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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8298064" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>I don't agree with this.</p><p></p><p>Let's start with a boardgame/parlour game: Codenames. Codenames has rules about how one may or may not group and describe the words that are revealed on the playing surface. Those rules discuss how the semantic content may and may not be played with (what we could call rules for "punning"); the relevance of how a word is spelled; etc.</p><p></p><p>Those rules deal with how ideas are presented and how imagination is exercised. They're not house rules; they're rules of the game.</p><p></p><p>Let's now consider free kriegsspiel. There are principles that govern how the referee is to extrapolate the fiction. The referee is expected to apply his/her knowledge of warfare, and to be informed by that in making "realistic" adjudications. These principles are not house rules. They're rules of the game.</p><p></p><p>(There is at least one field sport I know of that requires its umpires to make counterfactual judgements based on their observations and expertise: cricket, in the call of LBW.)</p><p></p><p>The principles and techniques that govern action resolution and framing in Burning Wheel and Apocalypse World are not house rules/principles/techniques. They're stated in the rulebooks. As far as the player-side principles are concerned, the Burning Wheel rulebook refers to "the sacred and most holy role of the players". That's not mere suggestion as to possible house rules one might adopt! And if players neglect their duties (a word that is also used in the same part of the book) the game will fall apart, in some very obvious ways.</p><p></p><p>In the case of Gygaxian D&D the principles and techniques are not fully spelled out (qv my post upthread about Classic Traveller, which is a <em>much</em> more cleanly edited and presented RPG text than Gygax's ones). But one can pretty easily infer them from what <em>is </em>said together with knowledge of how Gygax et al played the game, and looking at the design of the modules that most closely conform to or exemplify the sorts of things that the rulebooks talk about.</p><p></p><p>I don't think calling them "house rules" sheds any light. And I think it is potentially misleading. Trying to talk about Gygaxian skilled play without reference to the relevant principles and techniques won't shed much light.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8298064, member: 42582"] I don't agree with this. Let's start with a boardgame/parlour game: Codenames. Codenames has rules about how one may or may not group and describe the words that are revealed on the playing surface. Those rules discuss how the semantic content may and may not be played with (what we could call rules for "punning"); the relevance of how a word is spelled; etc. Those rules deal with how ideas are presented and how imagination is exercised. They're not house rules; they're rules of the game. Let's now consider free kriegsspiel. There are principles that govern how the referee is to extrapolate the fiction. The referee is expected to apply his/her knowledge of warfare, and to be informed by that in making "realistic" adjudications. These principles are not house rules. They're rules of the game. (There is at least one field sport I know of that requires its umpires to make counterfactual judgements based on their observations and expertise: cricket, in the call of LBW.) The principles and techniques that govern action resolution and framing in Burning Wheel and Apocalypse World are not house rules/principles/techniques. They're stated in the rulebooks. As far as the player-side principles are concerned, the Burning Wheel rulebook refers to "the sacred and most holy role of the players". That's not mere suggestion as to possible house rules one might adopt! And if players neglect their duties (a word that is also used in the same part of the book) the game will fall apart, in some very obvious ways. In the case of Gygaxian D&D the principles and techniques are not fully spelled out (qv my post upthread about Classic Traveller, which is a [I]much[/I] more cleanly edited and presented RPG text than Gygax's ones). But one can pretty easily infer them from what [I]is [/I]said together with knowledge of how Gygax et al played the game, and looking at the design of the modules that most closely conform to or exemplify the sorts of things that the rulebooks talk about. I don't think calling them "house rules" sheds any light. And I think it is potentially misleading. Trying to talk about Gygaxian skilled play without reference to the relevant principles and techniques won't shed much light. [/QUOTE]
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