Something that is fun for everyone at the table and helps create an exciting, memorable story.

2. When hearing an idea or proposal from another player, try to find the good in it and think of ways it can work rather than ways it can't. This may mean adding to the idea to make it better. Don't shoot down the ideas of others outright - this just creates debates that stymies play. Instead, work together to take a decent idea and make it better by adding to it rather than taking away.

3. Don't ask questions of the DM. You can ask questions of NPCs and of other PCs or take actions in the game world that will help you answer your own question. For example, instead of asking "Are there any doors?" or "Can I talk to Helga alone?" say "I look around for any doors..." or "Tordek tries to talk to Helga alone..."

4. Do not ask to make ability checks or the like. Describe what you want to do. The DM will tell you whether or not the outcome of what you want to do is uncertain and thus requires a roll. If the outcome is not uncertain, the DM will just say what happens.

5. When it's your turn in the spotlight, act immediately or ask for advice which you must take (as long as it's reasonable even if not perfect). When it's not your turn, think of a Plan A and a Plan B, the latter of which is in case something change before your turn that affects Plan A. Your turn is for acting, not for thinking about what to do or asking questions (see 3 above). If everyone adheres to this, the game is more fast-paced, more engaging, and your turn will come around quicker.

6. I don't expect there'll be cause for any character to attack another unless compelled by magic. Short of that, if you choose to attack or otherwise hinder another player character, the target of the attack will get to decide whether it hits, misses, or dice are involved. Remember to pass all your intended actions through the filter explained in number 1 above first, of course.

7. Your characters all know each other, have history together that we will flesh out, and trust each other at least enough to go on dangerous adventures together. They don't have to be best friends, but they've got each other's backs. Establish your character ties accordingly.

Agreement on these terms is, in my experience, the foundation for a fast-paced, smooth-running game.