Organizing your rules and stuff

[Zulgyan]

So how do people go about organizing their rules and game elements here?(extra classes, races, spells, monsters, combat house-rules, etc).

One extreme is to rewrite (mayor copy+pastes allowed) the whole books, integrating your houserules into them, in a unified text and presentation. This is a colossal work, I've been tempted to follow many times.

The other way is just having a house rules document and using multiple and disparate sources in you games (like using the books, a couple of magazines and some house-rule printed stuff, all toguether).

How do you go about?

[Finarvyn]

Mostly those things end up either stuck in my brain or on scraps of paper. If it's a table it gets clipped to my GM screen. If it's in a book I toss the book into my backpack, just in case I need it. I keep intending to put together a house rules set, but never really get around to it.

Of course, my years of OD&D have taught me to be a "rules minimalist" and most of my rules aren't that complex. Some of my notes look like "bind wounds after combat for 1d4 healing" or "treat drow PC like elves."

[bestialwarlust]

I don't have a lot of house rules so I just copy/paste into a text an incorporate my house rules into the document. I find it easier on the players.

[ravenheart87]

House rule document. The one for my DCC RPG campaign is pretty big, although most of it are profession and language charts.

[Deleted]

For me it's cut-and-paste the whole book. I generally rewrite all the spells and monsters anyway so it's the most efficient way to go about it.

[Deleted]

I keep info on individual things on index cards.

I still remember a frightening amount of this stuff by memory, so often when I'm reffing, all I have are the hit and saving throw charts, the wandering monster tables, and the dungeon map.

Also, I still run my game by the standards of Gary and Dave; "just tell me what you want to do, don't worry about the rules."

[Fearghus]

I have the same problem as Fin. My intent is to get all of the house-rules to paper, but for now they are all in my head. My current campaign notes are in such a state of clutter that it seems daunting just to get that organized with all of the house rules. One of these days I'll get motivated and put pen to paper and get it sorted out.

[bea]

I haven't DMed enough OD&D/OSR to have houserules. For me it's still about learning the existing rules and finding which rule set I like the best. Most of the simulacrum games have in common that they have a free pdf, with or without the artwork. I printed out a few (S&W Whitebox, Labyrinth Lord, LL Advanced Edition Companion and LotFP) and glue bound them at the local library, so if I need to clarify rules or would like to houserule anything I would just take notes in the margins. Or in the blank spaces where artwork would be in the POD versions

[peterlind]

The OD&D Rules: This might seem a bit extreme . . . Photocopy the rules, cut into individual pages, place in 6 x 9 sheet protectors and binders. White Box fit into 1 binder. GH & BM fit into another. EW and GD&H fit into a 3rd! Yes, it took awhile but was kinda fun . . .

House Rules: Copy of Holmes and pertinent SR articles into a binder with sheet protectors . . .

[Koren n'Rhys]

I have a 3-ring binder for DMing and print out random tables and whatever odds & ends I find that I like. For the players, I made a digest booklet of my house rules, extra races & classes, and have a copy of that on the table for reference. It is a bit outdated though.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

If the house rules are for one of the free offerings with a downloadable word document then I add in the custom classes, races, etc. and make any other modifications that are necessary. Otherwise, I just gather that information in a house rules document.

[Porphyre]

Apr 3, 2014 9:28:26 GMT -6 Koren n'Rhys said:

I have a 3-ring binder for DMing and print out random tables and whatever odds & ends I find that I like. For the players, I made a digest booklet of my house rules, extra races & classes, and have a copy of that on the table for reference. It is a bit outdated though.

Same for the binder.