My 60 Second Rule For Rules Lawyering
I think players pushing back on rulings is a good sign. It means they are invested enough in the logic of the fiction to know what doesn't make sense and invested enough in their characters to want to eke out any advantage they can. Also a friendly argument about the fluid dynamics of magical gases is quite fun.
I want to encourage heated discussion about rulings, but when we're at a complete loggerheads, it can slow the game down to a crawl!
I started bringing a 60 second sand timer to sessions for this situation. When a player disagrees with a ruling we'll try to hash it out normally. If it's going on too long, then they have a bit of time to sort out their thoughts (usually as long as it takes to sort out what everybody else is doing this turn) and then they'll have 60 seconds to convince me of their take.
If their take is about level or better than my ruling, I'll go with theirs. If the players have got a certain view on the fiction then I likely communicated something I didn't realise.
I like using the timer for a few reasons:
- It gamifies what could otherwise be a slightly awkward moment for the player of being shot down.
- It puts a bookend on discussions that could otherwise end up taking up big portions of the session.
- It makes sure that I actually give the player's idea a fair shake.
Hope this helps another GM with players that love a good bicker!
