Quick question

[3d6]

Yes or no

Would you play in a campaign where the gm didn't play strictly by the rules as written*

*Gm may rule certain rules out, or thier own rules in.

---Rusty

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by 3d6

Yes or no

Would you play in a campaign where the gm didn't play strictly by the rules as written*

*Gm may rule certain rules out, or thier own rules in.

---Rusty

As long as we're warned in advance what rules are being used, sure.

[3d6]

Originally Posted by Bruno

As long as we're warned in advance what rules are being used, sure.

What if it was a rules-as-we-go for something that just comes up during a game session?

---Rusty

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by 3d6

What if it was a rules-as-we-go for something that just comes up during a game session?

---Rusty

What, for something that came up that no-one knows the rules for? It's pretty normal in my experience for a GM to say "Roll it at Some Skill -4 and do damage equal to the margin of success, we'll look up the actual rules after the game tonight." just to keep the action going fast.

Saying "Oh, by the way, all impaling weapons actually do x8 damage in my game" in a fight right after I've been stabbed by a spear? that's not right.

[Lupo]

Originally Posted by 3d6

What if it was a rules-as-we-go for something that just comes up during a game session?
---Rusty

Of course yes, I would trust my GM and accept his changes... unless he's a jerk who changes rules on purpose to annoy players. In that case no, I wouldn't play with him but that would be an extreme case...

[Blood Legend]

I say default to the Gurps rules for anything you are not clear on. Switch to the houserules later when they're not holding the campaign on the line.

[3d6]

Originally Posted by Bruno

What, for something that came up that no-one knows the rules for? It's pretty normal in my experience for a GM to say "Roll it at Some Skill -4 and do damage equal to the margin of success, we'll look up the actual rules after the game tonight." just to keep the action going fast.

Saying "Oh, by the way, all impaling weapons actually do x8 damage in my game" in a fight right after I've been stabbed by a spear? that's not right.

No, no. I mean gms who don't know a rule off hand and make a gm fiat. I was going to give the example of gm whom did not know if you use the multiplier for cutting damage when hitting one's arm.

---Rusty

[MacGregor]

I agree 100% with Bruno. As long as you're told before hand it's fine. And that means before character creation. I hate finding out that some rules got changed making my character useless, while the GM's pet gains a bunch of beneficial stuff. And then being told that I can't change my character just to take advantage of the good stuff!

[Blood Legend]

Originally Posted by 3d6

No, no. I mean gms who don't know a rule off hand and make a gm fiat. I was going to give the example of gm whom did not know if you use the multiplier for cutting damage when hitting one's arm.

---Rusty

Oh yes of course, by all means go with the fiat. Look up the rules later.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Blood Legend

Oh yes of course, by all means go with the fiat. Look up the rules later.

Definitely - unless someone happens to have the book open to the right page when the question comes up, I'd expect the GM to usually just make a spot judgement ("Well, impaling doesn't count, so I'll say cutting doesn't count either.") and then after the session or at a convenient break in the action, either enshrine it in the campaign house rules after that, or find out what the actual rule was and inform everyone. ("oops, looks like cutting DOES count. You're lucky you've still go your arm, Bob. Next time it'll come off.")

EDIT: Sometimes we'll stop everything to check - if everyone's forgotten how grappling works, and someone decides to get grabby, then sure, flip to the grappling section, quick read, and keep the book open to that page (or stick a bookmark in) because we'll probably need to refer back repeatedly. This is pretty common if we haven't used a rules system in a while (or ever).

Ideally the GM should have refreshed his memory for any special rules involved in an encounter before the session (they've all got Uzis! Damn, how does rapid fire work in 4e again?) but GMs are only human and sometimes they forget things, or assume they knew and then realize in play that actually there's some fiddly bits he can't recall right now.