Poll: What's your level of rules modification?

[GMMichael]

Let's find out how ENworld feels about new rules! This poll applies to game masters and players. I suppose the latter would be voting on what they would propose for their game or would just like to see in their game. If your answer is, "well, it depends..." then choose your most common/frequent situation.

You get two votes for this poll. Please use your second vote on a "bonus" choice. If your choice was "by the book, only" then the bonus choices don't apply to you (please use only one vote).

Comments are open for sheer madness. But you can also let us know about the mods you use, and why your vote wasn't higher/lower on the list.

 

[ART!]

A house rule or two (or three), but when it's my turn to DM next I'm going to try out a sub-skills system, so i went with "A subsystem, like a magic, combat, or skills overhaul." I wouldn't call my subskill thing an overhaul, but it's more than a houserule, I think.

 

[delericho]

I've only changed a fairly few rules. I do, however, have a few subsystems that I've ported in from elsewhere to try to beef up exploration in particular.

 

[John Dallman]

For me, it depends on the game system. The games I mostly play are

• GURPS 4e, which you're expected to customise to some degree, mostly by leaving stuff out. I don't add much to the rules, because I find the default assumptions comfortable.
• AD&D1e, where everyone I know changes a few things (not pre-selecting spells, for example), and I use one DM's initiative system, another's non-weapon proficiencies, character classes collected from all sorts of places, and so on.

 

[Fenris-77]

I'm a bricolage guy. How much I tweak depends on the system and my desired outcome. Sometimes I'll run bog standard, other times Ill hack it until it fits. I use the tools at hand to esure the play outcome I'm looking for.

 

[aco175]

We try to play be the rules, but some of the old 4e/3e rules come through. There may be a few house rules depending on how we play.

 

[Blue]

I run by the rules. I allow from official sources basically, and am more than willing to make it just a subset to fit the setting/theme/feel. I will occasionally allow specific targeted UA. For example, a beastmaster ranger in my current game is using the UA Class Features options for animal companion.

I can use a couple of official variants, and occasionally have house rules. For example, my house rules in one game I'm running currently are (and the other games I'm running have less):

Rest variant
Rests assume some level of comfort and safety. They may not occur just because you sleep or take lunch.
Reason: This is primarily during exploration parts of this particular campaign, to fit encounter pacing rules. I can have what would be one day in a dungeon crawl spread over three weeks of an exploratrion in unknown jungles and both have the same number of rests. Just to divorce the pacing from timekeeping to make travel/exploration times reasonable without impacting game mechanics. Inspired by Adventures in Middle Earth, where in the Journey phase you don't get long rests at all except if at a sanctuary like Elrond's

Inspiration
Declare Inspiration after seeing the roll. If thematic, you can give someone your Inspiration if they need it. Players give out inspiration (I have a group I trust and they don't abuse this.)
Reason: Make Inspiration meaningful by not having it useless if the roll doesn't need it.. Help players remember it by making it retroactive - when they rolled a 6 on a CON save is when they remember . Don't have to keep track of five traits times six players to give it out.

 

[Lanefan]

"I make new games" doesn't apply because I'm using an existing game as a framework, but as there's no "I slowly rewrite the whole game" option I had to vote for extensive houserules.

For the bonus question, I include "my friends" as part of "my" options as to me 3pp means something commercial and-or much more remote; yet not all my game's modifications are my own.

 

[Fenris-77]

Jeeze. Way to put the whole thread in question.

 

[thom_likes_gaming]

I feel lonely being the only 'by the book' vote...