Seriously, what rules do you enforce if you hold a campaign in your own home and friends come over to be PC's? I'll list mine:
No whistling (hurts my ears due to birth defect)
No alcohol (water, fruit juice, and soda are fine but liquor is natta)
Everyone contributes some cash each day toward the food and drink during sessions fund (but exceptions can be made if there's an emergency going on with them)
Your supposed to be heroes (PC's cannot be true neutral, chaotic neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil, and chaotic evil [lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good, and lawful neutral characters only])
To your own character be true (if you perform an action that your character would normally NOT DO you get a "you sure you want to do that" and if they still want to then I either let them [if it doesn't break the campaign] and give them a heavy EXP penalty or not let them at all)
You break it...you bought it (if any property of mine is broken by the PC's I expect to be compensated fairly if it is worth something)
No running up or down the steps to the front door (I can't count how many times I've had to tell people that)
No making excessively loud noises in or in front of the residence (the guy downstairs needs his sleep too)
The "3 strike policy" (they get 3 warnings for serious offenses...after the 3rd if it happens again, they're out...and of course for people who refuse to leave the residence there is always 9/11 on speed dial)
What a fascinating thread.
I'm rather easy-going *and* a pushover, so there's not too much, but:
No alcohol [rare exceptions (21st birthdays and such)].
No racist comments (Texas, sigh).
All rolls of importance in front of me.. but that's not really the sort of thing you're talking about. Hmm.
No smoking inside.
No TV, 95% no web-surfing.
Since I'm rather picky with who I GM to I usually don't have the need to enforce any behavioral rules.
The rules I enforce, however, are at the start of the campaign. When starting a game, I'm as clear as I can regarding what's the game going to be about, and I'm pretty likely to reject your character concept if:
a) It's taken from a TV Show, videogame, etc: a Batman spoof is okay, but I won't have -the- Batman.
b) The name is ridiculous.
c) His concept isn't compatible with the current game: a NE mercenary is gonna get bored in a "save the world" game just much as a "paladin" concept is going to be frustrated to no end in a cyberpunk-genre one.
d) His concept isn't compatible with that of the other PCs: Lone wolves get bored, people who make a sport of harassing or antagonizing the other PCs tend to die ganked, and people who get their fun out of ruining it for everyone else are outright unwelcome (unless we're playing Vampire, that is).
Seriously, what rules do you enforce if you hold a campaign in your own home and friends come over to be PC's? I'll list mine:
No whistling (hurts my ears due to birth defect)
Im gonna introduce that right away - and no tapping of feet's, dancing or smiling... NO SMILING! (sorry fair enough if your ears are upside down, I just thought it was funny that it was you top/nr 1 rule)
No running up or down the steps to the front door (I can't count how many times I've had to tell people that)
No making excessively loud noises in or in front of the residence (the guy downstairs needs his sleep too)
how old are you group? real funny if they are 50´ish
The "3 strike policy" (they get 3 warnings for serious offenses...after the 3rd if it happens again, they're out...and of course for people who refuse to leave the residence there is always 9/11 on speed dial)
I thought that you played with friends?
I get the reason behind all your rules... I just think they a a bit over the top. all of these should come naturally out of trust...not the fear of "striking out"
Well, I only play with - and GM for - people I would otherwise hang out with, too, so there's not too much in the way of forced behaviour.
There's a no smoking policy in my home, I greatly appreciate it if there's a no smoking policy at the table when we're playing somewhere else, too.
I do have a few rules for characters and such:
I have a no laptops at the table policy. Had a player bring one and he was playing WoW when it wasn't his turn. I told him to stop playing WoW so he browsed the Internet instead. I wouldn't have even minded so much but the guy beside of him kept talking to him about the stuff on his screen because he is also a WoW player.
More recently I did threaten massive XP penalties for references to Left 4 Dead because the players kept saying the quotes from it. I didn't actually impose any XP penalties for it, but it was significantly annoying.
I have one rule I actually plan to lift about characters playing their gender. Just had a really immature player that brought that rule on. He doesn't play with us regularly though and I think that rule was actually unnecessary.
I don't allow Evil characters or characters that worship Evil deities. I do allow LG, NG, CG, LN, TN, and CN though. The CN character is one of my favorites actually because I don't know what to expect from him sometimes. The party is an LN archivist, NG druid, NG ranger, CG barbarian, CG bard, and CN fighter. The guy who plays the archivist really wants to play an evil Lolth-worshipping drow so he opposes this rule. There was a CN rogue PC with the party for a little bit and the party wasn't fond of him as he would pickpocket them.
I have rules about releveling since PHB2 (or is it DMG2?) introduced rules to do that and I really really hate them. (They more-or-less let you relevel for free.) There's a Psionic ability in XPH that lets people relevel with an XP cost (paid by the caster and the person releveling, if I remember right) and it's much cooler to do it IC than as presented in the PHB2/DMG2 (whichever). Basically the Psion rewrites the person's mind to reflect the change.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
I think right now the group may be playing too frequently because they don't seem like they're into it as much when we play. They do at least have a much better grasp on the plot than they used to.
i have not dmed in a while, i am a player now (star wars saga). but, when i did dm in my own home:
i dont really have any table rules like that. we are all pretty much buddies.
one drinks, i smoke, one does math, one sews, one knits, one we keep haveing to reteach the rules to.
i usually provided food and drinks, i was making far more money than most of the players.
role playing games are about fellowship, about building bonds, laughing, and much less about the game itself.
Food rules: The host usually has something to drink (usually discounter cola which tastes good enough and isn't expensive) and someone (not necessarily the host) usually provides crisps and other snacks.
Often, we either order something or get frozen pizzas and put them in the oven, though here and there, the host (or, rather, his parents - most of the guys I play with in one group are still students and don't have their own place yet, so as long as you have to stay at Hotel Mom, you can enjoy the benefits) cooks something up.
I have one rule I actually plan to lift about characters playing their gender. Just had a really immature player that brought that rule on. He doesn't play with us regularly though and I think that rule was actually unnecessary.
You know, that's treating the symtoms instead of treating the illness. The correct rule for this is "no crossplaying", but "no immature pests".
I don't allow Evil characters or characters that worship Evil deities.
I must say: sometimes, some evil characters are a lot less disruptive than some non-evil ones.
The important thing there is to acknowledge that evil isn't always the same. Some people seem to think that evil means sociopathic, totally insane, mass murdering psycho, but that doesn't have to be the case!
I have rules about releveling
Oh, I forgot those:
In general, each player has one "credit" per campaign he can use to just exchange his current character for another, or alternately redo his current one from start (e.g character is a melee type with two swords, used ranger at first but then the player decided to go the fighter path. Something like that).
Beyond that, I'll allow smaller changes, like switching one feat for another or moving skill points around, or maybe undoing a single level of a new class or stuff like that. Usually, changes like that are made when the feat/skill/spell/whatever in question hasn't been used, anyway.
Rules we generally used for any game night...
Food: Bring snacks from time to time, everytime is not necessary as 5-7 people don't eat 10+ bags of chips/candy. Chipping in cash and ordering out for pizza or something is common also.
Non-Game Influences: None. No TV, Radio, Game Consoles, Computers, etc. You're here to play THIS game, not the XBox in the other room! If you're unhappy with your character or deck(collectible card games) then make a new one!
Non-Game Discussion: I/We try to keep this to a minimum, but we are all guilty at some point, even DMs. If the topic is interesting enough to one or more members of the group it is extremely easy to get off topic. Especially since these are usually close friends with 2-5 of the same interests as everyone at the table.
Characters: Sadly I have always been under and enforced the 'No Evil Characters' rule. Evil parties do one of two things: Kill themselves from within, or start killing everything that moves getting themselves killed/arrested ending their career abruptly. I personally have had a great couple of ideas for Lawful Evil and have seen a character or two that were so greedy I thought they SHOULD be Neutral Evil, but eventually they get what's coming to them.
Great thread! I play mostly with friends from college/highschool, online. I'm pretty easy going as well. My only real rule is that you have to pay attention and remain in character as much as possible. As a DM I reserve the right to stop a conversation out-of-game, and request players continue as their characters.
On the side: I think (the right amount of) alcohol, can make for great games! A little social lubricant and you'd be surprised how well people can roleplay.
These rules actually more come from my roomate. He was rather coarse in writing them up but I will try to be faithful. With a few changes to bring them up to date, haven't need any other rules.
1.Don't f--- with the cat. It lives here, you don't.
2.Chipchase has to sit in the metal folding chairs.
3.Don't mess with my s---.
4.If you make a mess clean it up. Otherwise I'll f------ beat your non-mess cleaning a-- and then ---- Shaggy's mom. (that one is REALLY his rule.)
5.If you don't live here, your opinion outside the game doesn't count.
6.If you piss me off, I reserve the right to kick you in your f------ head.
7.You owe me a cigarette, don't ask just give it the f--- up.
Ask you may have guessed any of the rules that don't have cencorship are the ones I added. The rest have been around for 7-8 years. We have actually never had a problem with anyone violating any of these, and on top of that, rule number 7 always works. :)
I've been lucky over the years, and we've had very few of the issues brought up. No smoking is already known in my home (I'm badly allergic), but when I've had smoking visitors, I make sure to have some sort of closable tin in an area outside for them to put the ashes and butts into.
Food has depended on the situation ... often we (as the house host) provide a meal, and the others bring snacks and drinkables
Character rules have never been hard and fast, though I have declined to allow the creation of characters that are out to backstab their fellows -- that's their main reason for making the character, to screw with the rest. Maybe fun for the backstabber's player, but not for the rest of us!
If someone's not having fun, we try to work it out with the character ... and if we figure the character is the problem, we swap it out for someone else. Have only had that happen a few times, usually some character that just doesn't have anywhere to grow after creation, or that is sooooo good, there's no challenge for the player.
I play with long-time friends, and we're all adults ... but if something bothers someone (we're getting too gross for one, or too silly for another) we tone it back. I can't think of any other rules :)
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You know, that's treating the symtoms instead of treating the illness. The correct rule for this is "no crossplaying", but "no immature pests".
That tends to be my general rule, with explanations for other things as needed.
Want to be evil?
I am running a camapign. Destroy the stability by your alignment, any alignment, and it is banned.
Still want to be evil?
Go ahead. But the first sexual violence fantasy you attempt to indulge will result if the end of that character.
I no longer run a game at my home, but it was expressed quite well in once incident about treating the place. Why do players have to police their garbage but I get to toss my 2-liter soda empties across the room? Because it is MY apartment. I can treat it as a I wish, feel free to treat yours as you wish, but do not make any mess in mine you do not want me making in yours.
Playing in other people's places now, the concept remains; leave no messes, damage nothing, put your feet up only with permission.
Want to cheat?
Why? I do play rather close to the rules as written, but my game is always predicated on ultimate player success. If you still feel the need to never have any action not be an auto-success you need to find a game that does not involve any random number generation, skill, or the participation of other people.
Want to use non-standard material?
In 2nd ed days I generally did not care except for stuff I did not own, which pretty much meant FR and DL. Beyond that I generally knew obscure rules better than the players trying to pull a fast one.
These days I am more restrictive, but provided you ask I will likely allow a considerable amount of WotC material.
Table talk?
Well, I have had some rather "crude" groups. (To say the least.) As long as you do not offend anyone at the table it is pretty much whatever goes. Lousy puns, movie quotes, deliberately offensive humor, and so forth. Just be aware of the other people at the table. Then again, with one group, personal insults were the standard, so even that rule has qualifications.
Other activities at the table?
If you want to play a video game or watch TV, or theoretically go online (never had that yet), then do so. Otherwise play the game.
All of them come down to specific cases of the basic rule of respecting the social environment. Very few people have issues with that. The few that have that that wound up expelled from my apartment inevitably wound up asking to be allowed back to the group. Run a good enough game and you can have whatever rules you like. :D
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I have a no laptops at the table policy.
I have this policy as well for the same reason. Now while I can appreciate WoW.. you are here to play D&D or Pathfinder RPG ;) so don't tell me you are capable of "multitasking" cause I've only met one person who was ever able to do that.
Pretty much all Player rolls must be done on the table.
If you drop the dice on the floor no matter what you got you need to reroll.
If a dice is cocked you need to reroll.
I dont have a no alcohol policy but we don't drink significantly when we game anyway. Most of the time there isn't any drinking alcohol going on. Of course its BYOB.
I will provide a bag of chips but that's it. If you want it.. you need to bring it. Or often times we will all chip in for Pizza or go on a food run before the game starts.
As far as characters go, I don't require a certain alignment or character type but I do say that at the beginning of the campaign that the player has to significantly explain to me why the PC is an adventurer and why he/she is in the current group of adventurers.
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I've been blessed by some of the best players a GM can have. Still, some rules apply.
1). Respect that it is my house, and that my family (wife, 4 kids and grandchild) live here... you are a guest. Tinvited to not return."his generally is understood, with a few exceptions that were "invited to not return."
2). Common source books only. This rules out some of the outlier (i.e. broken) source books that glutted the market toward the end. Any other book {b]must[/b] meet group approval though the GM still has a firm veto.
3). No electronic devices (other than the GM's laptop) at the table. I have found that players will surf the web if given the opportunity and a laptop; heck even using a cellphone or Nintendo DS for texting can be disruptive.
4). New (or replacement) characters start out at -2 levels from the previous character (level 1 minimum). This rewards those players with survival skills, instead of those who get bored with their present character concept. This penalty can be waived by the GM. A new character starts with half of the maximum gold for his level (the assumption being that GP was spent on disposable items or upgrades to equipment) and no more than half of that can be spent on magic items (with the spending cap of only half again of the potential magic item funds for any one item). This helped prevent the idea of creating a "magic item farm" for the other PCs.
Example:
Bob replaces his character with a new one loaded down with magic items that aren't useful for him, but are potentially very useful for other PCs. The character gets killed by stupidity (surprise), the other PCs take his items, and next week Bob returns with a new character with toys for the other PCs.
This actually happened.. initiating another "invitation to not return."
5). A character rebuild is allowed once.
Other than that, I am pretty open.
P.S. We do have a rule about GM rulings - if you disagree with a game mechanic, do not disrupt the game for it. Wait for a smoke break, or game end to discuss it. It won't change the way the rule was used, but it might change it for future use.
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Hmmmmm rules I enforce:
1) Respect the hosts house. I do not play at my house, but at one of the players house. We know to keep it quiet, not interrupt his family and that the game can stop for a bit for important family issues.
2) Players can only have their character return from the dead 3 times at the most. I also use the Resurrection Mishaps from Heroes of Horror.
3) The only book allowed for use is the Pathfinder Beta. Anything else must be approved by me, the DM.
4) We all must keep out of game talk to a minimum and try not to have too many distractions. This can be iffy because 2 of my players are retail managers for large companies, one has family issues that arise sometimes.
5) No drinking at the table unless it is someones birthday (has yet to come up).
6) Players are expected to put input and be honest if something gets missed or overlooked. Sometimes I forget things but the players will tell me whether it benefits me or not. I do the same on the rare occasion that I play.
7) We have one break for dinner and other than that it is expected to be a good solid 6hours of weekly gaming.
Well there might be a few others, but those are the most important.
Good thing I get to play tomorrow!
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Don't torment the catThe one group of <insert name here> that tormented my first cat were simply never allowed back in the door.
She remained quite aggressive to visitors after that incident.
Not on thread topic, but yeah. Several years ago, I had a friend watch my six month old kitten when I was out of town, and when I got back, the poor thing was so freaked out it took WEEKS for him to get back to normal. I asked my friend WTF? He said "Dude, I just put him under the clothes basket and played with him with a stick, I thought he was having fun".
My doctor, while setting my three broken metacarpals, told me he understood completely...
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Not on thread topic, but yeah. Several years ago, I had a friend watch my six month old kitten when I was out of town, and when I got back, the poor thing was so freaked out it took WEEKS for him to get back to normal. I asked my friend WTF? He said "Dude, I just put him under the clothes basket and played with him with a stick, I thought he was having fun".
My doctor, while setting my three broken metacarpals, told me he understood completely...
Indeed.
That is where "punishment fits the crime" comes in. Drap a clothes basket on him and get a stick. Bo stick, tonfa, whatever.|
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Not on thread topic, but yeah. Several years ago, I had a friend watch my six month old kitten when I was out of town, and when I got back, the poor thing was so freaked out it took WEEKS for him to get back to normal. I asked my friend WTF? He said "Dude, I just put him under the clothes basket and played with him with a stick, I thought he was having fun".
My doctor, while setting my three broken metacarpals, told me he understood completely...
Indeed.
That is where "punishment fits the crime" comes in. Drap a clothes basket on him and get a stick. Bo stick, tonfa, whatever.
Yeah, that would have been easier on my hands than jaw jacking him with all my strength.
From what I heard though, he didn't regain consciousness for a few minutes. I didn't stick around, my hand hurt too much...
Characters: Sadly I have always been under and enforced the 'No Evil Characters' rule. Evil parties do one of two things: Kill themselves from within, or start killing everything that moves getting themselves killed/arrested ending their career abruptly.
I pity you for your bad luck with players.
I did often see it going that way, but it doesn't have to. Sure, I had incidents where the infighting ruined the campaign (which I why I have the "work as a team" rule), and had the occasional "we kill everything that moves" campaign - and had a great time with it.
But I also had evil campaigns that worked very well.
In fact, for Second Darkness, the players will make evil characters. I'll be interested in how that will turn out (and whether I'll have to reboot the campaign after a week or two - because I won't pull my punches for stupid behaviour)
4). New (or replacement) characters start out at -2 levels from the previous character (level 1 minimum). This rewards those players with survival skills, instead of those who get bored with their present character concept.
"Where does this incident count on the scale of Fear And Love?"
Good survival skills aren't the opposite of realising that the current character is not interesting after all.
I know that it's hard to involve characters in a campaign if no character stays longer than 3 sessions, but sometimes you do make an error and realise that the current character doesn't do it for you. And, of course, sometimes you have rotten luck and die despite your "survival skills" - all it takes is a natural 20 at the wrong time. And unless you have Res-O-Matics in your campaign, death, especially at low levels, can be a very permanent thing.
That's why I have the "one do-over per campaign rule" (And if I see that the replacement character really doesn't work, I'll allow a second do-over) instead of punishing everyone by default.
Plus, starting 2 levels behind often means that unless the GM is willing to wear several pairs of kid gloves, the new character's survivability is pretty low - which turns this into a vicious circle. Same with a changed character that cannot contribute as much as he could if he weren't as weak as a cohort.
A new character starts with half of the maximum gold for his level (the assumption being that GP was spent on disposable items or upgrades to equipment)
You do know that the wealth guidelines already figure in all that, right? They take into consideration paying double for things you have to "upgrade" by selling the old and buying the new, they figure in perishables like wands and potions, and all that.
and no more than half of that can be spent on magic items (with the spending cap of only half again of the potential magic item funds for any one item). This helped prevent the idea of creating a "magic item farm" for the other PCs.
So, you start at 8th (the others are 10th), the others have kit worth 62 grand, but since you're 8th, not 10th, you only get 33000 - no, wait, only 16500. And you can only have magic items worth 8250, and none of them may be worth more than 4125. You'll have to blow 8k on mundane junk and cannot even afford a +2 weapon?
Damn, if I'd be really afraid of dying in that campaign, and if it happened, I'd probably just walk away from the table forever.
So, you start at 8th (the others are 10th), the others have kit worth 62 grand, but since you're 8th, not 10th, you only get 33000 - no, wait, only 16500. And you can only have magic items worth 8250, and none of them may be worth more than 4125. You'll have to blow 8k on mundane junk and cannot even afford a +2 weapon?
My current campaign has the current level breakdown: one level 8 (archivist), three level 7s (barbarian, ranger, druid), two level 6s (bard, fighter), and three low-level NPCs (an ECL 5 (lizardfolk ranger 2), a level 4 (cleric), and a level 3(evoker)). The only character in the campaign with a +2 weapon is the level 7 barbarian, who has a +2 greatsword. The bard has a +1 harmonizing rapier and the archivist has a +1 returning chakram, both of which are +2 equivalent weapons. The other PCs have +1 weapons. (The archivist isn't actually proficient with the chakram and has a DEX penalty so that barely counts.)
Of course the characters have been wandering around in a swamp for a few levels so they haven't exactly had a chance to stock up on supplies.
I don't think being a little short on starting gold makes a character useless though.
I also have a rule about new characters. New characters start at one level lower than the lowest party member or at level 4, whichever is higher.
As for starting gold, I never thought about it. I know there's a table in the DMG but I normally assign starting gold by pulling a number out of my ear. "You get...ugh... 6,000 gold to start and buy equipment." I usually do guess based on what the current gear of the party is though, so the new character isn't crippled. I do want him to come in with partial gear though, so he can feel like he's getting something when he gets to equip his character with loot that is recovered, rather than just getting to arrive like Batman with all his neat toys fresh from the Magic Item Emporium (aka Magic Item Compendium).
Most of the time, my players are eager to move forward with their mission and hate actually messing with loot so they just "loot everything" and move on.
I do need to settle down with them and do some inventory management though as I think they're getting so much crap right now that they are going to have to decide what to keep and what to leave.
I don't think being a little short on starting gold makes a character useless though.
Nothing wrong with being a little short.
It's not the case in the example above, though. In this case, the old characters would be somewhere around 62000gp, but the newcome would only have 16500. That's about a quarter of ther others. Add to that that only half of his stuff can be magical (don't ask me what useful stuff you can buy for 8000gp - and if we talk about levels even higher than that...) and you have some weird constellations:
Old fighter: Level 10, has a +3 sword (for roughly 18500 gp. A bit more than a quarter of his wealth guidelines, which is perfectly acceptable for a fighter), and new fighter, Level 8, with a +1 sword.
I also have a rule about new characters. New characters start at one level lower than the lowest party member or at level 4, whichever is higher.
So if we start, and my 1st-level wizard trips fatally on his robe, I get to come back as a level 4 wizard ;-).
I usually do guess based on what the current gear of the party is though, so the new character isn't crippled.
Same here. I don't slavishly follow the tables if the characters' actual wealth deviates from it. I also take into account loot that's not been sold yet (unless they plan on cutting the newblood in on that, which isn't that likely)
Still, I don't punish newcomers (both new players and new characters) with lower levels or less equipment. If someone's unhappy about his character, he should not have to choose between playing a character that doesn't work for him and a new character that is a lot weaker than the rest of the party. Lose-lose situations do not belong into entertainment.
I do need to settle down with them and do some inventory management though as I think they're getting so much crap right now that they are going to have to decide what to keep and what to leave.
Hehehe. I am fairly relaxed about that when it comes to magic stuff, but I do draw the line at mundane items. They simply won't loot all the soldier skeletons and take home two dozen full plates, shields and swords!
I also have a rule about new characters. New characters start at one level lower than the lowest party member or at level 4, whichever is higher.So if we start, and my 1st-level wizard trips fatally on his robe, I get to come back as a level 4 wizard ;-).
Heh. Yeah, well, I don't use that rule until they're at least level 4. In this case, the module was intended for characters of level 4-7 and the party was level 2 so I wanted to hurry up and start the module and we hadn't been playing for a few months anyway, so I bumped the existing characters to level 4 and the new characters started at level 4. The guy who is the level 8 archivist actually started at level 7 though because I had a level 7 character laying around (I had made as an NPC for the party to befriend) and wanted to get him in the game and playing without having to learn character creation and leveling up first.
Actually, the characters are STILL in that adventure for characters of level 4-7. I was hoping to fit an adventure for levels 6-10 between that one and the next one in that series, which is for level 9-13, but I don't think there's room.
Anyway, I'm somewhat derailing here.
I wish my players brought drinks. I ordered pizza last session and one of my players brought chips and a 2-liter of Pibb Xtra, but I'm a big soft drink fan and could always go for more drinks.
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
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I'm pretty easy in the rules department:
1) No Evil PCs. We tried it once. It was not an experience that needs to be repeated.
2) Chip in for food. We always order food, and everyone must contribute both their ideas for where to order it from and money towards the cost of it.
3) Any rules (classes, races, feats, spells, etc) from non-core books must be approved for use by the DM.
There are also campaign-specific rules that are followed, depending on whose turn it is to DM (I rotate campaigns with my buddy), but I'll leave those for a more relevant thread.
The campaigns I play in and run are pretty easy-going. Half of us are at least 40 and have settled into lives of blissful moderation already, so rules are little necessary.
Both games are non-smoking - any smoking must take place outside.
For the Thursday game, we expect players to pitch in with beer every once in a while. Everyone pays for their own take-out. We have to keep most food away from the toddler (who has significant food allergies) but shared treats she can eat are welcome.
For the Sunday game, the adults involved take turns bringing and preparing dinner for the rest of us and the kids.
When I'm DMing for either game day, I have players roll for stats (NO point buy) and hit points. And all PCs must be reasonably group-friendly. No excessive loner-ness. Evil is OK as long as the character is not intended or played to be disruptive. Sources I don't have may be allowed, but you must provide me with photocopies of the relevant topic. House rules will be involved but all will be presented to the players for consultation.
And that's about it.
3) Any rules (classes, races, feats, spells, etc) from non-core books must be approved for use by the DM.There are also campaign-specific rules that are followed, depending on whose turn it is to DM (I rotate campaigns with my buddy), but I'll leave those for a more relevant thread.
When I'm DMing for either game day, I have players roll for stats (NO point buy) and hit points.I'm exactly the other way. Purchase all the way.
Unless, of course, they're serious about rolling for stats. No silly pseudo-rolling where you get to roll a hundred times and get to reroll anything that's not at least a 4. You get your dice, you roll your array, once, and you stick to those numbers. For the whole campaign (so there's no "oh no, my character tripped fatally over his robe I need to roll a new one").
I mean, if you want the excitement of rolling for stats, roll for stats. If you want a chance of really powerful stats without the chance for bad stats, stop kidding yourself and bribe the GM to allow Ultra-Epic Purchase with 50 points or so.
Magic Items:
If it doesn't exist in the rulebooks, it needs to be approved. This includes items that potentially make sense (such as boots of dexterity +2, or shirts of natural armor +1).
Additionally, the more unique the magic item, the more likely it will get approved. In other words, a vestment of natural armor +3 is likely not going to get approved. A vestment of light that sheds light like a continual flame spell and provides clerics of lawful good alignment the ability to use searing light 3 times per day as a spell-like ability, much more likely.
I had to lay the law down on this one when my players found the rules for creating items for alternative body slots, and I started finding all kinds of items on character sheets that didn't exist in the game. One of my players even had the audacity (I kid you not) to put goggles of ogre power on his sheet. I was pretty mad.
DM Fast Call:
If there's a disagreement about a rule, and nobody has the book open to the correct page, I make a fast call for the moment, and move on. This isn't a hard and fast rule, of course. If someone can find the correct ruling, and it doesn't grossly alter a number of actions that have already occurred, I might reverse my ruling in favor of the RAW. However, if it's three rounds later, and my ruling has shaped a number of events already, my fast call ruling stands, and the correct rule is kept in mind for future reference.
I instituted this rule because while my players fancy themselves as rules lawyers, they tend to interpret the rules in whatever way will benefit their characters the most. In one case, a player insisted that he could use the squeezing rules to squeeze between a wall and an opponent in order to attack a spellcaster around the corner. Everyone told him he was wrong, but we still had to stop the game for 20 minutes, while he looked up the rules on tumbling, squeezing, diagonal movement, etc. before finally giving up in a huff. (I won't say he admitted he was wrong, because he didn't.)
Anyway, I finally got so tired of chasing down these stupid rules, that I instituted a DM fast call rule just so that we could get on with the game.
Goggles of Ogre Power -- fantastic!
At our table (We're all mid to late 30's.)we only have a few rules.
Beer (and other intoxicants) is allowed, but only in moderation. No acting like a jerk because you can't hold your liquor. (Or whatever.)
If you're late, you have to pick up snacks.
3rd party publishers must be approved by a majority of people at the tables, and have the approval of ALL the DMs. (We rotate our turn at the helm.) House rules follow the same approval process, but anyone can bring them up.
Point buy is the only acceptable method of character creation.
Be nice to the dog and the hostess.
Otherwise, we don't worry too much about character rerolls or modifications, so long as it's upfront and in the open. Since we're a bunch of friends who like to get together and hang out, getting upset over a game isn't worth it. We're just there for the fun.
Always...ALWAYS tell me (the DM) what you rolled...no "I rolled a crit and confirmed it" crap...I want to hear EXACTLY what you rolled!!! This annoys the crap outta me...guess it's just a pet peeve...
No web surfing
No alcohol (that doesn't get shared with the DM)
No free will!!!!
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Im gonna introduce that right away - and no tapping of feet's, dancing or smiling... NO SMILING! (sorry fair enough if your ears are upside down, I just thought it was funny that it was you top/nr 1 rule)
Yeah, let's make a "no smiling" policy on monday nights. Three laughs and you're out.
Seriously, Barselious, find some friends to play with, and most of your problems will go away.
My only rule at the table is that if you don't show up for a game, you send a proxy, or ask me to find one. If no proxy can come, your character doesn't participate and doesn't get xp.
We play at Peter's place, and he has a rule that you have to bring something nice for the game room once in a while (new furniture, a plant, a cofee maker etc.)
I DM a group of 30-somethings, and our table/house rules are similar to many mentioned here.
One rule of mine that I haven't seen mentioned yet, however, is the no metal die rule. Please leave your metal Crystal Caste dice at home and away from my hardwood tabletop and hardwood floors.
Seriously, Barselious, find some friends to play with, and most of your problems will go away.
From Monte Cook's blog - Monte's Top 10 Rules of DMing:
"4. Never let anyone into your game that you wouldn't want to spend an evening with doing something else."
While sounding simple, this is a rule sooo many people ignore until their gaming table reaches critical mass.
So, the rules that we have as a gaming group.
New players must be approved by host of the house and the DM. Which is usually the same person but occasionaly not.
If you're going to drink.. hold your booze. No getting annoying or not paying attention to the game. No making messes because of it. This really goes for anything that you're doing.
If you smoke. You smoke outside.
Those are actually the only rules I can think of that have come into play. We don't have a 'these are the rules' that we've talked about. It's just common sense I suppose. When we bring in a new player.. things are only brought up as a as need basis. Such as... "Can I smoke in here?" "No, you have to go outside"
I have a new personal rule however. This comes from my recent DM stint.
If you complain to the point it halts the game, I'm leaving. I've told our DM this and have come close to leaving quite a few times. I don't want to sit and listen to you b*tch.
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I've never had a problem with evil characters in any campaigns I've run. I know I've been blessed through the years with good players, and a LOT of others have had problems, so I'm not editorializing, just relating my experience.
When I was a wee lad of a player, whenever someone was evil it was more "Snidely Whiplash" than "Jack the Ripper". My college campaign featured one of the players as the evil scion of one of the larger noble houses in my Hatheg campaign. He was a team player during adventures, which usually dealt with common enemies to the Kingdom, but he was quite ruthless in the downtime, securing his power base in order to challenge for the throne when the time was right. Think PC as BBEG. It was an interesting campaign, all the characters came from prominent families and had different political agendas (although they were all patriots to one degree or another), and the inevitable PvP at the end was some of the most fun I've had running a game. Civil wars are always a blast when done right.
After that, I've had other players chose to be evil, and I have played evil characters as well, but they've always been power hungry and ambitious, not sadistic and depraved.
It just comes down to what the focus of the game is, I suppose.
When I dm vampire about 10 years ago i had my player sign a
''players contract''whith the gaming rule on them to avoid unnecesary stall and stop during the game.Luckly I had great players and i never hasd any problem that choudnt easyly be fixt.
Here are the rule that i remember;
1-The DM decision are final.
2-No rasist coment.
3-Pay attention to the game.
4-No phone and the TV is off.
5-If your not playing dont disturbe the other player.
6-If you dont show up you only get 1xp.
7-Dont make your caracter do stupid thing if it will wreck the game.
8-Trouble maker will see there caracter die pretty fast if they keep cousing trouble.
9-If you dont sing this you donyt play.
I wish I could enforce anything (back when I gamed, of course)
My brother's wife was to "I'll do what I please" to make any kind of order... Luckly there was no very upsetting issues at the table.
Of course there was no "enforcing" anything to my brother's wife... otherwise she would stop going... not something bad at all but sadly then my brother would not go either...and I'd rather stay out of fights...
Overall we're a pretty relaxed group. Main rules over the years have been:
-Drinking, ok. Drunkeness, GTFO.
-Friends who aren't playing a character can come, but they are to be seen and not heard
-If your character is disruptive to the party, the party has every right to kill you in some horrific fashion and make you roll a new character.
-Evil characters are fine as long as you and everyone else play in character (ie the Paladin WILL challenge you to a duel to the death when he sees you sacrifice that child to your demonic god, but what the Paladin doesn't know can't hurt him...)
-Non gaming banter is perfectly acceptable as long as everyone is having fun. If people want to play instead of make fun of each other then its time to get back to the game. A large percentage of our game time is made up of non-gaming BS. For us gaming is a good excuse to get together every other week.
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Back in the day (since I haven't had a group in two years now), I played with coworkers and peers, so we were a mature bunch--nonetheless, I had three rules I occasionally had to reiterate:
1. No shoes in the house.
2. No profanity, belching, farting, or off-color jokes if the wife and crew are around.
And because my players were all men--
3. Treat the toilet with the Queen's Deference (or my wife won't let us play).
No-one ever broached the subject, but if they had, the 4th rule would have been no alcohol.
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My rules (beyond the normal pitch in for food, no booze etc) are simple.
1) The party must be compatable alignment wise (i.e. no CE Fighter w/ a LG Paladin)
2) I want heroes, I'm sorry that you want to torture little children. Find a different DM for that and a therapist too.
3) You can multiclass ONE TIME (i.e. a fighter/cleric) and can only have ONE prestige class. I prevent nerfing that way.
4) My story takes precedence over the rules. Don't like the fact the assassin waited until your back was turned to kill the king even though the ENTIRE party rolled 20 or above on Spot checks? Too bad. The king is SUPPOSED TO DIE!
5) What is said at the table is in character and can be heard by ANYONE, even the nice old wizard who's now throwing fireballs at you because you just called a "dottled, old fool."
6) As the DM.... I.... AM... ALWAYS ... RIGHT!!!!
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Well, I only play with - and GM for - people I would otherwise hang out with, too, so there's not too much in the way of forced behaviour.
There's a no smoking policy in my home, I greatly appreciate it if there's a no smoking policy at the table when we're playing somewhere else, too.
I do have a few rules for characters and such:
Play nice. That's simple and all-encompassing. It means that no one is to play to win, or to harass other players at the table. No taking grudges to the table. The party is a team, and works as a team. That means that it has to work as a team. That means that the playes have to make it work. I don't have any fixed alignment restrictions, but the team needs to be able to work together. That means that after someone announced that he'll be playing a paladin, the next words out of anyone's mouth aren't going to be "cool, I'll play a Slayer of Rovagug!" The characters need to be adventurers. That means that they're willing, even eager, to put themselves into ridiculous danger, often without any guaranteed material benefit. In other words: If I have to bribe the character with kingdomes and firstborns for every adventure I run, the character isn't viable. (Note, I learned about that rule the hard way) Of course, it's understood that munchkinism is out of the question. A bit (or more than a bit) of powergaming is okay, but as soon as soeone tries to exploit the rules and their loopholes, the probability of Frozen Cows From Outer Space landing on their heads (instakill, no attack roll, no save) rises dramatically. But I don't have that kind of problem with my players.
I like it!
In no particular order (and with an effort for thoroughness):
1. No smoking.
2. No drugs.
3. No drinking.
4. Hygiene required.
5. Clean up your mess. Or better yet, don't make a mess.
6. Don't break my stuff.
7. Pitch in for food you eat.
8. No racist/sexist comments or jokes (Alberta, sigh).
9. No silly characters (stupid names, clone characters, rip off characters, etc).
10. Play nice.
11. If you make a stupid comment (and don't state that it is OOC) your character said it. Deal with the repercussions.
12. The party has to be able to work together.
13. The characters need to be adventurers.
14. Don't show up no Exp. Don't show up twice, something bad happens to your PC. Don't show up three times, write up a new PC when you do show up. (This, of course, depends on circumstance.)
15. Pay attention.
16. If you try to pimp-that-PC (rule exploits & loopholes) then the GM doesn't have to follow the "they-have-got-to-have-at-least-a-small-chance-of-defeating-the-encounter" rule.
17. Treat the world and NPCs with respect (treat them as if they were real people and have real feelings).