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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Irlo" data-source="post: 9133183" data-attributes="member: 7028372">I don't think anyone claimed in that other thread that all gamers have mostly the same informal social contracts or rules. These things are specific to the participants. And even among the same group of participants, the expectations vary from game to game and campaign to campaign.And, again, I don't think anyone claimed that those social contracts are secret.Like most groups, my primary game table has informal agreements for out-of-game matters -- play at the DM's house,  bring your own beverages, bring snacks to share, be ready to chip in for a vegetarian pizza if you're gaming through lunchtime, share your dice with people who forgot theirs or don't have their own set. The more interesting discussion is about the social contract related to in-game activities. These vary widely, but here are a few that apply to one of my gaming groups:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The DM doesn't go out of the way to provide safe havens for short or long rests. It's up to the PCs to decide the timing and location of any attempted recuperation. The DM doesn't go out of the way to interrupt rests, either, to manage the pacing of the game or the resources of the party.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We hand-wave encumbrance for PCs and NPCs. Heavy loads might slow down our overland travel but generally doesn't affect movement in combat. None of the players question the movement rates of heavily-laden monsters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Occassonially the DM accidentally slips back into  3rd edition rules for minor stuff when we're playing 5th. I used to correct him. That didn't add to the game, and the slips don't detract from it, so now we let it go and keep playing.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Players keep rough inventory lists. If we don't have it on our list, we don't have the item -- to a point. We don't question whether a particular outfit includes gloves or a mess kit includes a 6" cast iron skillet. If I need a button, I can pluck one from my tunic without worrying about whether the button was recorded on my character sheet. That level of detail is handled on the fly. We don't abuse the privilege. Some of us track ammunition. Some of us forget to do that. We drop some upkeep expenses anytime we get to town without worrying much about what specifcially we're spending money on.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The DM is NOT expected to have pre-determined details of NPC inventories or the contents of rooms or much of anything. Players have leeway in referencing objectst that fit the general descriptions of areas. If there's a working kitchen, and a player indicates the PC grabs a chunk of cheese to eat later, the DM won't force an "Is there cheese in the kitchen?" roll and won't veto the action -- unless there's an sufficient justification for the veto. "I didn't specifically plan for there to be cheese here" is not a sufficient justification. A haunting by a cheese-eating ghost would be sufficient justification.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We don't play often enough and we're lousy at taking notes. The DM provides recaps at the start of each session and reminds us of important details. The DM does not treat the players' forgetfulness as the PC's forgetfulness.</li> </ul>We don't expect these informal agreements to apply to anyone but our own group in this particular campaign. When we all die and start a new party, we could agree to do things differently to support a different gaming experience.</blockquote>

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