V9: Best Practices

This page is part of the Official Amtgard V9 Alpha-Playtest Rulebook.

• The Amtwiki is the official home and primary source for Amtgard V9 Rules as of February 25, 2023.
• These rules are currently in Open Alpha Playtest. See the Playtest Disclaimer for more details.
• To learn more about Amtgard V9 Development, please visit Amtgard.com.
• To view the current Amtgard V8 ruleset, please see the Amtgard V8 Rulebook.

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Best Practices For Rules Authorities

In a free-form game like Amtgard there are bound to be interactions and situations that come up that were not imagined or considered by the developers. It is understandably impossible for them to have accounted for every potential interpretation of the rules that may arise.

With that in mind, please consider the following as you apply the rules in this book during live gameplay. This section is especially useful for our Rules Authorities and Game Organizers who will often be required to make judgment calls on these matters.

1. Amtgard requires cooperation, honor, and fair play from all participants. The Honor System section highlights the unique responsibilities that each player has when participating in a game such as this. Keeping the tenets of that section in mind is a solid first step towards untangling any situation you may come across.


2. Imperfection and honest mistakes will inevitably occur. They should be expected and played through in good faith to the best of everyone’s ability. Don't over-punish honest mistakes. If the incident involved a lack of knowledge, show compassion and offer the correct information. If it becomes a recurring or egregious issue then further action should be taken to prevent it from spoiling the experience for others.


3. Read the rules thoroughly and consider the bigger picture. The more familiar you are with the rules, the better equipped you will be to handle situations and interactions that are not explicitly covered. Rules may give one impression when read in a vacuum, but make sense when viewed within the larger context of the game. When possible, use the spirit of the rule to inform your interpretation of the letter of the rule.


4. If a specific rule contradicts a general rule, the specific rule should be favored. Abilities, Magic Items, and the infinite potential Custom Rules and Accommodations may enable players to do things that the general rules say they cannot. These more specific effects should always be seen as exceptions regardless of whether it is explicitly addressed or not.


For example, the rules say that a player struck in the torso is dead, however the more specific rules for Armor let them lose Armor Points instead, and the even more specific rules for Insubstantial allow the player to ignore the strike altogether!


5. If something is ambiguous, use common sense when determining the proper course of action. Follow the guide of Safety, Fairness, Flow, and Fun.
   • Safety of all members should always be the top priority.
   • Fairness means ensuring a decision stays in line with established expectations and the spirit of the rule.
   • Flow is about making sure the decision is intuitive, easy to follow, and doesn’t needlessly encumber gameplay.
   • Fun considers a decision's effect on the overall enjoyment of all participants.
   
   
   For example, if a potential ruling is fun, but another option is more intuitive or fair, then the latter option is probably the better choice.
   
   
6. Discourage confusion when possible, especially anything that could misrepresent one game mechanic for another, such as a sword that looks like a shield, a player casting a helpful spell at an enemy in an aggressive way to scare them, or someone pretending to be affected by a state to gain the element of surprise. Amtgard gameplay can often be very difficult to track even when everything is represented accurately, so deliberate deceit and misrepresentation of the mechanics of play should never be encouraged or supported by Rules Authorities


7. The rules only do what they say they do. Even though the game mechanics are presented with engaging and thematic names, they do not have additional powers beyond what is explicitly stated within the rules. For example, the ability called Fireball cannot light up a room or set someone on fire. That said, within the bounds of Roleplay activities, this type of thematic extrapolation may be encouraged, but only with permission from the Roleplay Organizer.


8. If a term is not defined in this rulebook, the most commonly accepted definition of the term should be applied. If multiple definitions exist, use the one that makes the most sense.


9. Keep Calm. Be Confident. Players may be upset when a rules decision does not favor them. Combined with adrenaline, this can cause certain individuals to question or vent their frustrations at you in the moment. As a Rules Authority, it is important that you maintain a cool head and project confidence in your decision without becoming overbearing or condescending. Even the most irrate players will respect a kind-but-firm hand once they've had a chance to calm down.