Rule Zero?

[thedungeondelver]

IT IS THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME, NOT THE LETTER OF THE RULES, WHICH IS IMPORTANT. NEVER HOLD TO THE LETTER WRITTEN, NOR ALLOW SOME BARRACKS ROOM LAWYER TO FORCE QUOTATIONS FROM THE RULE BOOK UPON YOU, IF IT GOES AGAINST THE OBVIOUS INTENT OF THE GAME. AS YOU HEW THE LINE WITH RESPECT TO CONFORMITY TO MAJOR SYSTEMS AND UNIFORMITY OF PLAY IN GENERAL, ALSO BE CERTAIN THE GAME IS MASTERED BY YOU AND NOT BY YOUR PLAYERS. WITHIN THE BROAD PARAMETERS GIVEN IN THE ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS VOLUMES YOU ARE CREATOR AND FINAL ARBITER. BY ORDERING THINGS AS THEY SHOULD BE, THE GAME AS A WHOLE FIRST, YOUR CAMPAIGN NEXT, AND YOUR PARTICIPANTS THEREAFTER, YOU WILL BE PLAYING ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE. MAY YOU FIND AS MUCH PLEASURE IN DOING SO AS THE REST OF US DO!

That pretty much sums up rule 0 for me. And that's the one fiat I as a GM want to always have, even if the game isn't called AD&D

...

 

[Elf Witch]

No, you don't, but rule 0 can certainly encourage that kind of attitude.

Again, I'm not saying they should excise rule 0. I'm saying they should add a bit of advice under rule 0 to the effect that "This isn't license for you to be a tyrant. Memento mori."

A lot of RPG games I play don't have a rule zero and that has not stopped some DMs from being tyrants.


DMs who are tyrants won't be deterred by a a paragraph telling them not to be tyrants because they don't believe they are tyrants.

Maybe I am wrong about this but I have noticed that some people want codified rules to stop people from behaving like jerks at the table. No matter how you write the rules you will never be able to accomplish that.

The best rule of gaming is a simple one don't play with jerks.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The best rule of gaming is a simple one don't play with jerks.

Well, I'd say the best rule of gaming is 'dice that fall on the floor have to be re-rolled on the table', but I get what you're saying.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Will it make any difference though? It was pretty clear at the start of 3e, but if the population of ENworld was representative (and I know it's not), the majority of people proceeded as if it had never been written! There wouldn't have been half the 'RAW' discussions if they had

 

[Elf Witch]

Well, I'd say the best rule of gaming is 'dice that fall on the floor have to be re-rolled on the table', but I get what you're saying.

In our game not only do you have to reroll but since you are up retrieving your dice you have to refill everyone's drinks.

The only exception is the DM we don't make him refill drinks unless he wants to since he holds the power of life and death in his hands.

 

[Zaukrie]

Heck, most games aren't played by the rules, are they? How many Monopoly players play by all the rules? How many of any family games are played 100% by the rules? How many casual golfers play by all the rules? Rule zero is pretty much implied by most games these days....

I think Rule zero ought to be in there....."rule zero is have fun. If that means the DM sometimes fudges the rules, or sometimes the players suggest alternatives during the game, and everyone agrees it would be fun, more power to you."

Why would anyone be opposed to the rules of the game supporting the people playing it playing it like they want to, for fun?

 

[Fanaelialae]

A lot of RPG games I play don't have a rule zero and that has not stopped some DMs from being tyrants.


DMs who are tyrants won't be deterred by a a paragraph telling them not to be tyrants because they don't believe they are tyrants.

Maybe I am wrong about this but I have noticed that some people want codified rules to stop people from behaving like jerks at the table. No matter how you write the rules you will never be able to accomplish that.

The best rule of gaming is a simple one don't play with jerks.

Experienced DMs don't need to read rule 0. They should be familiar with it already, and if the DMG is written only for them then rule 0 is a waste of space.

However, if the DMG is intended for new DMs, those who have never played the game before and are trying to figure it out for themselves for the first time, the concept of rule 0 ought to be explained comprehensively. That includes both pros and cons.

Plenty of tyrant DMs, IME, are not behaving so because they're bad people but because they don't think about what they are doing, and eventually get stuck in their ways. If one or two sentences in the DMG forces even a few future tyrants to think for a moment, and thereby avoid becoming tyrants, don't you think that's worth it?

Plenty of DMs want rule 0 to be in the book so that they can point to it to quell player complaints. The players should have a clause to cite as well, because while rule 0 can be for the good, it can also be abused. Fair is fair, after all.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I'm a firm believer in rule 0.

I don't think the game system should bring balance - that is the GMs job. A player brings a character that is book-legal but much to powerful the GM says "No"

I detest the concept that because an element in published as an official rule, that it then must be legal in every game.


Same in designing the game/campaign - especially in a modular system. It the Setting the GM is using (a home-brew) doesn't have elves because elves make the GMs eyes twitch - no Elves.

I tend to think the game should give options, and the GM sets limits and balance.

 

[nnms]

My thoughts on Rule Zero have generally been that if you need to toss out the rules and just have one person decide things on the fly, then the rules need more work. If they fail so badly that you need to admit from the start that you may have to chuck them out and ignore them, then make rules that don't fail so you don't have to do that.

Rules that Work + Rule 0 is fine though. Then it's just a matter of group preferences. And I think that's important. Rule 0 should be about the group rather than a single person dominating the process about what to do when someone finds the rules results displeasing and you want to set them aside.

I think a more "work together" approach is better than the traditional over emphasis on DM power.

 

[kmdietri]

House ruling I'm 100% fine with. Rule 0 and DM fiat I absolutely hate, and I DM most of the time.