Your approach to rules

[der_kluge]

Not sure how this will go, but Qasqueton's post about following the rules inspired me.

Answer as appropriately as possible.

(this is a poll, for those responding before I complete it)

 

[diaglo]

i follow the guidelines.

 

[VirgilCaine]

What kind of rules are we talking about here, though?

 

[Celebrim]

We just had a huge and somewhat heated debate on this in the rules forum.

I follow the rules except when the rules grossly offend my sense of realism and forbid a character from doing something which he obviously should be able to do. In which case, I alter the rules on the fly and then try my best to stick to those new rules. Fortunately, the 3rd edition rules set has gotten good enough that the need for on the fly fixes are relatively rare.

 

[John Morrow]

When I want rules to cover what happens in the game, I use a rules-heavy system like d20 or Hero and look up the rules as needed. If I want to just make stuff up on the fly to keep the game moving, I'll use a rules-light system like Fudge which is designed for the GM to make stuff up on the fly to keep the game moving. Right tool for the job and all that...

 

[Henry]

I think option #3 seriously describes me best. I try not to spend an inordinate amount of time rules-referencing or rules-checking. If it's more than 30 seconds to 1 minute, I'm more confortable using something that seems sensible, then going back later to check the real rules. What I try not to do is let the rules detract from the game time.

 

[DaveMage]

I like to know the rules so I take the time to look it up.

Generally, the only time I don't use RAW is during character creation.

 

[Lhorgrim]

I voted for 5 Minutes. I would normally say 30 seconds, but my group is new to the game, and each other, so I try to make sure that everyone learns the rule.

I also try to anticipate rules that I am not too familiar with coming up in play and check them before the session (E.G. NPC special attacks or abilities).

 

[der_kluge]

What kind of rules are we talking about here, though?

Well, an example from a game I ran a while back - shield bash.

A player charged and did a shield bash. I didn't know them off-hand, but knew they existed. We had to look them up. It also took us a while to find the amount of damage dealt.

 

[francisca]

I said 30 seconds, but let me qualify it. This is for d20. I get away with 30 seconds for 2 reasons:

1) CMG SRD on my laptop.
2) Divide and conquer: "Eric, look up feat X. Joe, I want you to check if feat y or skill z grants a synergy bonus".

For 1e and B/X I generally just know it, or someone else at the table does.