DivInc Table Rules

From Shadowfell Geographic Society

Table Rules are teh meta-rules by which I run the game. I'm not going to bother writing down any of the common assumptions of sit-down RPGs in general, or rules of polite society. You're all adults and experienced gamers. I will touch on a few things I think may deserve saying, though.

Contents 1 Game Philosophy 1.1 Tone 1.2 Party Dynamics 2 Expectations 2.1 Know Your Rules 2.2 Update Your Character 3 Missing Players 3.1 Quorum 3.2 Characters Without Players 4 New Characters 4.1 Character Death 4.2 Changing Characters 4.3 Player Changes 4.4 Character Creation 4.5 Character Tweaks 5 Running the Game 5.1 Rules Discussions 6 Tracking Game Info 6.1 Session Logs 6.2 Mapping 6.3 Details

Game Philosophy

Tone

I plan to keep this game relatively light. We're here to have fun, and to play around with the tactical rules. The game is likely to focus on monster mashes and dungeon crawls, with a sprinkling of role-playing to keep things interesting. Creativity and entertainment is encouraged, but the default goal is to kill the bad guys and take their stuff.

Party Dynamics

D&D has a pretty explicit assumption that the characters are group of good-leaning heroic individuals who work together, and that's my assumption for this game. Amusing rivalries and snarky comments are fine, but characters who are actually evil or non-team-players when the shit hits the fan will reduce the fun for everyone.

Expectations

Know Your Rules

We're all going to be figuring this out as we go along, but everyone should at least make a best effort to know the rules relevant to their character. Players should have their own copy of the Player's Handbook during game play (as well as any later supplements they may need). At minimum, please read the portions of the PHB which are relevant to your character: i.e. the core/power/combat rules, as well as the specifics of your race, class, powers, and equipment.

Update Your Character

If your character's traits change in a permanent way, due to levling, picking up loot, etc. make sure you update various info accordingly. How you keep track of your character during play is up to you, but please keep the shared resources up-to-date. Specifically:

• Post your character sheet to the Wiki.
• Update the character info chart for quick reference by the DM.
• Leave an updated sheet behind in case you miss the next game.

Missing Players

Quorum

In the amounts below, N is the number of players/PCs in the game.

I'll run a game if I'm available and if at least N-2 players are present, but with a minimum of 3 players should N ever become smaller.

During game play, we can go on if a player needs to step out for a while. Significant game-play (not just PC conversation) will pause if there are fewer than N/2 players left in the room (or if the DM is missing).

Characters Without Players

When a player is absent, their character remains involved, taking part in the action and earning XP just like everyone else. One of the other players (not the DM) plays the character during this time. Nobody will play more than 2 characters at once.

Players are expected to leave an up-to-date character sheet for this purpose, along with any special instructions or preferences you may have. You can ask a specific person to play your character (subject to the 2 character limit), or just leave it up to who grabs him at a given time.

What a character does at a given moment is up to the player playing him. Try not to get other people's characters killed if possible, but the risks involved in adventuring are unchanged.

New Characters

Character Death

Adventuring is a dangerous business. The 4th-Ed rules (with Death Saves and wider death's-door ranges) actually make PC death less likely. When it does happen, it can frequently be handled entirely in-game. Raise Dead can be obtained at most temples for 500 GP, and Gentle Repose gives you 150 days to get it done.

But sooner or later, permanent death may happen. In that case, the player can create a replacement character, as below. Bringing in a new character exactly identical to your previous one is discouraged.

Changing Characters

If you decide your current character is just not for you, or just isn't fitting in with this group, you can bring a replacement character, as below.

Player Changes

If a player departs, so does their character. I'll do my best to come up with a thinly veiled excuse to remove them from the game.

If a new player joins the game they create a new character, and I'll do my best to come up with a way to integrate them with the party.

Character Creation

New characters (including replacement characters) are created using the rules for Starting at Higher Level, on pg. 143 of the DMG. Use the point buy system for stats. The equipment given by these rules assumes your previous character left the game with a "fair share" of the equipment/loot in the party. If your comrades robbed you blind before you left, or you were abnormally generous in what you left behind, your new character will come in with less stuff. this is optimized for keeping the item power in the party consistent with expectation, not for making loot distribution between PCs fair. The latter is the players' problem.

Character Tweaks

I expect players to learn things as they try out their characters (initial or replacements) in combat for the first time, and to want to tweak some things as a result. Feel free to do so between your first few sessions with a new character. Let me know if you tweak anything which would be highly visible (like changing your race) so we can all adjust our idea of the character appropriately.

I'd expect that by the time a character levels up for the first time, the details should've settled. After that point the only remaining changes should be made via Retraining or the level-based Stat boosts.

Running the Game

Rules Discussions

One of the purposes of this game is to learn the rules and experiment with them. I thus expect there to be some time spent looking up new or rarely-used rules during game, and that's okay. If I do something wrong, I expect players to tell me so, and help me find the relevant reference.

If lookups and disagreements on rules take too long and are taking away from the game, however, I reserve the right to make a temporary ruling and move on. I promise to follow up after game with a permanent ruling after more thought and research. Players who are getting bored or annoyed can request that I make a temporary ruling if I forget.

Tracking Game Info

Session Logs

Players are welcome/encouraged to take notes during game, and/or to write up session logs after each game. I don't consider a detailed log a necessessity, though, and won't be assigning the job or slowing down game for note-taking. Playing your character is your primary responsibility.

Mapping

Given the tactical combat system, I'm going to be drawing maps most of the time anyway, so the need for players to draw their own maps. If getting lost in a dungeon ever becomes a meaningful hazard, PCs can apply Dungeoneering or other Skills to the problem.

Details

I have a terrible memory for details (names, etc), so I don't mind if my players do too. Feel free to ask for specifics which your character should know but you've forgotten. That will be limited, however, to specifics like names, not necessarily to what exactly happened 6 sessions ago. My memory for that is likely to be just as faulty as yours.

Note that this applies to non-mechanical details. Your hit points, gold, etc. are things you should be tracking on your character sheet.