Posted June 13, 2021 by The Spinel
#ttrpg #ttrpg rules #solo gaming #when is a rule a rule and not just a guide line
Well met friends,
So an astute player (or at least, an astute rules reader) has left a comment asking about the rule in the game that states (and states somewhat emphatically with it's underlining) that any diamond cards drawn should be removed from the games, and the purpose of this as s there isn't a mechanic around re-shuffling the deck.
In an earlier version of the game there was a mechanic where a player shuffled their deck when they returned to the lodge and though this got removed I left the rule about removing diamond suited cards in because I liked the symbolism of it; you've acquired something from the world of the game and as such it's no loner part of the game.
Winsome Heartwood is my first attempt at a TTRPG and now realise that I approached the writing of these rules in a different way than I would the rules to a table top board or card game. I think in my head writing the game was the start of a collaboration between myself and the player where the end result was an experience, and the rules writing was only my part, with the player then taking what they needed from the rules.
When I am writing rules for a card game, for example, I would never dream of having a rule that had no express purpose - if for no other reason than I know as a player I need to ensure I understand the mechanics and implications of rule set before getting underway - and am not sure if it is right that I approached the writing of TTRPG rules differently.
Perhaps it is because I'm not even sure if "rules" is the right word to use. It's not that there are the rules and then there's the game; the document you download is the game, or at least the part I provide.
I think this is a somewhat rambling way of saying that I'm happy with the decision I made to leave the rule in - I could perhaps have made it clearer that there is not a mechanical reason for the rule to be there, or maybe changed the formatting to make it seem less like it was worth special attention, but then I feel that could be start of the path which leads to a far too prescriptive experience.
Either way, plenty to dwell on - especially as I am now in the early stages on working on a new TTRPG.
Until anon,
Ceri