An old axiom among role-playing games is that all rule books are actually guidelines. They guide players to use a certain method to play together with rules that are agreed upon ahead of time. At the same time, GM’s are encouraged to follow the Golden Rule, or Rule 0, of putting fun first. If the rules get in the way of that fun, they’re expected to change or remove them. This leads to house rules, preferred practices, and --scariest of all-- game designers.
The Genesys Core Rulebook embraces its role as a guideline. It teaches the reader how to design tools fitting their setting using the Narrative Dice System. It provided optional rules and genre specific skills and talents. It even has a page to note all the elements brought into the setting being created. The only thing the book is missing is the imagination to create something in the first place.
In comparison to other games, this is extremely liberating. Other games simply give you their rule set, and expect you to play along, especially if you’re attending a convention game. Not that gamers required permission to add or change rules to suit their needs, but “balance” is difficult to maintain. Genesys gives guidance to do it properly.
As of this writing, we’ve had Genesys for nearly two years. FFG has given us two setting books to show us what Genesys can do. This gave us more material to work with for our own settings. There's even an Expanded Players Guide on the way with even more goodies to fill our toolboxes.
Despite this progress, we must maintain our initial sense of innovation, creativity, and pursuit of the “perfect game.” It’s too easy to look at a published work and take it as fact, not the guideline that it is. We need to come up with our own ideas, and make the system work for us.
Innovate
Come up with new ideas, new situations the rules could cover. Your dream setting is just as valid as anyone else’s, and you could adjust the rules to reflect that. If you run into a snag while playing your game, develop something to address it. Look at other rule elements in Genesys to see if they could perform the task. Remember, good artists borrow...
Experiment
Unleash your inner scientist and use the gaming table as your laboratory. Don’t change too many things at once, so you can isolate any issues that arise. If you find a hiccup in the rules during one of your games, make a note of it and analyze it afterwards. Was it a user error or a rules issue? Is it likely to come up again? Could the wording be more clear?
Refine
When you locate an issue with what you wrote, alter it. You may show it to other people, or take some time away from it to look at it fresh. Do not give up. Keep hammering at it until it reads and works the way you want it to.
Expand
Over time, you may find a pattern in your creations. Perhaps a number of similar Talents that highlight a setting trope. Maybe you could to build it out further with a specific set of rules that address it. Similar to how Fear or Vehicle rules showcase parts of a setting, your new rules could put a spotlight on something new.
The one thing all RPGs have in common is the requirement to use your imagination.
We have the Power, Gamers.
GM Brett