Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Out with the old (Game design traditions we should let go)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="overgeeked" data-source="post: 8674293" data-attributes="member: 86653"><p>The amount of trust required to play an RPG with people is already really high. Instead of trusting the referee to have read and attempted to memorize the rules and to actually follow them, you trust the referee to know the genre and run the game according to that knowledge rather than the limitations of the book.</p><p></p><p>Synchronized understanding? That’s literally what Session Zero is for. They still take place. And if there’s an asynchronous moment in game then you pause and talk, just like you’d have to with rules disputes. </p><p></p><p>Again, Session Zero and the referee is there to guide you. And I’m not actually advocating for free-form, rather utterly minimalistic rules. </p><p></p><p>You see pointers and warnings signs, I see limitations and constraints. For the system to “allow” you to do something it has to have mechanical support, yet it’s not possible to have a rule for everything. At best you can have a few broadly applicable rules that cover most things. Which is what I want. Utterly minimalistic rules that you only use when necessary. I don’t like pure free-form. A sentence, a paragraph, a 3x5 card. That’s enough rules. One or two pages if you must but that should also cover specific genre expectations if you’re getting that long winded. </p><p></p><p>Besides, praising mechanical restraints completely ignores the fun of the game, being able to try anything. That’s what the referee is there for. To figure out the right response to the players’ whacky plans that aren’t covered by the rules. It’s the difference between a coloring book and a canvas.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="overgeeked, post: 8674293, member: 86653"] The amount of trust required to play an RPG with people is already really high. Instead of trusting the referee to have read and attempted to memorize the rules and to actually follow them, you trust the referee to know the genre and run the game according to that knowledge rather than the limitations of the book. Synchronized understanding? That’s literally what Session Zero is for. They still take place. And if there’s an asynchronous moment in game then you pause and talk, just like you’d have to with rules disputes. Again, Session Zero and the referee is there to guide you. And I’m not actually advocating for free-form, rather utterly minimalistic rules. You see pointers and warnings signs, I see limitations and constraints. For the system to “allow” you to do something it has to have mechanical support, yet it’s not possible to have a rule for everything. At best you can have a few broadly applicable rules that cover most things. Which is what I want. Utterly minimalistic rules that you only use when necessary. I don’t like pure free-form. A sentence, a paragraph, a 3x5 card. That’s enough rules. One or two pages if you must but that should also cover specific genre expectations if you’re getting that long winded. Besides, praising mechanical restraints completely ignores the fun of the game, being able to try anything. That’s what the referee is there for. To figure out the right response to the players’ whacky plans that aren’t covered by the rules. It’s the difference between a coloring book and a canvas. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Out with the old (Game design traditions we should let go)
Top