The Great Metarules of the Galaxy

I have decided to start this off by talking about some of the metarules that govern RPGs. I call them the Great Metarules of the Galaxy (big surprise, right). There are three metarules that govern how an RPG should be played and run.

• The Golden Metarule: Have fun, even if the rules must suffer.
• The Silver Metarule: The Game Director is right, even if the rules say otherwise.
• The Bronze Metarule: Big rules are guidelines, small rules are the Law.

These three metarules exist not to restrict either the players or the GD, but to make the gameplay smoother and to help the story flow naturally. Lets discuss them a bit.

The Golden Metarule

Have fun, even if the rules must suffer.

This metarule is really intended for the Game Director. Sometimes even the best thought out rule becomes unwieldy due to the players preferred style of play or the GDs direction technique. If a rule impedes play, tweak it, or remove it completely (assuming that it's not part of the central mechanic). The rules I have developed are intended to model physics in a fairly realistic fashion (NOTE: I do not claim to duplicate the physical realities of our universe exactly, what hubris that would be) but if the blind action combat rule slows play, or the players find it makes for un-fun play, get rid of it, and use something else.

The Silver Metarule

The game director is right, even if the rules say otherwise.

This metarule, on the other hand, is intended primarily for the players. Sometimes the GD wants a scene to work in a certain way or an encounter needs to function in a slightly more cinematic fashion than the rules would normally allow. If the GD needs to bend the rules to make an enjoyable game or an especially dramatic scene, don't worry about the rules, worry about the story. Besides, nobody likes a rules lawyer.

The Bronze Metarule

Big rules are guidelines, small rules are the Law.

This metarule is intended for everybody. Because of the tremendous amount of situations and events that can occur when a story is written by half a dozen people (directors and players) instead of just one person, there are some very broad generalized rules that are intended to act as guidelines for players and Game Directors alike. But there are certain times,when a specific situation has a rule that runs counter to the guideline, or a certain planet's physics deviate from the norm that you must remember the Bronze Metarule. the rules that govern specific situations, are always more important than the sweeping rules that are intended for general use.

By remembering these three metarules, all of the troupe (directors and players alike) will have a good time, and a smooth game.