The Call RuleThe call rule is a house rule created by my gaming group as a way of cutting down on the background noise and excess out of character banter. It is most applicable with a less than mature group of players, but anywhere where there is too much talking and joking going on it is suitable.

Let's set the scene shall we?
We join our heroes, having just escaped from an evil dungeon with very little but a few old weapons and their sorry hides. The encounter a beautiful and powerful sorceress who offers her assistance and takes them back to her cottage. After they explain how they must defeat a great magical beast she offers to (temporarily) enchant one weapon for each of them.

Half orc's player: I expose myself and say, "Here's my magic weapon."
Other players laugh.
DM: Sigh Okay, the sorceress looks at you disgusted and orders you out of her home. To everybody else she still looks a little angry, but she's still willing to enchant your items.
Half orc's player (realising that doesn't include him): What? Come on! I was only joking, like my character would do that

-------15 minutes of arguing follows-------

Sound terribly familiar? If not, consider yourself lucky, because for some of us it is a constant reality.OOC comments and jokes can take away from the mood and enjoyment from a session sometimes more than they can add. Above, a bored player's comment quickly destroyed the awe and respect that the characters were supposed to hold for the sorceress.

As easy fix is the always in character rule. With the right group, that rule can be fantastic. However, with the wrong group, it can be harsh, boring and often ignored anyway. The call rule comes in halfway. It allows for OOC jokes, movie quotes and questions on the strange duke's lifestyle choices, but the moment one player feels that things are moving too far away from the game or that things are taking too long, the player (GM included) may simply say "Call." The player who is talking out of character must roll a dice. Highs: They are fine, nothing happens. Lows: Their character does what they just said, or, if not applicable, simply says what the player just said.This has several advantages.

1. Its not as strict as the always in character rule. Players do get a chance to fool around to an extent.
2. With the element of chance involved, players don't feel its as unfair as if it was just a GM decision.
3. It allows other players to police the game when before they were reduced to imploring looks towards the GM.

Of course it has its limits, comments such as, "Pass the pretzels," "Where's the Mountain Dew?" and "Can you turn on the air conditioning?" should not be called, and any player attempting to do so should be looked at very sternly.Likewise, tactical dialogue such as, "What if I just charged the dragon?" Should not be called and forced upon the character, however, its incredibly reasonable for a DM to force a character to have said it, even if in a whisper.

The option of the rule should be discussed with the whole gaming group. If they are not willing to have their OOC time cut, then they aren't going to be very accepting of the rule.

Tailoring

Some tailoring options for the rule, are, if you think it is not strict enough, to negate the need to roll. A call in this case would always result in character action or dialogue.For going the other direction, if you think it's a little too harsh for your gaming group, you can always require another player to second the call.

Finally though, if the rule is used, its important to always remember why it exists: To cut down on disruptive banter. It does not exist as a tool for players to attack other players' characters. If an action would be too disruptive, simply require the "called" player to say it, mutter it, whisper it, or, if it comes to it, simply rule 0 it. Don't do this too often, however, otherwise your players will quickly learn to talk outrageously to avoid consequences.

Well, that's it. I hope it has been even minimally interesting and that you can get some use out of it.

Toodles,Seacore