Plasticviking3 | 04 Nov 2015 3:50 p.m. PST |
Do gamers find it enjoyable or irritating to get a rule set which uses a lot of period jargon or foreign words ? If I write the perfect set of rules for the Sardinian Sheep War of 1534 is it better to include a lot of local terms to add colour, to give this gaming 'period' some authenticity and also show I have read at least one book about ? Or is it better to try only to use plain language and assume the players can find authentic detail themselves from others sources than a rulebook ? N.B.This is not about how much period information is given in a rules book but about the terminology used in the rules. For example: psiloi or light infantry / port and starboard in a naval game or left and right / Klingon words for this and that or just use English ? |
MajorB | 04 Nov 2015 3:55 p.m. PST |
Plain language every time. |
USAFpilot | 04 Nov 2015 4:13 p.m. PST |
I prefer plain language but adding flavor is OK as long as the rules can be understood by the reader. What I don't like is overly verbose language or using five sentences when one would suffice. I think using the terms: "port" and "starboard" are common enough words that they would be appropriate for a naval game. |
Garryowen | 04 Nov 2015 4:41 p.m. PST |
Plain language. These are rules we are talking about, not the great (American) (British) novel. They are a set of instructions. Put the fancy stuff in a section in the back. I do love it, but it does not belong in the rules themselves. Tom |
steamingdave47 | 04 Nov 2015 5:16 p.m. PST |
Plain language, correct grammar and an index. |
Frederick | 04 Nov 2015 5:36 p.m. PST |
A little flavour is good but like most seasonings best applied light Hard to beat plain language – and a good index |
Ragbones | 04 Nov 2015 6:09 p.m. PST |
What Steamingdave47 said. |
dilettante | 04 Nov 2015 6:44 p.m. PST |
Plain in the rules-Flavour in flavor text. |
Stryderg | 04 Nov 2015 6:50 p.m. PST |
Add the flavor on the side (letters written to a loved one, in period parlance, a short discussion of the history of that bridge we're about to demolish, etc). Either put it in side bars, or in its own section. |
Glengarry5 | 04 Nov 2015 7:18 p.m. PST |
Plain language rules, flavour sidebars… |
RavenscraftCybernetics | 04 Nov 2015 9:05 p.m. PST |
plain language. fluff can go in a side bar. |
Meiczyslaw | 04 Nov 2015 10:28 p.m. PST |
It depends on the rules, really. If there's a difference in game effect, and there's no real English equivalent, then yes. That said, that's a really narrow exception. |
Old Contemptibles | 05 Nov 2015 12:42 a.m. PST |
Plain language. Port and Starboard doesn't quite correspond to left and right. It depends if you are facing fore or aft. It stays the same when you are turned around. |
Weasel | 05 Nov 2015 12:45 a.m. PST |
Prefer them separated out, but I do appreciate rules that take a particular tone, provided its kept light. |
MajorB | 05 Nov 2015 3:04 a.m. PST |
Port and Starboard doesn't quite correspond to left and right. It depends if you are facing fore or aft. It stays the same when you are turned around. That's a bit obvious. Port and Starboard relate to the vessel, not the individual. |
parrskool | 05 Nov 2015 5:11 a.m. PST |
Properly organised and numbered paragraphs….. not discourse and ramble like some ( Black powdwer?) |
Mute Bystander | 05 Nov 2015 6:10 a.m. PST |
Plain language. Flavor in the game design notes. |
Winston Smith | 05 Nov 2015 7:26 a.m. PST |
Plain language, correct grammar and an index.
Now that's just crazy talk and contrary to the traditions of The Hobby. |
Martin Rapier | 05 Nov 2015 9:18 a.m. PST |
Keep it simple, I don't mind a bit of flavour, but as with all these things, it is a question of degree. No pointless fluff and huge colour pictures of soldiers extracted from Osprey books please. |
DWilliams | 05 Nov 2015 9:29 a.m. PST |
Love the flavor (jargon, foreign words, sketches, photos) as much as the rules. |
etotheipi | 05 Nov 2015 1:08 p.m. PST |
Consistent language and straightforward language is best. Pick a term for a concept that is not unnecessarily flowery, and stick with that term. Try to avoid terms that have radically different meanings in the "real world" of the present than in your milieu. If you can do that with period terminology, great. If not, skip the period terminology. |
Fried Flintstone | 05 Nov 2015 5:47 p.m. PST |
Oxford comma – yes or no ? |
Meiczyslaw | 05 Nov 2015 8:51 p.m. PST |
Oxford comma – yes or no ? I leave that choice to my copy editor. I don't care, so long as it's consistent. |