House Rulz

[InFO]_BK_]]

hi all
Do you house rules are a good idea. Im sure everyone has there own ways of playing. I have justed moved & joined a new gaming club it has been very hard to adjust to there "house" rules althought they are only small things it can win or lose you the battle. I personly think the rule book should be followed to the letter. Do you think different clubs having there own "house" rules is a good idea?

[Mon£y]

its up to the club. if your not happy with the house rules dont play at that club. You cant avoid a house rule if the house (meaning majority generally) has decided its necessary.

What are some of these rules? Usual ones are;

fully painted armies (to a modest standard)
and
wysiwyg

[Piccolo]

I am a pretty straightforward gamer, like to go by what the rules say. I hate hearing about a house rule half way through a game when it just so happens to benefit the person I am playing. If the rules are clear and are not major killers to any particular force it is fine. ALot of house rules are simply the ruling about how something works so once it is decided and made clear it shouldn't cause alot of problems.

[Sir Guppy]

i reckon they are alright, but it has to be clear to both players before the battle starts. example house rules for me and my freinds once played small battle in a town and decided you have to walk through doors to get into buildings rather then just evetering anywhere like in the rulebook.

another ive seen in quite a few places is no assassins, i dont particulary like that one, it just seems the complaint of some players that they dont want to fight it has caused them to be banned in many places, well i dont want to fight wriathlords, deamonprinces or chaplins with jump packs, but thats the game.

[Black Death]

Hehe...assassins...mmm C'tan phase sword....*evil sniggers*

[Brother Wolf]

We publish our house rules for all to see. Anyone wishing to join the group can review the rules. Anyone who has read some of my rants on the D6 and some of GW's blatant contradictions would know we support house rules.

Our rules are created by anyone in the group, but must be playtested and voted upon before being 'canonized'. Most of our rules are designed for WFB, (esp morale), but we have many 40K rules as well. The WS to-hit tables were the first to be modified for both games. The majority of other 40K rules are designed around vehicles which were deemed ineffective and nothing more than points sinks. In our game group, most vehicels were dropped on the opening turn. We created a modification of the supertank rules found in IA which applied to all vehicles. Walkers and light vehicels retained only 1 structure point, but heavy tanks gained 2. The damage tables were rigged in such a way that if a vehicle lost a structure point, it was possibe on a roll of 1 on the subsequent table that the damage could be repaired, jury rigged, held at bay, thus restoring the structure point. In most cases, this allowed vehicles to be viable without making them unstoppable.

I've posted the charts and full rules on other forums and heard many cry foul and only some cry fair, however in our group they rules have been playtested ad nauseum and found to be exactly what was necessary to make vehicles playable and enjoyable. It does make Armored Companies a bit unbalanced, but we generally don't play AC.

In the end, house rules exist to make the gaming style of a given playgroup more enjoyable, competitive or just keep things in line with what that group finds fun and realistic about gaming. IMHO, GW's rules are far from perfect and need tweaking, but 4th Ed. is a nice stretch so far. But as I've said before, I only have 25 years of gaming experience, wtf do I know...

[Cable]

Where I play it can be really annoying. I go straight from school and there is normally about eight people there. A lot of them are reallyyoung like 9-12 and they make their own rules up as they go along. Like for example this kid was trying to use Azrael (Dark Angels) with an Ultramarines army. So when I explained to him he couldn't he told me quite defiantly that I was wrong and that he knew more about the game than I did......

So I just sit at the back and laugh at them as they argue..... and then wait until after 40K club when Vets night begins....

-Adam:sniper:

[Kayvaan_Shrike]

What was this kid's problem, AdamBomb? Even better question, why didn't anybody else get involved with this Azrael-Ultramarines fiasco?

ON TOPIC: My only house rule is simple. Reroll all dice that drop on the floor. As a matter of fact, my mates kinda made that one through mutual agreement and I thought it was good. House rules generally are good as they inject interest into the game...

[Voyager_I]

I hate when people do that. Some excuses I've heard in quickies and unofficial games:

"We're not adding up points exactly."
Translation: It's okay for me to have twice as much stuff as you.

"It's a fun game, we don't need to be strict."
Translation: It's okay for me to have random special characters in my army and ignore the force organisation charts.

Evevn better is when people try to explain why they can see you, but you can't see them.
"My Land Speeder can kinda pop up over the tree and drop back down really fast."

Or take rediculous shots.
"Sure, he can shoot through that building, he can see through those two windows that aren't even remotely lined up."

...or this one guy who just made up rediculous special rules for his tyranids...FoF genestealers, and his troops could pile on top of each other so they could all get into close combat, and how when my vindicator couldn't move or shoot when troops attacked it...

And then there's this one guy who keeps getting mixed up and (honestly) thinks you have to compare BS when you shoot...

[Cable]

The reason this little bastard was getting away with it is because he's a spoilt little brat and his dad was there...... even so, me being me protested but was told to calm down.

The kid thought that Azrael's sword was just a power weapons, not the Sword of Secrets....

Anyway, we do have house rules when its vets night. Like dice that slant on a tree base or something or go on the floor are re-rolled.

Painted minis are only allowed in vets night as well, but we all have painted ones anyway.

It just really pisses me off when kids that are 10 think they can play 40K.....

Another example was [the Azrael kid] thought he could shoot at my SM Captain and retinue. However my captain and retinue were behind a very large/high bush. So I let him have it as he was firing at me with angry flashlights. Didn't do jack. So in my turn I declared I was shooting at his IG squad to which this 'lil bitch retorts: "you can't see me, there's a massive bush in the way"

I nearly hit him. Emphasis on the nearly.

-Adam:madashel:

[Brother Wolf]

Making rules up as you go along or flat our failing to know the rules of play ARE NOT house rules.

But I feel your pain AdamBomb. It's one of the main reasons I don't do gme nights at shops much anymore. Those kinds of brats grow up to become complete asshole gamers when they get older. (Fortunately, once they're adults, it's ok to hit them)

[Voyager_I]

Yeah, clearly stated and balanced house rules I'm fine with...

...but that crap...heck, I don't even get to play mucht, and I still see it fairly often..

Good gosh, I mean, can you think of a more pathetic thing to cheat at?

[Brother Wolf]

Checkers?

[Voyager_I]

tic-tac-toe, connect 4...I still put Warhammer up there with them...'course, cheating in itself is pretty lame...

[Kayvaan_Shrike]

I'm glad I don't do games nights at GW full stop!

Last time I went to a group session (bar the Cambridge game, which only involved myself and the store manager) I had chronic indigestion and the manager booted me out... Unfair play and distraction, my arse.

This was in Luton by the way. I doubt the GW exists there any more.

To AdamBomb: Holy crap, Azrael and IG in an Ultramarines army? Was this kid on crack?

[Cable]

I know Shrike, I was kinda like 'wtf' when he put Azrael on the table.....

-Adam:sniper:

[Salty]

@AdamBomb: Jeez. Maybe you could have asked a GW employee to sort it out. Or maybe the tactic below might help...

Every time someone pees me off with their unfair play, I haul the ol' Rulebook out and flick through the pages with an eybrow raised. They usually go my way when I employ this tactic, but some have been known to leave the game entirely and wander off to do something else... bugger.

[Kant]

I was thinking that when we have enough guys IN our club, I have a good idea for a house rule, me being very fluff based and all

Rivals-One character in each army may gain +2 in any attribute, besides strength, toughness and wounds (still may not go over 10) The two characters hate each other, and thus, if one of the characters kills the other in Close Combat, the player gains +100 vic points

Plus I use an emerors Champion (so angry that I cant use it now, and me starting a new army!). Hes a normal Captain, but he get the "black sword" witch counts as either a power fist or a power sword. When I do this I cant take a Company Champion, nor can I add Terminator armor/plasma weapons to him.

[cfoley]

I like playing the game the way it was intended to be played. However, sometimes house rules are desireable or necessary to make the game more enjoyable. For example:

Dice dropped on the floor and ones that don't land completely flat get re-rolled. I think that one's pretty much universal.

My "rock pile terrain pieces" count as difficult terrain and are impassible to vehicles. Although they are not area terrain, any models standing on them gain a 4+ cover save even if the actual model is not obscured. It is assumed to be hiding in a crevace, etc instead of waving his sword over his head. This one is so that everyone understands how the terrain works and to cut down disputes as to which models are in cover.

We also had a couple of house rules clarifying things in 3rd edition but we haven't needed any yet in 4th.

I don't like Brother Armand's or Kant's rules (although I have never played them). Kant's seem to be changing the game just for the sake of changing it while, although Armand has found a problem with the game, the changes are so radical that he might as well be playing a different system.

Still, if I played in either of their groups, I would be happy to go along with their rules just as long as they used mine if they visited me.


@ kant, +2 Attacks every time!

[Brother Wolf]

*sniff* cfoley hurt my feelings. *sniff*

jk

Hey, that's why their MY house rules. Cause it's MY house. I always abide by the rules of the house when I'm visiting. And of course always play stock when playing at a public session, which is about... oh... NEVER in this neck of the woods. The fact that I'm not allowed to smack snotty 10 year olds upside the head with my 2004 GW Product Catalog makes playing in public games less than satisfying.

[Fake Sinatra]

This thread reminds me of my promise to myself that I am never playing against children unless such a match is forced upon me at a tournament.

[cfoley]

Hmm, I dunno.

I was once a child player too. I started playing when I was 12. Like all kid players, I too misread some of the rules (you can bet your bottom dollar I still don't have them all right) and remember telling someone at the store that they were absolutely wrong. When I got home and read those rules again, I found out that I was wrong. I felt really bad about treating him like he was stupid. Anyway, he was patient with me and let me get away with what could be seen as cheating. If he was nasty then I might not be playing today. New players need to be encouraged more than anything else. When I am playing a noob, I don't care if I win or lose. For me it's a victory if they come back for another game.

@ Brother Armand - You've said it yourself before that there are games systems out there that are more realistic than 40K.

[Kant]

Meh, the rulz sucked anyway.

Ive only played against a kid once, and BOY was it annoyying. I mean, I was shooting his nids DOWN TO THE GROUND, but everytime he called the rines an immature name, I was ReALLY angry. Kids aren't as bad as people who are obbsessed with the game. Im talking about the guys who remind you the low chances of your guys killing his MASSIVELY STRONG Termies, and the fact that, since the only thing he has read for the past 4 months are his rule books, he has already found all the kinks, and the perfect way to expose them/bring the game to its knees

[Brother Wolf]

Hey, I gladly encourage NOOB youngin's, (any NOOB for that matter). I have a veritable war chest of sportsmanship awards from various tourneys. However, when I refer to the snot noses, it is more the same kids week after week who;

A) Don't read the rules in the first place
B) Don't read theie codex in the first place
C) Don't read the rules/codex when you try to give them instruction
D) Make up rules as the game goes along
E) Blatantly cheat via die rolling
F) Act in an immature manner CONSISTENTLY
etc etc etc

Hey, we've all been rookies once upon a time. My problem is with what I consider to be a generalized phenomenon among ALL children ages birth to about 20 right now.
**Steps up on soapbox**
It seems to me that parents have neglected to teach their children manners, decorum and the fact that they don't always get everything they want the way they want it. It's a real problem and the world needs a wakeup call.
**Steps off soapbox**
I think gaming is a very constructive and creative hobby. I also think that the average gamer is someone who never learned the value of true competition, sportsmanship or even proper social skills. Sadly, I find it more and more frustrating to play games at open game nights due to the calibre of player being brought into the game, (doesn't matter the game, but it seems that 40K and Magic are the worst).