The Rules suck because my Game Master is a Moron!

Good Gamemastering, Dungeonmastering or whatever your game calls the referee, seldom has very little to do with the game rules. What? Really? Yes its true. But stop, right now, and re-read my first line, notice the SELDOM? Good, I will accept bad games, I've seen a handful, but all in all games tend to be manageable. It is however more than likely the rules don't suck, your gamemaster does.

Story time kids! Gather around while Old Man Campbell spends you a yarn of days long pass and adventures long forgotten, I forgot what where we doing? Oh yeah, Story Time.

It was what maybe '95 or '96 I was over at a buddies house and well, we where playing a game that in truth wasn't so bad, I liked the game alot, Mechwarrior. Look the rules where solid, however the Game Master was not.

It was a dark time during the Succession Wars or what not, I don't remember what war, only that I was working as a mercenary for my comrades, House Kurita. Good guys all in all payed well and had a great health care packages. Any way me and the boys where hunting down what the "Special" guys in black called a "pàn biàn" or traitor. Dirty guy had sold some secrets to them snobs in Steiner and the "Special" guys wanted the traitor aced.

Just so happened the traitor had a little help from some Stiener "Special" boys and well we where a bit out gunned. No here is where it went bad.

The traitor had ran into a dead end, and well of course it was an ambush, me and the boys where pinned down deep, and with little chance of getting out without a few new holes in our bodies, out came the grenades. Now you would think that practiced and hardened mercs like ourselves could at least know the general basics of the common military hand grenade, but for what ever reason, it was lost to us.

Strange as that was it would seem my whole team had forgotten the basic functions of grenades, but not only that we seemed to be in some sort of "spatial distortion", because the laws of physics failed that day.

I threw my first grenade, but for some reason I had forgotten to pull the pin. My second in command threw his and well it stopped in mid air and then flew back landing in the direct center of our group. Odd as that was it got worse. Frustrated I made sure to pull the pin on my next grenade but for some reason it took my far longer than one would think to pull a pin and toss a grenade. And would you no know it the grenade not only missed my ended target, a target I knew I hit. it seemed to veer off and fly in another direction further than I could has possibly thrown a grenade.

After that day, I quit, I retired to a small rice patty on a backwards planet deep within the borders of Kurita space.

Now, Eric that was a neat sorry but whats your point?

Well reader it's easy. My Gamemaster was very unfamiliar with not only the Game rules but also grenades in general. I tried to be civil I did, but I was a Soldier with several years of experience and a very good knowledge of grenades. My Game master had no experience with the weapon nor apparently with he rules covered in Mechwarrior. It was a deal breaker.

So it wasn't the game that sucked it was the Jack hole GM that failed to research the rules or even acknowledge the fact that I had thrown grenades in real life.

Lesson 3?

Listen to your Players, they may just know more about something than you do, and as long as it doesn't "break" the game let it fly. Also, read the STINKING rules, You don't have to be a master of the rules, although it helps when calling yourself a game "Master" but it lends itself to a better running game with far less groans from your players.

BTW if the rule does seem silly or a little "out there" don't be afraid of changing it. The RPG police have never really enforced any rule as far as I know.



ERIC!