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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DinoInDisguise" data-source="post: 9549353" data-attributes="member: 7045806">I think this is an example of exactly what I was really getting at. Rules for any individual table are decided by consensus of that table. If 51% of tables use the same rule, that rule becomes more common than any other. If a rule hits a certain level of popularity, it becomes the norm. If we take the above and replace rule with expectation, or convention, it changes nothing.If we remove the textual aspect from this thought exercise.  And we assume a game without a published rule book, but one passed down from generation to generation. If the majority of people use a popular convention for this game, does the original rule matter? At what percentage of use does the convention become the rule?  If only 5% use the original rule, is that a rule or a convention? Does it matter?Here we have the DMG. The DMG has a phrase. That phrase is, by my guess, the overwhelmingly most popular behavior. Does it matter if it is a rule or a convention? If 51% use it, it's more popular than the alternative. At what point does it become the rule? Is it the rule when it's also the expectation? If it is the dominate expectation, let's say 80%, it seemingly becomes the starting point for discussions. At this point is it a rule or convention?I don't see a functional difference. Do I call max HP at level one a rule because it's in the rule book or because it's the dominate way to play? If it's the latter is fudging a rule because it's the most popular? If it's the former, is fudging a rule because it's in the rule book? Is it only developer intent? And if so, using the prior example, is the original rule all that matters even numerous generations after it stops being used? If no, at what point is the original rule no longer the rule, but the convention is?It's really hard to decipher when something is a rule and when it's a convention outside of someone just proclaiming it. So I am really curious where that line is for you. Is it usage based? Is it developer intent? What makes a rule a rule and not a convention? <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🤷‍♂️" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f937-2642.png" title="Man shrugging    :man_shrugging:" data-shortname=":man_shrugging:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" /></blockquote>

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