Your approach to rules

[Roadkill101]

Normally i'll just make something up on the fly to keep the game going. If it's something I'll need to to remember for for frequent usage and will have a serious effect on the game, I'll take maybe up to a minute to look it up, or wait until I have time to look it up properly and implement the rule in the next session. And just to be fair to the players I let them know when I'm flying by the seat of my pants and the issue will be addressed properly for the next time.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Five minutes is a long time not to be able to find something in the books. I can see it taking that long every once in a while, but really two minutes is usually all it takes.

If I am reasonably certain something will come up during a game that I'm sketchy on, then I'll make notes before-hand. For example, I ran an owlbear recently and hadn't done much with grappling, so I wrote down all the steps just so I would be sure to run Improved Grab correctly. Or, if a seldom used condition is involved, I'll write down all the effects of said condition in the description. I guess in this case it helps that I don't use random encounters.

If a player brings something up, and I don't know how it works, we can find it pretty fast. I at least know where to look things up in the book fairly quickly, and the index, while not perfect, is a nice quick resource. I peruse the Rules forum a lot, and that helps tremendously for those things that rarely come up but are confusing when they do, so that helps as well.

If for some reason we can't find something after five minutes, and it does happen occasionally, then we'll go with an educated guess, write down the problem, and find how its supposed to work after the game with everyone knowing that if the rules are different, then it won't run the same next time. Usually doing such in the players' favor if possible. When this happens, we usually find that we've guessed right anyway.

 

[Kel]

(This is my first post ever, BTW. Hi all.)

I chose the 5-minute option, although generally it doesn't take me that long to find the answer or realize that the answer probably doesn't exist.

I for one hate doing anything in contravention of the RAW (unless I have an express house rule on the issue). If I make a certain determination during a session, then realize later that it wasn't correct under the RAW or house rules, it doesn't sit well with me. I think its because I know that any given combat/encounter can hinge upon little details like whether such-and-such creature was affected by a spell, or what the exact modifiers are for a particular action, etc. Of course, I am a lawyer by profession, so maybe its just my nature...

Signed,
Anal-Retentive DM

 

[was]

I chose the thirty second option because these conflicts, in my experience, usually come up in the middle of combat. Neither myself or my players like stopping in the middle of a good fight to spend a lot of time looking up an obscure rule. If we're not sure about it after thirty seconds, I let it go if it sounds reasonable or work out a quick compromise. We then look it up properly after the scenario has played itself out.

 

[Wombat]

RPGs are not boardgames or wargames; I like to be consistent with the rules most of the time, but I rarely sweat the little stuff.

Depending on the exact situation when the question comes up, I might look quickly through a book, make up a rule on the fly, or simply judge as seems appropriate to the story. The point for me and my crew is that we want the story to keep going, not to worry about minutiae. So flow wins over exactitude everytime in our games -- it always works out right in the aggregate in the end.

Excessive searching for rules slows matters down and takes away from the adventure aspect of the game.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Game flow is important to me. If there is a rule for something, but I am not too sure of it, I just allow it to happen. I make a note of thingsthat happen during game play and read them over every once in a while. I have my own index that I put together for the spells, and I'm currently working on one for combat rules. I also keep a photocopy of page 135 from the PHB handy, should anyone need to look over the basic combat rules.

 

[IronWolf]

I voted the 30 seconds, but I am closer to the one minute time frame. We then play with how I think it works (or have been swayed to think it works in that time frame). Then on the following week we cover it on the message board we use for between game communication. There we can debate the rule and each give our opinion of how a rule might work.

 

[der_kluge]

Anyone else but me find it odd that only ~5% of people on here know all the rules? Is this game too complicated?

 

[Psion]

Anyone else but me find it odd that only ~5% of people on here know all the rules? Is this game too complicated?

Nah. It's easier to look up and/or learn rules than make ones up on the fly that are consistent and sensible.

 

[DarrenGMiller]

I voted for 5 minutes, but I have a player who can give me a page number within about 20 seconds and I can look it up quickly and read it aloud.


DM