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Post by rick krebs on Mar 15, 2013 8:03:05 GMT -6
Would you play a role playing game without being told the rules of the game ? Allowing the Gamemaster/Referee/Judge to explain as you play and trusting his/her rulings.
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Post by coffee on Mar 15, 2013 8:05:24 GMT -6
I would. Especially if I knew the referee, and if I wasn't the only one who didn't know the rules.
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Post by makofan on Mar 15, 2013 8:35:18 GMT -6
I sort of did this in my play-by-post Pendragon campaigns; they learned as they went along. It seems mostly positive
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
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Post by Aplus on Mar 15, 2013 8:41:43 GMT -6
I thought that was how most games started. But yes, perfectly fine.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2013 8:43:26 GMT -6
Yes, I would. I have actually done this (Empire of the Petal Throne).
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Post by verhaden on Mar 15, 2013 8:47:38 GMT -6
Yes. I have been in this situation as a player and as a referee. Though, I don't deny them access to the rules -- I just teach through example and social osmosis.
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Post by kesher on Mar 15, 2013 8:55:50 GMT -6
I would and have---it was, I believe, a Mage: The Ascension campaign. Didn't last that long, but it was rather liberating...
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Post by Vile Traveller on Mar 15, 2013 9:22:35 GMT -6
My players did this for the first year after I discovered D&D (Moldvay Basic). No-one else got a copy before then and I sure wasn't lending it out!
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Post by Falconer on Mar 15, 2013 9:48:49 GMT -6
I have never had players who bothered to read the rulebooks of any game!
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Post by talysman on Mar 15, 2013 11:52:27 GMT -6
Aside from the obvious (when I first played D&D back in the '70s, and didn't know the rules,) I played in my friend's ORC system games (Fates Worse Than Death, Tibet, In Dark Alleys.) To this day, I still don't know the rules.
Another friend of mine started homebrewing his own system back in the late '80s. No one knew the rules other than him, and since I don't think he ever wrote them down, no one will ever know. Worked just fine.
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Post by alcyone on Mar 15, 2013 12:14:40 GMT -6
Absolutely, that is how we always played back in the day, though times and players seem to have changed. Availability of materials, cost, laziness, and being too much of a boy scout to read past the "Don't read past this page!" admonitions all contributed to this.
It's how I expect things to work today when I am running a game, and am always startled and a little saddened when someone feels they need DM-level knowledge to play.
Though online, it seems like everyone is a DM first and a player out of necessity. That's ok too. As long as each table only has one DM at a time!
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Post by jcstephens on Mar 15, 2013 12:35:33 GMT -6
Paranoia is made of this.
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Post by Sean Michael Kelly on Mar 15, 2013 13:51:51 GMT -6
Yes, indeed! I've done it, run it, and will do it again. :-)
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mordrene
Level 2 Seer
Trogdor the Burninator
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Post by mordrene on Mar 15, 2013 13:56:42 GMT -6
I would agree that it depends on the referee. if i trust them then absolutely. If its the fool of the group, then i would try it at least once.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2013 16:01:36 GMT -6
Maybe because I started out as a GM, but I'm having a hard time thinking of a roleplaying game that I've played at some point over the years where I hadn't read the rule book prior to the first session of playing. If I'm going to play in a game I always read the rule book before the first session.
**Edited to Add**
Now when I GM, none of the players seem to have ever bothered reading the rules aside from D&D games.
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tog
Level 4 Theurgist
Detect Meal & What Kind
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Post by tog on Mar 15, 2013 16:42:11 GMT -6
This is exactly how I started RPGs; I joined a game at my LGS not only not knowing how to play D&D, but never having read an RPG before. And look at me now.
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Post by blackbarn on Mar 15, 2013 20:29:56 GMT -6
I would if I trusted the referee. If I thought they were making up everything as they go, then no. I'd like there to be some structure to it (rules) whether I knew what those were or not, otherwise how is it a game?
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Post by desertscrb on Mar 15, 2013 22:26:42 GMT -6
But if you don't know the rules, how would you know whether or not the ref is making everything up?
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Post by DungeonDevil on Mar 16, 2013 0:37:03 GMT -6
Would you play a role playing game without being told the rules of the game ? Allowing the Gamemaster/Referee/Judge to explain as you play and trusting his/her rulings. I would have to know what genre, or rules system, he was using, though I myself need not know them. I would have to know that the ref had superlative command of the system's rules, which consequently would enable him to make seamless ad hoc adjudications, as needed. I would insist that he be absolute impartial, not play favorites, not fudge too terribly much. What's the point of declaring the rules, if they are to be utterly defenestrated? Most of all, he must be a talented storyteller, enabling the players to become immersed in the scenario -- or an entire campaign -- rather than mumble robotically over the ritualistic mechanical aspects ([Ben Stein voice] "You rolled a 15. Good. The monster is dead. We now move on to encounter two..."[/Ben Stein voice])
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Post by talysman on Mar 16, 2013 12:38:17 GMT -6
I would if I trusted the referee. If I thought they were making up everything as they go, then no. I'd like there to be some structure to it (rules) whether I knew what those were or not, otherwise how is it a game? I suppose it's a matter of personal threshold, but a GM making up everything as they go wouldn't automatically worry me. I'd have to take into account my experience or judgment on *their* judgment. A 14-year-old referee? You could pretty much guarantee that trusting the ref would be a bad thing, in that case. Post-college-age referee? I start thinking about their personality. Do they seem to have a lot of control issues or a need to dominate? Then they're no better than a 14-year-old, and I need to know the rules. Do they seem more willing to go where inspiration leads, and they're not married to their own desires? OK, I can probably trust 'em, even if they're making it all up on the fly.
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 16, 2013 13:58:08 GMT -6
I have never had players who bothered to read the rulebooks of any game! True 'nuff. Most of my current players only sort-of know the rules anyway. With one obvious rules-lawyer exception, they tend to be more interested in the story than the mechanics.
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Post by alcyone on Mar 16, 2013 14:46:39 GMT -6
As far as the no rules/ignorant of the rules DM, I'd think that would become obvious after the first session, but I'd still play the first session to find out.
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tog
Level 4 Theurgist
Detect Meal & What Kind
Posts: 148
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Post by tog on Mar 19, 2013 7:30:17 GMT -6
An interesting find concerning this question, from a letter in Europa 6-8, 1975, from a new D&D player in the UK responding to a comment by Gygax: So rules lawyers were something to worry about, even in 1975!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2013 21:48:29 GMT -6
For the first year and a half Gary ran Greyhawk, NOBODY ELSE HAD THE RULES.
In fact, that was how I got so many people to play... "you don't need to know the rules, just say what you want to do."
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Post by Ghul on Mar 20, 2013 7:21:47 GMT -6
In some ways, I feel this is a "pure" way of gaming. For the players, there is freedom in not knowing the rules, in which the referee need only say, "Tell me what you want your character to do right now, and I'll let you know how it works, what to roll, etc."
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gronkthebold
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Post by gronkthebold on Mar 24, 2013 9:31:55 GMT -6
I would agree with most of the posters here: Not knowing the rules or setting can enhance the mystery and fun of exploring a new world created by the referee. It also eliminates any irritating rules lawyer arguments if any were possible, and it allows the players to be very creative and not restricted by the rules they would have read in the rule book(s).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2013 11:09:35 GMT -6
I've played games like that. I think they can work well.
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rleduc
Level 3 Conjurer
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Post by rleduc on Mar 24, 2013 13:05:23 GMT -6
I don't need to know much about the rules. I need to know how to generate a character, which might mean making somewhat informed choices. If I'm a spell caster, I need to know some basics about magic: if it's a Vancian style once per day spell use or some sort of spell point system erc. to allow me to be basically functional at picking spells. That's about it.
I need to know about style, though. I'm no good at these group story style games and prefer the referee as the reality generator with me saying what I want to do or where to go, etc. That can be part of the rules, but I don't need to know about the specific implementation. Just what is expected of the players.
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