GMs: With What Do You Tinker?

[John Dallman]

For OD&D/AD&D1e, I tinker with everything: my own setting, almost no pre-written adventures, heavily customised lists, a few well-tried rules changes.

For GURPS 4e, I'm using another GM's setting, in a different part of the world, and many of the same GURPS tools, but with a different style, at least so far. We've played six sessions, with six players. They've made a total of 17 arrests, and not killed anyone yet.

 

[aramis erak]

I should note as well: As a player, if the GM starts listing a bunch of house rules, I leave. If they can't be legibly handwritten on a 4×6 inch index card, I'm GONE.

As a GM, excepting MegaTraveller, I don't run games where my house rules are that long, either - I switch to different games. Life's too short to deal with most of the hare-brained ideas most GMs come up with in terms of house rules with unintended consequences.

 

[CleverNickName]

I should note as well: As a player, if the GM starts listing a bunch of house rules, I leave. If they can't be legibly handwritten on a 4×6 inch index card, I'm GONE.

As a GM, excepting MegaTraveller, I don't run games where my house rules are that long, either - I switch to different games. Life's too short to deal with most of the hare-brained ideas most GMs come up with in terms of house rules with unintended consequences.

You probably wouldn't enjoy my game very much. I only have a handful of houserules, but only one of them would fit on an index card ("All healing potions heal the maximum amount possible, and cost 50% more. For example, a potion of healing cures 10 hp when consumed, and costs 75gp").

But it sounds like my house-rules for rolling stats and hit points would probably sour you on it.

 

[aramis erak]

You probably wouldn't enjoy my game very much. I only have a handful of houserules, but only one of them would fit on an index card ("All healing potions heal the maximum amount possible, and cost 50% more. For example, a potion of healing cures 10 hp when consumed, and costs 75gp").

But it sounds like my house-rules for rolling stats and hit points would probably sour you on it.

Maybe. My issue is more with the ill thought out, and especially the "not conveyed to the players before play" variety.

I'm one of those "Rules up front, as a social contract"... my cheat sheets are always annotated with the house rules in force, and often, for options, which source they're from.

My MegaTraveller house rules, however, are, functionally, a whole new Player's Manual. I've not run it in a while... and honestly, probably won't do so again. I enjoyed Alien more and with fewer house rules, scratching the same itch. Coriolis looks to be likely to do the same. (same core mechanics, similar treatment and genre. Coriolis looks very much like the setting from the Chronicles of Riddick.)

 

[GMMichael]

This is a fun question, thanks for asking it!

My pleasure!

I not only tinker with all three, I tinker with that which was not listed. Settings!

That's fair, but to me the setting is a part of the adventure. It's all the non-rules fluff. We could, if we really wanted, say that Rules are to Lists as Settings are to Adventures...

When I first started playing, I didn't tinker with anything. We were running B/X and BECM rules, and that system was fluid enough to handle just about any curve we wanted to throw into it. I used the rules and lists in the books, and played the published adventures.

Same for me. Why tinker with rules, when they had an answer for everything and they were made by pros?

I tinker with it all when given the opportunity:

• Lists: first on the chopping block. Spell's broken? Throw it out. Weapon doesn't fit the chronology? Throw it out. Obvious fauna are missing from the list? Start adding monsters. Warlock? Throw it out.
• Rules: I'm analyzing these more often than the adventure. Maybe it's my playstyle; I spend my time shaping the story in my head, and the rules just pop up to take the place of physics or the will of the gods. But it's mostly simulationist (I think). If I go from thinking about the story to thinking about the rules, then it feels like I've switched to a board (collectible card?) game, and rules will need tinkering.
• Adventures: add or remove encounters for pacing, and keeping the PCs alive (uh oh!). NPCs and place names will face some adjustment to fit into the setting, since I prefer campaigns over one-offs. Adventures often include lists or list-items, so some co-tinkering tends to happen here.