RPG Tips With Crimson #5: Guidelines on House Rules. · 6:55pm Jul 20th, 2018
You know what I feel like when someone introduces a new house rule for a game, doesn't tell me about it, and then penalizes me for breaking a rule I didn't know?
Seriously though, it's not a good thing so today I'm going to talk a little bit about guidelines on house rules.
So as you can probably guess I have recently had an unfriendly experience with this exact topic. Well more than a few if I'm going to be honest here but as to where originally I was going to rant about those games I decided to wait until I found out what was really being expressed through my emotions and how it could be transformed into a tool to help people. So here I am with some thoughts and a simple guideline on how to host house rules with little offense to players.
First off i want to mention that house rules can be awesome. No single game is perfect and even if you don't want to change any of the official rules of the game you may want to add to them, or have rules about manners at the table. Now how does one go about having house rules in a game? Well I would suggest first taking a look at what your house rule does, how does it affect the game mechanics, and how will it affect your players ability to play the game? Does it make them more powerful in combat? Stay alive longer? Does it punish them for stupid actions harshly? These are things you should consider deeply before making a new house rule as something as simple as changing squares on a map to being ten feet each instead of five feet each will change every little thing about the entire game. (BTW yes that is a real example.)
Once you figure out what your rule does. Both the positives and negatives, I'd suggest finding a place to write them down where everyone can easily access them. Google Docs is a wonderful place to put new house rules. If not that, a white board, or even a piece of paper that you put in the middle of the table at the beginning of every session are great ways to help make sure your players can see and remember all the rules. Make them accessible. No one likes having random penalties for doing something they didn't know about, and to someone who didn't know the rule, it feels random and cruel.
Next be reasonable. If you make a rule that is really weird, or changes something fundamentally about the game, be sure to let people have a chance or two to slip up and correct their behavior in a gentle way without punishment. We all come to the game for fun, and often enough, for safety. Punishing players who are otherwise trying to be good players makes them feel unsafe at the table. I know that for me role playing games are a safe escape from a world that is often too cruel to imagine.
I think the last one is a very simple one. Make sure everyone knows about new rules the moment they are made, and before a session. Again, you have a piece of paper, or a google docs. Maybe one of your players was too busy with a sixty hour work shift to read the google docs, let alone feed themselves. Or maybe they don't have good access to internet. Maybe they saw the paper but thought it looked the same as before. Make sure you mention in your group chats, or in a text if you make a massive new rule change. And also make sure you mention any new rules at the beginning of your session, before play starts.
A final point of advice is to keep in mind two things when making house rules. 1: players come to the table to play the game, and if your game says pathfinder and your change it into 4th Edition D&D players are likely to be upset because that is not the game they agreed to playing. 2: Players are people, and people usually don't have the greatest attention span. You might remember all 56 of your house rules because you were the one to make them, you have an emotional stake in them. But your players will probably forget most of them right after reading them.
So to sum it up.
1. Figure out how the rule affects the entire game and your players. Both the positives and negatives.
2. Make them accessible to the players. Googledocs, or even a piece of paper they can reach for and read throughout the session work.
3. Be reasonable. Players will come to the table for fun and safety, not to be punished. Give them a chance to learn the rule and correct themselves.
4. Make the rules known. Make sure the players, all the players, know the rules before you start play. Especially new rules.
5. Don't expect the players to remember all of your rules. They probably won't.
And as always, thanks for reading. XD
Playing online, I prepare a Google Docs sheet with all resources, supplements, and house rules frontloaded.
Playing offline I supply a packet with references, resources, supplements, house rules, and (amended / personal) blank character sheets
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Those are good ways to prep.