Edit as of 1/15/2023: It has come to my attention that everything I have said here was much more succinctly defined by Vincent Baker many years ago as the Lumpley Principle. This post is just me independently coming to that same conclusion, because I an unread philistine. Sorry, folks!

A common slogan in OSR and OSR-adjacent is “System Doesn’t Matter”. This personally gets my goat. Often, it’s used to reassure people starting out to not worry too much about the system they choose and to just get started, and in this regard I’m sympathetic. People can often sweat the little details and get fixated on decisions made before the game, and never actually get to playing. Worrying about system before you know how you like the system is kind of futile. You need experience to know what you want and don’t want, and that has to start somewhere so just grab OSE and roll, it’ll be fine.

Where I become less sympathetic and start getting into dumb arguments online, however, is the idea that systems are a non-concern, or that systems aren’t valuable as gaming aides to GMs. That’s what I am arguing against in this little ramble. Additionally, I believe that the OSR community makes some unnecessary mind/body-esque distinctions, defining some gameplay choices as System and other gameplay choices as Not System when it would be more useful to view everything as distinct tools within a larger umbrella.

First, what is a System? Likely half the ink spilled about this subject is a matter of not using a common definition of the word. I’m guilty of this for sure. Thus: A System is the mutually agreed-upon methods for determining what happens in the game. Mutually agreed upon, in that no game is going to happen if people are constantly contesting or arguing about the results. I also specify that System determines what happens in the game. A house policy that everyone brings snacks to the game is a rule, but it is not related to the System. A house policy that anyone who brings snacks gets an extra reroll is System, because it is affecting the results of the game. Banter and chat and group dynamics that does not affect the way the game plays out are external factors I am not referring to in this post.

When I say System Matters, I am not arguing that everyone should be running games from books, or for the divine dominance of Rules As Written. A rulebook contains one or more systems, but it isn’t any more legitimate than the system invented over a lunch break by a GM. Many people can read the same book and come out with different Systems as a result of choosing to emphasize some rules or leaving out others, and so game books are more suggestions and examples to follow than hard rules. Break games. Incorporate them into your own games. Steal and remix and do whatever the hell you want. In the end, so long as everyone at the table is agreeing to what’s happening and enjoying themselves, your System is good because it’s accomplishing what you want. This is no bullshit call to arms to fix people Playing Wrong or anything like that. All I am advocating for is to look at how we can use these options intentionally to further our own goals as GMs.

Why am I advocating this in the first place? Why does System matter? It matters because your System is your toolbox. Mechanics and rules and procedures aren’t shackles that bind you, they are options for you as the GM to portray the world you want and to encourage behaviors from players you want to see. A useful comparison is in filmmaking, and what the camera decides to show and not show. When James Bond shoots some random villainous mook, the camera doesn’t linger on some conscript soldier gasping for breath while his lungs fill with blood and he frantically scrabbles to stop the bleeding. The mook falls over, and the camera follows Bond to the next scene. These two portrayals would drastically change the tone of the movie. Meanwhile, having an HP mechanic where enemies fall over and die at zero HP creates a tone very different from a game where every sword blow and wound is counted individually and penalties build up. How powerful and competent player characters are, how fragile they are, and how they compare to enemies they encounter all are choices that have consequences to the feel of the game. What you have rules for and don’t have rules for indicates the focus of the game. If the time, attention, and energy of you and your players are a finite resource, what is important to spend it on? The answer to that question will define what your System looks like.

For an example of how mechanics can influence tone and world, I point to the Roll and Keep system from Legend of the Five Rings 4e, the version I have the most experience with. As the name suggests, Roll and Keep involves rolling a number of d10s, selecting a number to keep, and then summing the kept dice. Higher is better. Because the number of dice you roll is largely determined by your base attributes and how many you keep is mostly determined by your skills, a character can be skilled in two entirely different ways. You can be wildly naturally talented with a huge number of dice you can roll but only a few kept, resulting in highly swingy rolls. Alternatively a physically slight by highly skilled character may roll only a few dice but keep almost all of them, resulting in high consistency. In a world largely built around the subtle differences in styles between different martial arts this distinction provides a flavorful avenue to mess around entirely as a result of the way dice are counted. This neat little system has the downside of requiring more math and manipulation per roll than other dice mechanics and as a result it may not be worth it but that itself is also fine. Not every tool works for every situation.

While what you choose to include are the most obvious manifestations of Systems, choosing to not use rules or mechanics or procedures is also just as much a choice that affects them. In a world of limited mental bandwidth, a choice to not include something will have an effect on tone and what the players are encouraged to do. GMs frequently decide, for better or for worse, to not include mechanics such as ammunition tracking or encumbrance, and this has cascading effects on the tone and feeling of the world you’re portraying. That makes for significantly less bookkeeping but also leads to fewer points of pressure and removes opportunities for problem solving puzzles as players struggle to haul their loot from their dungeon or improvise after running out of crossbow bolts deep in the Death Pits of Zulgamash. Whether your players feel like movie-Legolas or if they’re playing Door Opening And Wheelbarrow Simulator is just as much affected by what you choose to not include, and all of these mechanics come as trades between one result or another. A System may also have no mechanics at all in some situations. If you resolve all diplomacy and discussion by talking things out and no dice are ever rolled, that’s still a mutually agreed upon method for determining what happens in the game. That’s System baby! So long as everyone is on the same page it works!

The whole point of this post is to consider gamebooks and mechanics as tools that you can pick and choose to suit YOUR needs as a GM. Nobody’s preferences are the same, and When you’re just starting out and getting a feel for running games, absolutely just pick a game and go with it. But as you’re running that system, see what you like and don’t like. Do players treat the game you want to play? Are the heroes the game makes them the kind of heroes you find most compelling? Try out and read different games. Sometimes, even if you’re perfectly happy with how you run things, it can be illuminating to try it a completely different way if even if the only result is to better articulate the reason you like your own way. Experiment and tinker. Steal from games you like, rob from games you don’t like, and smash it all together. Hate something? Strip it out. It’s YOUR System, the cops can’t arrest you for Game Crimes. Make your weird Frankensystem that appeals to just yourself and three other freaks online. Those freaks will probably be happy for the experience, and someone else who hates it may just get ideas from it as well. Just as an auto repair guy will slowly accumulate a collection of tools they find most comfortable and useful, as a GM you’ll slowly piece together a collection of your own tools you can rely on. System matters not because of some dumb nerd shit like edition wars or whoever is running things the Right Way. System matters because it gives you more toys to play with, and more ways to have fun.

So to all of you homebrewers and system addicts and heartbreakers out there. I hear you. I love you. I am you. Please expect my 500 page rulebook for specifically playing games in Neolithic Estonia any day now. My bespoke flint chipping rules are fire, I tell you that much.

Next post, I finally fulfill my Secret Santicorn obligations and remove the deep weight of guilt from my heart.