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New Rule books = New house rules?
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Raven!
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PostPosted: 23-Aug-2006 16:02    Post subject: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

With all the new rules and equipment coming out, how long before house rules?

Cause I've already thought of one to simplfy missiles. Get rid of LRMs, SRMs, and MRMs completely. Go with the clan multiple type missile thingy and just use that. For both sides. I think it would be easier! Very Happy

What other house rules look likethey are needed?

Raven!
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Mordel
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PostPosted: 23-Aug-2006 23:48    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

Quote:

On 2006-08-23 16:02, Raven! wrote:
With all the new rules and equipment coming out, how long before house rules?

Cause I've already thought of one to simplfy missiles. Get rid of LRMs, SRMs, and MRMs completely. Go with the clan multiple type missile thingy and just use that. For both sides. I think it would be easier!

What other house rules look likethey are needed?

Raven!



None. The rule system is fine the way it house. Why complicate it even further by making people remember additional rules that will only confuse them when they play with others not in your group.

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Raven!
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 11:38    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

Because I've yet to see the group of people who sit down at a table and not house rule something? Very Happy House rules are fun! *pokes Mordel* NOW HAVE FUN! OR ELSE!

NO RULES FOR YOU!

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AWAD
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 12:00    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

Quote:

On 2006-08-23 23:48, Mordel wrote:
Quote:

On 2006-08-23 16:02, Raven! wrote:
With all the new rules and equipment coming out, how long before house rules?



What other house rules look likethey are needed?

Raven!



None. The rule system is fine the way it house. Why complicate it even further by making people remember additional rules that will only confuse them when they play with others not in your group.



Mordel,

House rules are the sign of a great and imaginative mind. Appearently something those in MA may have a problem with.

You do have a point about playing with other people. But if you play in a campaign 35 times a year vs 2 cons a year, then does it really matter? If you play in bunches of cons and pick up games against others then it is a concern.

But then for good and smart players it should not matter

AWAD- Who will review his long list of house rules when he gets the new rules
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Pinhead
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 13:20    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

The only problems that I have with house rules are:

They usually end up making something much more powerful than it is in the basic game.

Those people who play using 'House rules' oftentimes have no idea what the 'real' rules actually are.

Alot of people who use 'House Rules' end up not understanding fairly basic tactics, which help them deal with the published rules.

Pin

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AWAD
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 14:33    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

Quote:

On 2006-08-24 13:20, Pinhead wrote:
The only problems that I have with house rules are:

They usually end up making something much more powerful than it is in the basic game.

Pin



I will ignore the other parts of the post and deal with this. I disagree with not knowing real tactics, this is f@@king robot game based on a bell curve in which luck can radically alter it all. Done with rant.

I will agree with you if the House rules were made only after a couple of sessions, no play testing, and in one group, are usually unbalanced. It fits style of play of that group.

House rules should be made after some time, no guidelines on how long. Also they should be made alterable has time passes due to change in rules and equipment. Throw it at different groups and get some feedback. Maybe the House rule is specific only to the way your players play.

You should take two major items into consideration, KISS (keep it simple stupid) and beliveable balance. Sometimes the two items are exclusive of each other but what you should strive for. Some are simple like a Flamer does 2 heat and 2 points of damage.

Easy to remember, suddenly I do not have a 100 flamers on the boards, the Firestarter is not death on legs, and others with one flamer add some insult to injury. So it makes the physics (which is busted in this game) a little more swallowable and gives the flamer a little more viability.

But Pinhead I will agree, if playing a pick up game or just smashing and bashing, ditch teh house rules. I feel House rules are for campaigns.

With all that said, some of this changes in the new book, are almost identical to the House rules I have had in place for over 10 years. So House rules can help advance the game and cover for inbalances the designers did not see since the play test groups tend to be small and clickish.

AWAD- 5 states and many groups later, and my House rules still get tweaked.
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Knightrunner
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 15:21    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

Yeah, most house rules seem to be developed to make something more powerful. Kind of like the Drow Psionicist/Assassin/Paladins I remember from an old D&D game. Players who want super-power will alter rules, no matter how balanced the rules are- they want power, not balance. Sometimes they (especially the younger ones) never really learn the rules at all and play a game almost entirely of their own making. Tactics in these games are usually pretty simple, too (I know that's a generalization, but it's a pretty accurate one).

LRM's and SRM's were part of the original game and still work great- I'd hate to see them go (officially or otherwise), nor do I think there's any reason to remove them.

If we're going to make house rules, how about saying that pulse lasers are incompatible with targeting computers? Pretty easy to justify with fluff (since they fire multiple shots pr round, like LB-X cluster shots that already can't use TC's). Come to think of it, that would be a great official rule (although the Goshawk, etc. would have to be redesigned).
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Horhiro
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 18:31    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

I do use a few house rules, and it is always at conventions:

Rule 1: Secret fire declaration. Each turn after the movement phase is complete, players have a certain amount of time to write on the back of their sheet, what and who they are firing at. If during the actual combat phases their target is destroyed, too bad. There is no way to do the "correct" way of fire declaration by alternating members of each side. It would take waaaayyyy too long for the large battles I plan at Cons.

Rule 2: Modified Initative/movement phase. Depending on the game, I sometimes use playing cards and players move their mechs in numerical order, knowing when their move is, but not the move order of any of the mechs after them. Sometimes, if each player is controlling 2 mechs each I break movement down into 4 sub move phases: each member of losing init moves 1 mech/ each member of winning itit moves 1 mech/ each member of losing init moves 2nd mech/ each member of winning init moves 2nd mech...... these methods also help to speed up game play.

Rule 3: All damage during weapons phase takes effect at end of phase, therefor allowing an arm that has been blown off to still suck up armor/internal hits during that phase.....sorry Randal, it just makes sense!


That's about it for house rules, if I think of more that I use , i'll edit this post.


[ This Message was edited by: Horhiro on 2006-08-24 20:43 ]
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Pinhead
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 21:04    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

Quote:


I will ignore the other parts of the post and deal with this. I disagree with not knowing real tactics, this is f@@king robot game based on a bell curve in which luck can radically alter it all. Done with rant.



Lovely rant, and yet, most 'House Rules' are designed to bypass the bell curve for different reasons.

Crit seeker ammo
Alternate LRM ammo
Alternate AC ammo
One laser kills one infantry

Those are all interesting in some respect, but I'd rather see a simple ruleset that is easy to follow, that everyone knows.

And by the way, if you truly believe the game is simply a bell curve, then it is easy to understand your success in the play by E-Mail games. I bow down to your prowess.

Quote:

With all that said, some of this changes in the new book, are almost identical to the House rules I have had in place for over 10 years. So House rules can help advance the game and cover for inbalances the designers did not see since the play test groups tend to be small and clickish.



That's cool, and Casey and I can claim at least two different revisions of the Thunder munition rules, as we took advantage of a glaring problem with the ruleset in front of someone who was tied into FASA, and it was changed in the errata almost imediately. Chihawk can probably still tell you the guy's name.

Pinhead TBC -Retired-

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chihawk
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PostPosted: 24-Aug-2006 21:19    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

Quote:

On 2006-08-24 21:04, Pinhead wrote:
Chihawk can probably still tell you the guy's name.



I remember his face...his name may take a little longer...

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PostPosted: 26-Aug-2006 01:01    Post subject: RE: New Rule books = New house rules? Reply to topic Reply with quote

I like that flamer rule

House rules are fun. In cons, sure, stick to the published rules...if you're running a custom campaign, accessorize the game a little bit.

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