Do you let your players know your House Rules?

[Thanee]

Yep, generally all house rules are discussed with the players and usually only concluded with their agreement.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Honesty and good communication are important. I would tell my players. This is akin to letting someone read background material that they aren't supposed to know. Even though it's counterintuitive and requires some efforts to not use out of character knowledge, it increases buy-in. Granted, the maturity level of the players matters too.

Edit: Plural = are, not is.

 

[Umbran]

I don't necessarily discuss all house rules. I think there are a few that the characters would not know about, and that they can discover in-game.

However, the example you give probably isn't one of them. DR is not really "beyond character knowledge checks", as some skills specifically give characters knowledge of monster traits. There are some monsters that are pretty well known and understood in most fantasy worlds that have DR. Trolls, for example - eveyrone in a D&D world has heard of them, and their famous vulnerabilities and strengths. They are tough to kill, but not because their strengths are secret. Thus, the DC on these checks should probably be low enough that the general mechanic for DR will be known.

 

[GlassJaw]

If you are changing things that are fundamental mechanics, I think you have to tell them. Sure, DR isn't something that affects their characters directly but I still think they should know so everyone will be on the same page. That's what the rules are for in the first place. There's nothing worse as a player than having some house rule sprung on you during play.

Now if you are changing things based on your campaign setting (like the color of dragons having no effect on their breath weapons or something), then no, you don't have to tell the players.

 

[Belen]

I have a published house rules document. My players are free to challenge any house rule if they disagree with it. I much prefer having a cooperative game and their comments always help refine rules rather than my creating something that could be clunky.

 

[billd91]

I think it's the responsibility of the DM to let the PCs know what his house rules are just as the players are responsible for knowing the rules with respect to their characters. I'm a believer in full disclosure because it's not just my game. Premeditated deviations from the rules should be hashed out with the other participants in any game... unless you're playing Calvinball.
That said, once the rule mechanics are in place, if a monster varies from the norm in the MM, as long as it still follows the agreed upon rules, that's fine and needn't be exposed.

 

[Darklone]

I try to. Sometimes I forgot to tell them.

 

[vulcan_idic]

I say you should definitely tell them. Our group does house rules by consensus usually anyway, though this probably has a lot to do with the fact that there are people taking turns as DMs. It also helps give any proposed house rule a bit of a test since all confer and then agree or disagree, so it helps insure that it's not one person changing something to suit their tastes and not realizing how it affects other things (not as much an issue for behind the curtain stuff, but still).

Or say the DM house rules that Scent now works over 10 ft... <snip> It is related to monsters and hence DM terrain only (beyond character knowledge checks) so technically it's not player domain.

Note about this, it is possible for PC's - monster characters or via spells or (for Druids) with a feat (from Masters of the Wild) - to gain Scent, so knowing this particular alteration might affect how they build their characters and thus should certainly be communicated to them I think.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

For the campaign I am about to start tomorrow, I wrote up all the house rules I know I plan to incorporate. The players will have a chance to look at them and discuss any reservations they have. House rules can be revisited later to see if they are working well, and I have specifically reserved the right to make additional house rules later as needed. New house rules will be presented and discussed briefly. They will not be dropped suddenly on the players in the middle of an encounter. If it appears a new house rule is needed, the encounter will be completed using core rules as best we can and the house rule will only be applied to the next time it comes up.

 

[Arnwyn]

So, the questions is - what do you tell players about your house rules? Should they know everything? Or can certain house rules be kept to yourself?

For me: if the original rule source is in the PHB or a player's book, then yes, I tell them. If it's in any DM-related source, then no, I don't tell them.