Rules Lawyers can also get bogged down in obscure modifiers and rare special cases. They may need reminding that you don’t need to use everything in the system, just because it’s printed in the book. (Unless you want to, in which case you’ll find the Rules Lawyer an even more valuable resource).<\/p>\n
Ways a Rules-Lawyer can be useful<\/h2>\nOut of Character:<\/h3>\n\n- As a researcher:<\/strong> if you know you\u2019re going to need some section of the rules you don\u2019t normally use, ask your resident Rules Lawyer to research them for you and make a cheat-sheet you to use at the next game session.<\/li>\n
- As a mentor:<\/strong> pair the Rules Lawyer up with a player who\u2019s new to this game system. That player will get a good grounding in the system\u2019s mechanics–which is always helpful, even if the new person is a Character Actor. Just keep an eye on things and remind the mentor to keep to the basics of the system and not overwhelm his new student with too much detail and crunch.<\/li>\n
- As a devil\u2019s advocate:<\/strong> if another player suggests a rules addition or modification, have her run it by the Rules Lawyer for analysis. He can give you a break down of the advantages or disadvantages of the suggestion and a thorough description of the effect it\u2019s likely to have on the rest of the game’s mechanics.<\/li>\n
- As a creation assistant:<\/strong> Because Rules Lawyers\u00a0 know the mechanics of character creation extremely well, you can give a character description to a Rules Lawyer and let them work out the mechanics of it. Just make him aware that you\u2019ll be making some changes to his work, so that he doesn\u2019t know everything about that NPC’s powers and abilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
(I did this frequently with a player in one campaign I ran. I\u2019d write out in words what I wanted the character to be like, pass her to my resident Mechanic and he\u2019d figure out all her stats, powers, and special abilities. I\u2019d then make some changes to what he did to keep mystery involved. Balancing mechanics isn\u2019t my strong suit, so I sought out players who are. It saved me a lot of time and I ended up with more mechanically-sound NPCs than I would\u2019ve if I\u2019d done it all myself.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In Character:<\/h3>\n
Rules Lawyers tend to have a difficult time with the concept of in-character\/out-of-character. Like the Power Gamer, most characters create by Rules Lawyers tend to be primarily collections of stats and powers, rather than a fully-developed personae. Just accept that you’re dealing with a vicarious player and don\u2019t try to force them to develop acting ability.<\/p>\n
(This is an excerpt from my upcoming book The GM’s Field Guide to Players<\/em>. The book goes into much more detail about a variety of player types and suggestions on how to work with them during a game. It’s tentatively scheduled for release in late November of this year).<\/p>\n[Image courtesy of shawnzrossi<\/a> via Flickr Creative Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\nArticles Zemanta Thinks Are Related<\/h5>\n\n- A Different Look At Rules Lawyers from Reality Refracted<\/a> (realityrefracted.com)<\/li>\n
- Calling Rules Lawyers, Power Gamers, Playtesters and LARPers – APLHA PLAYTEST from The Action Point<\/a> (theactionpoint.wordpress.com)<\/li>\n
- A Field Guide to Gen Con Attendees<\/a> (rpgblog2.com)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Enhanced](\"http:\/\/img.zemanta.com\/zemified_a.png?x-id=76969bfa-a18a-4568-97f7-eb35eb47fdb2\")
<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Rules Lawyer This sub-class of the Mechanic finds great joy in being the \u201cgo-to\u201d guy. He\u2019s probably memorized half (if not all) the books the group uses, and then some. While some Rules Lawyers have a strong emotional stake … Continue reading
- \n
- As a researcher:<\/strong> if you know you\u2019re going to need some section of the rules you don\u2019t normally use, ask your resident Rules Lawyer to research them for you and make a cheat-sheet you to use at the next game session.<\/li>\n
- As a mentor:<\/strong> pair the Rules Lawyer up with a player who\u2019s new to this game system. That player will get a good grounding in the system\u2019s mechanics–which is always helpful, even if the new person is a Character Actor. Just keep an eye on things and remind the mentor to keep to the basics of the system and not overwhelm his new student with too much detail and crunch.<\/li>\n
- As a devil\u2019s advocate:<\/strong> if another player suggests a rules addition or modification, have her run it by the Rules Lawyer for analysis. He can give you a break down of the advantages or disadvantages of the suggestion and a thorough description of the effect it\u2019s likely to have on the rest of the game’s mechanics.<\/li>\n
- As a creation assistant:<\/strong> Because Rules Lawyers\u00a0 know the mechanics of character creation extremely well, you can give a character description to a Rules Lawyer and let them work out the mechanics of it. Just make him aware that you\u2019ll be making some changes to his work, so that he doesn\u2019t know everything about that NPC’s powers and abilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
(I did this frequently with a player in one campaign I ran. I\u2019d write out in words what I wanted the character to be like, pass her to my resident Mechanic and he\u2019d figure out all her stats, powers, and special abilities. I\u2019d then make some changes to what he did to keep mystery involved. Balancing mechanics isn\u2019t my strong suit, so I sought out players who are. It saved me a lot of time and I ended up with more mechanically-sound NPCs than I would\u2019ve if I\u2019d done it all myself.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In Character:<\/h3>\n
Rules Lawyers tend to have a difficult time with the concept of in-character\/out-of-character. Like the Power Gamer, most characters create by Rules Lawyers tend to be primarily collections of stats and powers, rather than a fully-developed personae. Just accept that you’re dealing with a vicarious player and don\u2019t try to force them to develop acting ability.<\/p>\n
(This is an excerpt from my upcoming book The GM’s Field Guide to Players<\/em>. The book goes into much more detail about a variety of player types and suggestions on how to work with them during a game. It’s tentatively scheduled for release in late November of this year).<\/p>\n
[Image courtesy of shawnzrossi<\/a> via Flickr Creative Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\n
Articles Zemanta Thinks Are Related<\/h5>\n
- \n
- A Different Look At Rules Lawyers from Reality Refracted<\/a> (realityrefracted.com)<\/li>\n
- Calling Rules Lawyers, Power Gamers, Playtesters and LARPers – APLHA PLAYTEST from The Action Point<\/a> (theactionpoint.wordpress.com)<\/li>\n
- A Field Guide to Gen Con Attendees<\/a> (rpgblog2.com)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Rules Lawyer This sub-class of the Mechanic finds great joy in being the \u201cgo-to\u201d guy. He\u2019s probably memorized half (if not all) the books the group uses, and then some. While some Rules Lawyers have a strong emotional stake … Continue reading
- Calling Rules Lawyers, Power Gamers, Playtesters and LARPers – APLHA PLAYTEST from The Action Point<\/a> (theactionpoint.wordpress.com)<\/li>\n
- As a mentor:<\/strong> pair the Rules Lawyer up with a player who\u2019s new to this game system. That player will get a good grounding in the system\u2019s mechanics–which is always helpful, even if the new person is a Character Actor. Just keep an eye on things and remind the mentor to keep to the basics of the system and not overwhelm his new student with too much detail and crunch.<\/li>\n