underside's rule zero (Patreon)

underside is the main thing i'm currently working on -- a superhero RPG. there's a lot of ways people understand what ttrpgs are but i've always most enjoyed them as collaborative storytelling tools. the core appeal of ttrpgs for me is getting to make up cool stories with my friends. i think that ttrpgs have an advantage over freeform roleplaying in this area, because they add their own unique voice as a pseudo-extra co-author. the ttrpg can override you and say 'no, your character doesn't do that--and something terrible happens'. the ttrpg can suggest 'hey, what if your character had a gun that was a glitch in reality', or 'what if your characters had sex and felt uncomfortable about it' or 'what if you were uncomfortably aware of your ability to erupt into violence at any point and in doing so totally undo what you are'. 

so in that vein i've never really liked the 'rule zero' that e.g. d&d is so proud of. of course you can ignore what the rules say. a book can't make you do anything, at least not until i've finished developing the new pheromones. needing the book's permission to disagree with it is treating it like a god or a king, not like a co-author. moreover, if you're giving the the book a seat at the table, you should want to listen to it. so underside's rule zero is a little different: 

 rule zero is the game's ruleset, in its role as co-author, saying, not "you can ignore me", but "you can point out if i've made a mistake, i won't be mad." it's a small change but i think (i hope!) it conveys substantive about how i view rulesets and about how underside as a text views itself