Rulesmasters - I don't get it

[zulu01]

I am confused about the Rulesmasters thread.

People ask official rules questions here, but you have to sort through them by game system. That makes it confusing to keep up, especially for a new player like me.

And everyone seems empowered to answer any question. What makes the answer "official"?

When Matt answers, it is obvious the issue is resolved, but in instances where Matt doesn't answer, lots of posters feel empowered to put out answers, whether they have any official status or not. And there are several instances where playtesters post answers as if they had authority to answer, only to have another 2E playtester disagree.

It seems to me that it would be better to create rulesmaster threads for each game system.

It also seems appropriate for only officially designated spokespeople to answer, preventing the rulesmaster thread from becoming another place for people to give their opinions about how it "ought to be" versus the actual intent of the rule.

Am I seeing this too harshly?

 

[WereRogue]

Am I seeing this too harshly?

I would tend to think so, yes.

Most of the Rulesmaster questions are seperated out by system, ACTA, BFE, VAS, etc. so are easy to track in that regard. I, for example, don't bother with BFE or VAS as I don't play those games.

I know when I posted here, it was in the hopes that the Rulesmaster threads would get more immediate attention from someone Official to make an answer.

In reading this, and the actual Call to Arms forums, I've also come to realize that there are certain posters whom I trust on "official" rulings. They may not always agree, but when they don't it's certain to get noticed by Matt and commented on.

That said - this thread has a far, far better answer/ruling rate than some other game system forums that I have frequented in the past.

I understand your desires to come here looking for an easy to find, official answer, and in most cases you will. However, I feel that the discouragement of discourse is a discouragement to the support of the game.

-Ken

 

[zulu01]

I appreciate your point of view. However, there is no way a new player - who needs to understand rules issues more than any one - can decide which posters are more relaible and which should be ignored. Plus, the discussion part should be what the actual game forum, not rulesmaters is for, right?

As afar as game designer involvement, I continue to be really impressed by Matt's attention to the forums. Compared with other companies, show sport much larger resources, it is refreshing.

Just trying to make it easier for newbies to figure out what's real, and what's conjecture.

 

[Burger]

There used to be a Rulesmasters FAQ sticky which answered all your questions and more, unfortunately it was lost in the Great Burn.

I do agree Rulesmasters should be more properly organized. Subject prefixes for different game systems (eg. ACTA, VAS, SST) should be enforced, either by mods editing the subject or simply deleting or moving threads without a prefix (and sending a PM to the poster to let them know, of course!).

As for who is official, only Mongoose answers are official, that is someone with a "Mongoose" prefix to their username or msprange. Unfortunately they are busy making games most of the time, so a lot of questions here go unanswered. Playtesters and other long-time players/forumites (such as myself) are not official, although they do have a lot of knowledge of the system and their answers can usually be relied upon.

If a question is simply a matter of rules interpretation, then anyone with a logical mind can answer the question. In this case it really doesn't need an official Mongoose answer, because it is simply a matter of proper reading and comprehension - for example this thread. It is when there is no clear answer in the book, or it is suspected that the book is wrongly worded, that an official answer is needed - in this case any unofficial answers should be ignored, whether from playtester, long-time forumite or your best friend. For example this thread, the rule book's wording is actually wrong because it only mentions Damage, not Crew, and an official ruling was made that Crew is also affected.