For role-playing enthusiasts all over the world I’m about to tread on a sacred cow.  Maybe tread is the wrong word; it’s more like stomp all over, or beat down.  I hate “house rules”.  Let me be clear, I didn’t say dislike, or prefer not to use, or don’t care for; I said hate.  Perhaps loathe would be the better term. 

I realize that for many gamers, tinkering with rules is a lot like a dog burying a bone, or spring following winter, or players constantly asking “Did we level up yet?”; it just seems to be the natural order of things.

Unlike a lot of my peers I don’t have a bunch of fond memories of “the cool critical tables I once made up” or “the awesome rule I created to more accurately distinguish between the katana and the greatsword”.  I like using the rules in a manner consistent with what the designers intended (maybe I’m just lazy).  To be clear I’m not talking about making an ad hoc decision for something that comes up during the course of a game and there isn’t a specific rule for.  I’m talking about altering, changing, adding, or subtracting from the existing rules in order to “improve” the game.

But why I ask?  Is the game lacking some must have mechanic? (But how many licks does it take to get to the center?!)  Is the game incomplete in some way?  (What?  There’s no table for random bodily functions?!)  Or is it just that we all envision ourselves undiscovered game design geniuses?  (I could design better stuff then these clowns!)  I have a few theories of my own:

• Gamemasters like making a game “theirs” (I like to call this “marking their territory”).
• Simulation gamers want a game more “realistic” (I like to call this “forgetting you’re playing an elf using magic while fighting a dragon”). 
• Players want an advantage (I like to call this “cheating”).

I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right, there are a few games out there that are so broken they need house rules to even become playable (I believe Sam posted about one of them a few days ago).  So why even bother.  My rule (I guess it’s a house rule) is that if a game is so problematic that it needs rules that the designers obviously forgot to include, I don’t play it. 

But as usual, regardless of my ranting I always have stubborn players who insist on “improving” things via a house rule.  So it is for them that I have created the following format for “Submitting a request to the GM for the consideration of the possibility of the inclusion of a House Rule to the existing game system”.  Also known as a “Form 10-22”.

• The request must take place after a game session and with all players present.
• It will be considered “good form”, although no guarantee of success, to include the GM’s favorite snacks with the request, as well as a compliment on the excellent session he just ran.
• If the request is to alter an existing rule, every effort will be made to first understand why the rule exists in the first place and what impact the purposed rule will have on the rest of the system.

Then the purposed rule must pass the following tests:

• Does the rule create additional work for the GM or create a game “sub-system”?
• If the answer is “yes” the request will be denied.
• How does the rule enhance the RPG experience?
• If the rule does not, the request will be denied.
• Is the request being submitted merely to grant a character an advantage?
• If the answer is “yes” the request will be denied and the player will be admonished about “cheating”.
• Is the request being defended by a need for “realism”?
• If the answer is “yes” the request will be denied and the player will be reminded that “You cannot use the rules of our reality to justify breaking the rules of the characters’ reality!”

If the request passes all of the above-mentioned criteria the final decision as to whether or not to include it will be solely at the gamemaster’s discretion.  And at my table the player will be advised to see paragraph #1 above.