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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 8347869" data-attributes="member: 82106">Yeah, and honestly, when I read that article on &quot;rule 0 in different editions&quot; I don't think it really captures the essence of the thing. For example, OD&amp;D doesn't talk about any sort of 'rule 0' particularly. Yes, it is in many respects a 'war game' sensibility game. Still, it ISN'T A GAME. In fact it says so right at the start, it is a set of rules and guidelines which 'can be used to create a campaign'.In other words, rule 0 would be silly as an explicit thing in original D&amp;D! The reason is the 'system' is no more than a print out of something barely more developed than some notes on the backs of napkins! There's no way you can PLAY it! You have to take all the material and make some sort of a campaign out of it, deciding which parts to use as-is, which parts to replace, which combat system to use, how to run 'survival' if you do a hex crawl (which isn't even spelled out explicitly as a thing beyond calling out AH's Survival board game as a way to resolve it). In other words, a game played using the original 'Wood Grain Box' LBBs, even with Greyhawk and Blackmoor tacked on, heck, tack on Eldritch Wizardry, Gods Demi-Gods &amp; Heroes, and even Spells and Sorcery if you want, you STILL need to actually write up the system you're using! There are hints, suggestions, outlines, and sketches of it there in the books to guide you, but it really is not playable! Also I seem to recall some text in 1e, which also wasn't mentioned in the article, about 'official' AD&amp;D and how you shouldn't change the rules. This, to my mind, is really the nut of what grew into the tree of Rule 0. 1e really tells the GM to step on the necks of the players! It then tells the GM that TSR/EGG is the king of the whole game, lol. Of course then Gary goes on, quixotically, to explain just how much absolute power the DM has, but nobody ever really said he was a very consistent guy...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 8347869, member: 82106"] Yeah, and honestly, when I read that article on "rule 0 in different editions" I don't think it really captures the essence of the thing. For example, OD&D doesn't talk about any sort of 'rule 0' particularly. Yes, it is in many respects a 'war game' sensibility game. Still, it ISN'T A GAME. In fact it says so right at the start, it is a set of rules and guidelines which 'can be used to create a campaign'. In other words, rule 0 would be silly as an explicit thing in original D&D! The reason is the 'system' is no more than a print out of something barely more developed than some notes on the backs of napkins! There's no way you can PLAY it! You have to take all the material and make some sort of a campaign out of it, deciding which parts to use as-is, which parts to replace, which combat system to use, how to run 'survival' if you do a hex crawl (which isn't even spelled out explicitly as a thing beyond calling out AH's Survival board game as a way to resolve it). In other words, a game played using the original 'Wood Grain Box' LBBs, even with Greyhawk and Blackmoor tacked on, heck, tack on Eldritch Wizardry, Gods Demi-Gods & Heroes, and even Spells and Sorcery if you want, you STILL need to actually write up the system you're using! There are hints, suggestions, outlines, and sketches of it there in the books to guide you, but it really is not playable! Also I seem to recall some text in 1e, which also wasn't mentioned in the article, about 'official' AD&D and how you shouldn't change the rules. This, to my mind, is really the nut of what grew into the tree of Rule 0. 1e really tells the GM to step on the necks of the players! It then tells the GM that TSR/EGG is the king of the whole game, lol. Of course then Gary goes on, quixotically, to explain just how much absolute power the DM has, but nobody ever really said he was a very consistent guy... [/QUOTE]

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