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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheSword" data-source="post: 8396403" data-attributes="member: 6879661">In 18 years, the only time I ever had a rules debate with someone was when a new (and short lived) player in the group tried to use the rules to do something they weren’t supposed to do. (He wanted his weapon to do disproportionate damage and attack multiple people outside the normal action economy.)I’m a big fan of WFRP 4es approach to rules… ‘these rules are our suggestion but if you can think of a better way then do that.’Now this phrase (or something like it), usually triggers cries of ‘I didn’t pay $50 for an incomplete RPG’ or ‘why should I do the designers work for them.’ Which goes to show, you can’t please all people all the time.The reality is that making up rules for a group of people whose  likes, dislikes and general preferences you know, is pretty easy. Amending an existing rule set for those people is even easier. Particularly if they’re fun, easy going people. You don’t need to be a game designer for that, you just need some imagination, logic, and maybe a bit of basic maths knowledge.It does help to be a professional game designer to make games for complete strangers, or total ass-hats who will take more pleasure ripping your creation apart and writing about it on forums* than actually playing it themselves. In this situation you have to project yourself into the minds of complete strangers and make all sorts of assumptions. Quite often, rules debates take the form of posters taking concepts far beyond what the designers imagined.The difference between rules for us, and rules for other people is rulings not rules works for some and not for everyone. I’ve lost track of the number of times on the Paizo forums that someone thought they’d won an argument by saying ‘it has to be this way so it’s consistent for Pathfinder Society play’. As if organized play made up more than a fraction of the game base.Rulings not rules for those lucky enough to have good gaming groups.*That isn’t to say everyone who comments on game systems without playing them, is a total ass-hat. Just some of them</blockquote>

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