tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post8716539445982632192..comments2023-04-28T10:46:14.916-04:00Comments on Run a Game: Combat ResolutionRun a Gamehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12555528519708213579noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6737331211018613722.post-74087677210401540612013-05-10T16:21:33.361-04:002013-05-10T16:21:33.361-04:00I like optional rules. Yes, they can be under-play...I like optional rules. Yes, they can be under-playtested, but the main rules also suffer from this problem. Really, they tend to cover edge-cases that bother certain GMs and players. I have no problem with an official rules mod that covers these edge cases, especially as a designer you *are* going to think about how this is going to affect the game. (If you're not the kind of designer who thinks about that sort of thing, the base rules likely have some serious problems as well.)<br /><br />Really, it's a way of anticipating house rules so that you kinda have a sense of what they'll look like. If you know, for example, that certain grognards are going to hate any situation where 1st level characters don't die easily, by including a rule that "fixes" that you can get a sense of how most of those campaigns are going to be run rather than worrying about what weird house rule is going to be used. This is a benefit to your players because *they* get some warning as well, and you can include relevant footnotes in published adventures et al.<br /><br />That said, I support doing this when the optional rules don't harm your overall agenda. The problem in the case of D&D is the agendas are so different that an optional rule to make the game work for one agenda completely ruins it for another, and might cause other issues as well because the changes have radical implications. The problem isn't the number of optional rules, but the goals for those rules; when you try to do something impossible (please everyone), any technique is going to fail.Kirt Dankmyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15176693641755312121noreply@blogger.com