I got a chance to see the new Star Trek movie and I really liked it. Don’t worry, I’m not going to put any spoilers in here so feel free to read on.
I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Trek fan out there. I watched a lot of the original as a kid (with a pretty uncritical eye) and have seen most or all of Next Generation. But I never watched much of the other spin-off series. So if you’re looking for somebody to be outraged about nitpicky things concerning the relaunch, you’ll have to find somebody else.
I liked the first film in the new series, and I liked this one even more. It’s taken a bit of processing but I’ve come to the conclusion that Kirk is a big reason why. I totally dig this version of Kirk. I absolutely love that he’s willing to break the rules when he sees them as getting in the way of what’s right. I won’t give examples (I said no spoilers!) but it’s a character trait that appeals to me personally.
It’s not that I’m a renegade who seeks to break every rule in the book. I’m really not. I’m a law abiding citizen. I wait my turn in the line at the grocery and the bank. When the sign says, “Lane ends in ½ mile,” I go ahead and merge over instead of speeding on ahead and trying to force my way in further up the line.
On the other hand, I think there should probably be a few less rules in the book. I see a lot in our society that feels needlessly over regulated. A lot of “zero tolerance” that ends with incredibly stupid results because somebody would rather have a firm rule than employ more common sense.
Where I feel some kinship with Kirk is when I feel like my principles point me at smashing a rule, I smash it. Judge me by my results rather than whether I followed all the rules. If there are consequences to breaking the rules, I’ll suffer them without complaint. I think the consequences for breaking it are probably less than the consequences for not.
This attitude definitely spills over into my gaming, both in terms of how I run games and play them. First, I’ve come to enjoy games with a few big rules instead of a lot of little ones. It’s easier to remember a smaller number of rules and easier to know when you’re about to break one. When a game has only a few rules, I tend to respect them more. It feels like they are there for better reasons.
My roleplaying often reflects this too. I’m MUCH more likely to play a Chaotic Neutral Rogue than a Lawful Good Paladin. That doesn’t mean I try to screw over the party or want chaos to reign supreme. Again, outcomes are more important to me than doing things the “proper” way. Hell, even the Paladins I’ve played have been more of the stripe who prefer a few big rules instead of a lot of small ones. I particularly roll my eyes at the idea that my Paladin must spare the life of some evil baddie because they might want to repent. That guy should have repented yesterday! He didn’t. That’s why I’m here with this sword.
My willingness to break the rules extends to the meta level, too. I respect a GM’s right to run the game the way he sees fit. I am not somebody who seeks to create problems at another GM’s gaming table. But when I’m running the game I will break a rule in a skinny minute if it means everybody has more fun. When the rule seems to be in the way of the fun I always think breaking it has fewer consequences than not breaking it.
I know not everybody is like this and that’s probably for the best. But I think most of the time when I’m bringing this attitude to somebody it’s because they could use a little dose of it. It crops up quite a bit in my coaching. I got to see an example of it today.
I spoke to a client who told me that he was stressed about trying to get some work done on a project for a friend. He had offered his help without really understanding he had neither the time nor the enthusiasm for the project. But it was a friend so he couldn’t say no. The implied social rules of this situation suggest failing to follow through is the wrong thing to do.
I told him that this was a great time to break the rules and tell his friend he was sorry but couldn’t help. After all, was he really even helping? He had already missed a deadline and was struggling to scrape together some time and ideas for this project. Is that really the sort of help his friend was looking for? He’d be doing his friend a favor by bowing out as soon as possible and letting him find somebody who had real passion for this project to take over that work.
It will have consequences for the friendship if he does this, although I have a decent grasp on the nature of this friendship and don’t think those consequences will be dire. But it will have consequences for the friendship if he does a half-assed job, too. I think he’s better off doing the former rather than the latter. Screw the rules.
When have you broken life’s rules to achieve a better outcome? Do you set aside the rules in your games when they feel like they are in the way?
I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Trek fan out there. I watched a lot of the original as a kid (with a pretty uncritical eye) and have seen most or all of Next Generation. But I never watched much of the other spin-off series. So if you’re looking for somebody to be outraged about nitpicky things concerning the relaunch, you’ll have to find somebody else.
I liked the first film in the new series, and I liked this one even more. It’s taken a bit of processing but I’ve come to the conclusion that Kirk is a big reason why. I totally dig this version of Kirk. I absolutely love that he’s willing to break the rules when he sees them as getting in the way of what’s right. I won’t give examples (I said no spoilers!) but it’s a character trait that appeals to me personally.
It’s not that I’m a renegade who seeks to break every rule in the book. I’m really not. I’m a law abiding citizen. I wait my turn in the line at the grocery and the bank. When the sign says, “Lane ends in ½ mile,” I go ahead and merge over instead of speeding on ahead and trying to force my way in further up the line.
On the other hand, I think there should probably be a few less rules in the book. I see a lot in our society that feels needlessly over regulated. A lot of “zero tolerance” that ends with incredibly stupid results because somebody would rather have a firm rule than employ more common sense.
Where I feel some kinship with Kirk is when I feel like my principles point me at smashing a rule, I smash it. Judge me by my results rather than whether I followed all the rules. If there are consequences to breaking the rules, I’ll suffer them without complaint. I think the consequences for breaking it are probably less than the consequences for not.
This attitude definitely spills over into my gaming, both in terms of how I run games and play them. First, I’ve come to enjoy games with a few big rules instead of a lot of little ones. It’s easier to remember a smaller number of rules and easier to know when you’re about to break one. When a game has only a few rules, I tend to respect them more. It feels like they are there for better reasons.
My roleplaying often reflects this too. I’m MUCH more likely to play a Chaotic Neutral Rogue than a Lawful Good Paladin. That doesn’t mean I try to screw over the party or want chaos to reign supreme. Again, outcomes are more important to me than doing things the “proper” way. Hell, even the Paladins I’ve played have been more of the stripe who prefer a few big rules instead of a lot of small ones. I particularly roll my eyes at the idea that my Paladin must spare the life of some evil baddie because they might want to repent. That guy should have repented yesterday! He didn’t. That’s why I’m here with this sword.
My willingness to break the rules extends to the meta level, too. I respect a GM’s right to run the game the way he sees fit. I am not somebody who seeks to create problems at another GM’s gaming table. But when I’m running the game I will break a rule in a skinny minute if it means everybody has more fun. When the rule seems to be in the way of the fun I always think breaking it has fewer consequences than not breaking it.
I know not everybody is like this and that’s probably for the best. But I think most of the time when I’m bringing this attitude to somebody it’s because they could use a little dose of it. It crops up quite a bit in my coaching. I got to see an example of it today.
I spoke to a client who told me that he was stressed about trying to get some work done on a project for a friend. He had offered his help without really understanding he had neither the time nor the enthusiasm for the project. But it was a friend so he couldn’t say no. The implied social rules of this situation suggest failing to follow through is the wrong thing to do.
I told him that this was a great time to break the rules and tell his friend he was sorry but couldn’t help. After all, was he really even helping? He had already missed a deadline and was struggling to scrape together some time and ideas for this project. Is that really the sort of help his friend was looking for? He’d be doing his friend a favor by bowing out as soon as possible and letting him find somebody who had real passion for this project to take over that work.
It will have consequences for the friendship if he does this, although I have a decent grasp on the nature of this friendship and don’t think those consequences will be dire. But it will have consequences for the friendship if he does a half-assed job, too. I think he’s better off doing the former rather than the latter. Screw the rules.
When have you broken life’s rules to achieve a better outcome? Do you set aside the rules in your games when they feel like they are in the way?
