[Otaku]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I mean does it fix a problem that needs to be fixed?

Assuming

1. it can done properly
2. the criticisms of others are valid

then the answer would be "Yes". I'm not an expert in pretty much anything, but I've been obsessing with games my whole life. Even then I realize that shouldn't carry much weight but my repeated first hand experience is that ignoring problems because you can is a myth: you can never ignore problems in perpetuity. If there is a more pressing issue to address, go ahead and prioritize, but when you ignore the little things long enough, the eventually stop being so little.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What does unifying Ally Patron and Contact do that actually makes the game more fun (or realistic or whatever your goal is).

Again, assuming it can be done and done well, it should both improve the ability to both more accurately price and model said relationships and clear up some of the current misunderstanding around them which would among other things be more "fun" and "fair" to all parties involved.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Yes it is more elegant, but I don't see elegance of rules as the sole reason to make a house rule.

1. I asked if anyone had examples of their own tweaks, and if need be was willing to sketch something out myself.
2. By asking even for failed tweaks, I can better ascertain how to fix things... or if a fix is worth pursuing.
3. House rules are where all the rules originally started, unless was Man-To-Man a shameless knock off of another product. In the unlikely event this discussion led to a good, cohesive alternate rule, I would hope someone would write it up for a future Pyramid article.
4. Why would making the rules more generic and universal while improving role-playing and gaming not be an excellent sole reason for doing anything with GURPS? O_o

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Remember that house rules are often hard to remember in actual play and difficult to troubleshoot for unexpected rules interactions.

This seems to be a somewhat specious argument; if all that happens is people that enjoy designing alternate rules do so but find out they are completely impractical in execution, that really is part of this game. It is possible that no one will ever feel like using what is suggested, and that's okay as well; at least I thought that was allowed by the board rules. Otherwise everything you said is true of at least some aspect of the actual rules, let alone most official alternate rules and unofficial house rules, making me question the relevance.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I have only a few that I use in every campaign, and I'm not seeing what this does that is as useful.

Probably because these rules don't yet exist. XD

I don't see what makes your house rules so useful... because I don't know what ones you're using. ;)

If I knew, I would still need to sit in on several of your games that involved using those rules, and even then that might not yet be enough to demonstrate their value to me. I'm neither you nor one of your players. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but I've read at least one good thread in the last six months (give or take) exploring issues with the price of Contacts and how not only does it seem too pricey for what you get, you are probably better off just having an Ally designed to fulfill a similar function.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Yes it is simplifies the rules, by turning three traits into one, but it also adds a lot of complexity elsewhere:

• You'll need to communicate it to players as otherwise they'll assume the RAW.
• You and players will have to consistently remember the house rule and how it differs from the RAW.
• You won't be able to use any published material that uses Ally, Patron or Contact (which is quite a lot of stuff!) as-is without conversion to your house rule.

This goes without saying. No, I mean it; it is a bit insulting that you felt the need to point out the obvious, especially when that's true when you use RAW as well; a good player (and GM) knows you need to verify even RAW because GURPS is all about customization (or the option to use none at all). Not much point to being "generic" and "universal" otherwise.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Which, for me, anyway is more than enough reason to not do it. The last in particular is very frustrating to implement when you just want to use some published resources in your game.

Great... then you can ignore this part of the conversation if it causes you so much distress. Or you can keep participating; that's good as well! Just please remember that those who decide to participate either agree these rules should be streamlined, or don't but just enjoy trying to help someone out who does.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Is there any reason to do this other than for more elegant mechanics?

Multiple. I won't repeat them as I gave them earlier in this post. Obviously you couldn't have read them before I posted them, but most I considered self-evident hence why I didn't mention them sooner. I must confess some confusion as to why this bothers you so much, especially for GURPS... where players are encouraged to adjust the rules as is necessary (but warned of the potential consequences).

TL;DR: Did I kick your puppy and not realize it? Improving game mechanics is its own reward, assuming you actually do improve them. If you've got no problem with RAW as is, good for you. I've read other discussions on the board about some concerns with Allies, Patrons and Contacts that I found compelling, and I thought this was a decent place to bring it up. If this is not, please consider PMing me about it or if the offense is as great as you make it seem, go ahead and report my posts; I won't take it personally! :)