thread: 2005-03-09 : Traditional vs. Commie Roleplaying
On 2005-03-09, Vincent wrote:
Christian, Kat - exactly.
"Rules," means something like "reliable procedures of play." They don't have to be written down or even said out loud.
Saying them out loud, as always, is a very good way to make sure everybody knows what they are. (Writing them down is a minimum first step toward making them portable to other gaming groups.)
Now to go a little further:
Formal rules can create dynamics in your group that you could never create socially. "Formal rules" means reliable procedures calling upon cues: dice, numbers, life stones, turn taking, stuff like that.
Some such formally created dynamics make for better play, depending what you want out of a game. Particularly, if you want intense in-game conflict, formally created dynamics will always serve you better than socially created ones.
