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Old 01-26-2023, 01:00 PM   #1
Boge
 
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Default Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their rulings?

I imagine it's hard for a GM to know all ins and outs of every skill, advantage, disadvantage, etc. and every combination they may arise. If I was the GM I'd instruct each player to learn rules that are likely to affect their character. I was just wondering if something like that was written in the books somewhere.
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Old 01-26-2023, 01:37 PM   #2
Stormcrow
 
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

No, I don't think so. This is between the GM and the players, not a place for the rules to get involved.
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Old 01-26-2023, 02:12 PM   #3
Witchking
 
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

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Originally Posted by Boge View Post
I imagine it's hard for a GM to know all ins and outs of every skill, advantage, disadvantage, etc. and every combination they may arise. If I was the GM I'd instruct each player to learn rules that are likely to affect their character. I was just wondering if something like that was written in the books somewhere.
IME helping the GM by having the Book/page number of anything unusual that you are planning to be using can help streamline the process.

That way the relevant rules section can be looked at before the GM can decide how and if it will apply to the situation in question.
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Old 01-26-2023, 02:29 PM   #4
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

I'm unaware of anywhere that lays out any sort of delegation of responsibilities; at most, you'll probably have something noting part of the GM's role is to make rulings when necessary (typically meaning "make an ad hoc ruling when something that isn't explicitly covered by the rules comes up"). I believe TTRPG's largely just assume everyone fully knows all the rules that are in play.

As for delegation, that's really something that I feel should be up to the group and what they're comfortable with. The ideal situation is, of course, that everyone knows all the rules in play perfectly, and either there are no rules that are open to interpretation or everyone involved interprets things the same way. For most groups, only the GM needs to know all the rules in play (or at least have a quick way to look them up if/when they come up), but it's useful for the players to know the basics, as well as any more advanced rules that apply specifically to their character (so they know what their character is capable of). More extemporaneous GM's can get away with simply knowing most of the rules and being able to reliably improvise the rest to the group's satisfaction. In groups with a good deal of trust, the GM can rely on the players to know most of the rules and apply them as needed, with the GM primarily being there to come up with scenarios and the like. There are plenty of other setups that can work well - for example, if one of the players has an encyclopedic knowledge of the rules but doesn't want to be GM (or isn't a very good one), while another player who wants to GM is a bit fuzzy on the rules, you can have that player handle the rules as something like a copilot GM (but without power over the narrative, so their character is just another PC). Naturally, that requires the "copilot" be trustworthy.
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Old 01-26-2023, 02:34 PM   #5
Mr_Sandman
 
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

I try to make a point of having a decent knowledge of the rules (and where to find them) for any trait or equipment I put on a character when I'm playing. I greatly appreciate players who do the same when I'm GMing. I can usually handle being the rules expert when I GM, but players taking some of the burden can make things run smoother.

Glancing at the Basic Set, and thinking back to all the GURPS books I've read, It occurs to me that GURPS has some GMing advice, but little advice or guidance for players.

One nice feature of the GURPS Character Sheet program is that it puts page references for traits and equipment right on the character sheet. It makes it much easier and quicker to look things up if a rules question comes up in play. If you are looking at a character sheet on your computer, you can even link the page references to the PDFs they refer too.
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Old 01-26-2023, 02:49 PM   #6
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

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Originally Posted by Stormcrow View Post
No, I don't think so. This is between the GM and the players, not a place for the rules to get involved.
This. Especially for young players.
That said, it's helpful for the players to know the rules.
With my regular players (who are veteran players) I mandate that they know the rules for their characters & special abilities.
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Old 01-26-2023, 02:53 PM   #7
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

It is the job of the GM to make sure the game runs smoothly.

It is the job of the Player to know how to use their PC.

Knowing how to use your PC means learning the rules for what your PC can do, like wise, the GM should also read up on it too, incase the Player tries to do something that might be iffy.
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Old 01-26-2023, 04:00 PM   #8
Donny Brook
 
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

I use a custom Excell character sheet with page numbers beside everything.

Game doesn't start until complete sheets are in hand.
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Old 01-26-2023, 08:10 PM   #9
Boge
 
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

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Originally Posted by zoncxs View Post
It is the job of the GM to make sure the game runs smoothly.

It is the job of the Player to know how to use their PC.

Knowing how to use your PC means learning the rules for what your PC can do, like wise, the GM should also read up on it too, incase the Player tries to do something that might be iffy.
That's how I feel. I was just wondering if it was written as a suggestion.
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Old 01-26-2023, 08:13 PM   #10
KarlKost
 
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Default Re: Is it written in the books somewhere that players should be aware of their ruling

I fully trust my players, and let them help me with the rules when it happens to be some Im not too familiar with, althought as GM I always try to be the rules lawyer of the table, but Im not about to just refuse their imput - and sometimes I even take in some houserules suggested by them.
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