To RAW or not to RAW...

[irdeggman]

I voted casual pluse house rules but would rather have voted RAW plus house rules.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Here are some more 'crazy RAW' possibilities:
“This spell causes an object to radiate shadowy illumination out to a 20-foot radius”. RAW implies that the Darkness spell can improve the ambient lighting conditions in a pitch-black room.

I've never understood why this one is considered crazy...

-Hyp.

 

[Cedric]

Sorry for any confusion, I guess in creating the poll I just considered RAW to be its very own category.

If you add to it, then it's no longer RAW. (Kind of like, the whole rules, and nothing but the rules). I saw it as an oxymoron, so left it off. Again, sorry for any confusion.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Sorry for any confusion, I guess in creating the poll I just considered RAW to be its very own category.

If you add to it, then it's no longer RAW. (Kind of like, the whole rules, and nothing but the rules). I saw it as an oxymoron, so left it off. Again, sorry for any confusion.

I agree. If it is RAW + House Rules, then aren't you basically saying "We use whatever rules make the most sense, with RAW taking precedence"? The moment you play using a house rule, you are no longer playing by RAW. Or is my thinking off base here?

 

[ThirdWizard]

For someone interested in using RAW, House Rules are more important, I would think. If you are more concerned with your game using "common sense" and realims interprietations of the rules, then it isn't important to you whether you're playing by the RAW anyway. To someone who is playing according to the RAW, it is important to know when one is deviating from it, so that documented House Rules become more important.

The point isn't blindly following the RAW, the point is being aware of the RAW and knowing when you want to follow it, when you want to break it (HR), and whether or not which is worth it.

 

[Cedric]

I agree. If it is RAW + House Rules, then aren't you basically saying "We use whatever rules make the most sense, with RAW taking precedence"? The moment you play using a house rule, you are no longer playing by RAW. Or is my thinking off base here?

Not to me, that's precisely what I had in mind when I created the poll. I think people just too umbrage with my use of the word casual.

I tried to clarify it, but I don't think some people read my clarification and even those who did still may not have felt it matched their choice.

 

[KarinsDad]

I voted casual pluse house rules but would rather have voted RAW plus house rules.

Ditto.

 

[KarinsDad]

I've never understood why this one is considered crazy...

It's due to the historic use of the spell Darkness and the name Darkness itself.

It implies (and used to be) increasing the Darkness, not decreasing it.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I would personally have voted RAW + Houserules. I voted Casual play + Houserules because that was the best option for me.

However, the reason that I don't like Casual + Houserulles in place of RAW + Houserules is simple. In my games, I either use a rule or I don't. If I use the rule, it is used as written. If I don't use the rule, then I house rule a totally new rule. There isn't any changing the meaning of the rule so that it makes sense. If I don't like a rule, I eliminate it and possible replace it.

I'll give a few examples to help clarify:

I typically eliminate the favored class element of the game. I opt not to replace anything instead of it. Thus, it does not really fit the Casual option because I didn't modify it, I merely removed it.

I Houseruled the Dodge Feat. I didn't like the added complexity of people having to keep track of against whom their AC increases. So, I eliminated the rule completely and replaced the Dodge feat rules with a new one. AC increases by 1. This isn't a mere reinterpretation of the existing rule, it is a new rule caused by the elimination of the aspect that the AC only goes up against one opponent.

Anyway, I don't mean this to be argumentative. Rather, I hoped to explain why I don't "reinterpret rules." I eiether like them or replace them.

 

[ThirdWizard]

EDIT: My intent for this option is that the changes would not be so significant as to be considered House Rules, since that has its own option. It would basically be your groups version of the rules as you interpret them to be intended.

From the viewpoint of someone intersted in what is and what is not RAW...

I find that odd. A different version of the rules is, by definition, a House Rule as far as I know. There's no "It's close, so its not really a change." If you change the rules, you are using House Rules.

Someone interested in the RAW, just codifies them and makes sure everyone knows when they're being changed. Someone not interested in the RAW just makes rulings as they arise and remembers them or not. But, a change is still a change right? And, that's what a House Rule is.

The focus of wanting to know the Rules as Written isn't the end goal in itself. It's looking for an understanding of how the rules actually work despite how you want them to work. So your casual person might disagree with a rule and "interpriet" in a way they like instead. A RAW person will not like how a rule is worded and make a House Rule to correct it.

But that doesn't mean I don't like House Rules. It just means I want to know when I'm using one!