Rules Lite

Most people are pushing for rules-lite systems.  The idea is is to get a game together and played, fast.  People like the 'out of the box' play-style. Chatroom roleplaying relies almost entirely on no-rules games, focusing entirely on storytelling and character development.  Rules systems are a means to an end, just a simple way of establishing conflict-resolution that is, at least on the surface, impartial or heavily tweakable by GMs so their carefully-plotted stories don't come to a crashing halt because a player had a lucky roll.

I really like rules systems, though.  I like a lot of rules.  People probably think I'm sick, but I enjoy knowing that there are specific situations that can be resolved through the application of multiple dice.  Dice are fun.  I like to roll them. 

I also like the feeling of full impartiality.  Despite what cosmic forces are involved, they still must follow rules of their own in order to preserve the nature of the universe.  In some ways I'm applying that heavy title of "cosmic force" to the GM, but it also applies to the game as a whole: the setting as played by countless game groups.  Someone suggested that the problem is a matter of trust - that I have a psychological problem because I can't trust people in my own game group to make proper decisions.  But that's not what I mean.  It has more to do with a philosophical approach to the idea.  There are things man was not meant to toy with, and having a strict rules system in place reinforces that concept . . . even when the GM is clearly ignoring or changing rules in favor of play style.

More importantly, I like the simulation aspect.  There is the idea that an entire world can propagate and continue based on mechanical application, and the variable or change to that world comes not in the form of arbitration by Lords on High, but by the actions of the individuals in that world.  The simulation of experience is also important, answering the question of what would happen if one were to enter this cave.  I want a livable experience in my fantasy, and rules that are meant to simulate reality as much as possible do that.  During a game devoted entirely to story at the expense of rules, I can feel the artifice.  I know it is a story told from someone's perspective.  I rarely feel like I, as an individual, can alter or affect much unless I take absurd or arbitrary actions.

I saw a couple of places online where people were advocating "no meta-plot" in their games.  Even though they usually refer to the published company material and not their own games, I have to admit, that's a refreshing find.  Even so, people enjoy the plot, they like having a "bigger goal" to be working toward as a group, and they like knowing that their actions have an effect on the world around them.  I admit that some of my favorite times around the game table were during large-scale, campaign-long stories.  But maybe that's been a little overdone.  Everybody does that, and the world is almost always at stake.  We forget our humble beginnings, and every character is worried about fulfilling destiny or trying to find a way to warp that destiny into their own game. 

So let's all step back.  Let's remember why we're doing this.  Think of ourselves as professional ball players who have to remind ourselves it's the love of the game, not the personal rewards, that drew us here in the first place.  Walk into the wilderness and make your own stories.

Related Links:
Grand Experiments