Editing Social Contract

Also known as Rule 0.5, due to its close relation to Rule Zero. Can be boiled down to one sentence: 
<center>
{|border=1 cellpadding=5
|-
|align=center|'''Rule 0.5:'''
'''''Don't be a dick.'''''
|}
</center>
[[File:Social.png|400px|thumb|right|Often not this strict, but sometimes it should be.]]
We all know about [[Rule Zero]]. Everyone playing an [[RPG]] is generally there to have fun, unless you're playing [[FATAL]] or [[VTNL|something]], and if the game isn't fun the players have the right to leave the game instead of wasting time and energy on a fool's errand. However "make the game fun" isn't the whole story; the [[GM]] is ''also'' expected to not handle the group with kid gloves or pander to players for fear of [[Tumblr|hurting their feelings]], because that shit makes the experience hollow and usually causes games to devolve into communal fanfic-writing sessions. Thus, a '''Social Contract''' emerges, where the GM has an obligation to the group to run a challenging, fun game and the players have a collective obligation to not be [[That Guy]] and not give the GM shit for putting their [[Mary Sue|special snowflake]] in a situation where they could conceivably fail.

==Some terms of the Social Contract==
===For GMs===
*Don't give your players a no-win scenario, unless they [[Rocks fall, everyone dies|really, really ask for it.]] Even the most hardcore of the classic Gygaxian deathtraps could be survived if the players have luck on their side and aren't blithering idiots, so [[Old School Roleplaying]] isn't an excuse.
*[[Magical realm|Magical realms]]. Avoid them. [[/d/|Unless your players know what they signed up for, of course.]]

===For players===
*Don't [[Powergamer|build your character to be unstoppable at the expense of all else]] unless the rest of the group is doing the same and the GM has planned accordingly. You ''really'' don't want to be that one asshole who brings [[CoDzilla]] to a party of martial characters.
*Your character will fail at what they set out to do on occasion. Your character might even die. '''Tough shit.'''
*[[Magical realm|Magical realms]]. You should avoid them too.

== See also ==

* [http://www.creightonbroadhurst.com/gm-advice-5-characteristics-of-terrible-gms/ 5 Characteristics of Terrible GMs]
* [http://io9.gizmodo.com/your-most-heinous-stories-of-role-playing-games-gone-wr-1728049438/ Your Most Heinous Stories of Role-Playing Games Gone Wrong]
* [http://www.criticalmiss.com/issue10/CompSmeg1.html The Complete Smeghead's Guide to Campaign Destruction]
* [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rule%200.5 Even Urban Dictionary has an example]

[[Category: Roleplaying]]

[[Category: Wargames]]

[[Category: Gamer Slang]]