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General House Rules
In a previous post, I discussed a new set of house rules I was going to introduce for the start of a new d20 Dark Matter campaign. Today, I’m going to share with you some of my longer standing house rules.
Critical Roleplaying. Any time a character makes an interaction-based skill check, and the player appropriately role-plays his character, a critical failure is treated simply as a one, and the player suffers no additional penalties.
Roleplaying Re-rolls. Any character who role-plays sufficiently to earn a bonus to any roll may instead choose to re-roll after seeing the results of the original roll. Regardless of the new result, the player is stuck with it.
Cell Phones Are Silenced. Once gaming actually begins, the most disruptive thing that can happen is an unexpected phone call, which the player either takes or doesn’t. Even the simple ringing of the phone can be enough to throw people off, especially if they were in the middle of role-playing. Scheduled calls or taking a break at an appropriate time to make a phone call is perfectly acceptable, however.
One Man, One Job. Everyone at the table has a job, and for the most part they may be swapped around freely so long as everything gets done. Examples of common jobs include:
- Party Leader
- Note Taking
- Initiative/Combat Tracking
- Referencer/Researcher
- Cleaning Up
Participate Even When You Can’t Help. If the party encounters a puzzle or similar situation in which not all the players are adept at dealing with the situation, do not walk away from the table or put your head down - your character almost certainly isn’t doing so; he’s learning HOW to deal with the situation, or at the least doing everything he can to assist those who are good at dealing with it.
Secrecy. Ninety-five percent of the time, I keep all my players at the table, including times when the party is separated. I trust my players to maintain the line between In-Character and Out-Of-Character knowledge; but those who are repeatedly unable or unwilling to respect this line will be sent away from the table. Additionally, any player may call for the group to be split up according to the division of characters for the purposes of secrecy, character development, or a dramatic element of the story.
What house rules do you generally employ at the gaming table?
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