Official Exceptions to the Core Assumption

[Patrick Harris @ SD]

It has been officially declared that the core assumption needs to be owned by every player. Since that is a binding message board clarification, we now need a binding message board clarification to cover exceptions.

• Per Mike Brock, people can try 2-3 sessions before buying the books.

• Can the Beginner Box stand in for the Core Rulebook for level 1-5 play? (Reasoning: If someone puts down $35 for the box and wants to join PFS to try it out, it seems rough to tell them to immediately buy a book that covers much the same material.)

• Can we assume that Kid's Track and GM 101 don't have similar requirements?

• Speaking of kids, is this waived for those who run tables exclusively for children? (Reasoning: If someone has a table of 13-year-olds, said 13-year-olds aren't going to all buy the books, and while some of those GMs might be awesome enough to buy the books for them, that's an investment of at least $96/$280 just to continue doing what amounts to community outreach.)

• Other?

I just feel that we need to have these on record, since there are some very literal people out there.

[WalterGM]

Patrick Harris @ SD wrote:

I just feel that we need to have these on record, since there are some very literal people out there.

Or we can just direct those very literal people to the first line under Core Assumption: "The leadership of this campaign assumes you will use common sense in your interpretation of the rules."

Should a 13-year-old shell out $50 bucks for a Core? Probably not. Could you mention it to their parents as a possible birthday/holiday present? Probably.

Should people that buy the beginner box be hounded to grab some hardbacks the same day? Probably not. If they enjoy the game and want to explore more than the 4 classes provided in the beginner box, should they get more books? Definitely.

Etc, etc.

The more rules we put out there, the more rules we have to follow. That said, I'm not a very literal person -- maybe official clarification is required.

[Patrick Harris @ SD]

Walter Sheppard wrote:

The more rules we put out there, the more rules we have to follow.

Agreed. Which is why I'm asking what the exceptions are for a rule that was just put out there.

[Don Walker]

It has also been stated, that GMs are not Paizo police. If someone is showing contempt for Paizo, sure then ban them for being a jerk. But it is ultimately up to each player (on their own) to follow the rules that Paizo has set forth.

[Patrick Harris @ SD]

Don Walker wrote:

It has also been stated, that GMs are not Paizo police.

I have no intention of policing people's books unless it becomes relevant. I want to know what the exceptions are because there are GMs who think they are the Paizo police, and it's important that there be something we can point to when they start getting feisty.

[Michael Brock]

I'm not interested in or going to list out the various possibilities, exceptions, etc... that this would entail. As Walter said, we can direct those very literal people to the first line under Core Assumption: "The leadership of this campaign assumes you will use common sense in your interpretation of the rules.

Common sense does not mean making an 11 year old buy a book when they don't even have a job. Common sense is if someone is out of work, and start playing PFS, we aren't going to require them to buy a book until they have the financial means to do so. There are many, many numerous examples such as these that could be listed, and doing so would probably create a list 200+ entries long, that were made "official" exceptions, would have to be referenced every time someone didnt bring a book to the table.

Use common sense please.