Aryathan Jiil Gentleman's Agreement

I was reading stuff online in some optimization boards, minmaxing forums, etc. this week and I ran across something that I think is essential to any good Dungeons & Dragons game. Its called a Gentleman's Agreement and dates back to the late 1800s. There are a few such agreements I have found online that have been tailored specifically for Dungeons & Dragons. In any gentleman's agreement, it is a sort of unspoken agreement between all players in a game that they agree to play fair, etc. So I have drafted a gentleman's agreement specific to my own games that I DM, and it is understood that by joining as a player in my games that you have agreed to these things. (This isn't to call anyone out on any specific things they have or have not done. I just think its a good idea to have it in writing so we all understand what we bring to the table and we can all enjoy the game we love to play.) I am also making this a pdf available on the google drive.

Aryathan Jiil Gentleman’s Agreement

1. When playing you agree not to play Pun-Pun, to engage in infinite loops, and other things that completely takes all risk away from your character. There is no exact or complete list of things that for the sake of a coherent game should be avoided. That is not to say that your characters should not be powerful, they need to be and should be very powerful, but they and their actions should not become utterly game-breaking such as to remove the aspect of challenge in a game.

2. You agree to fully document your character's statistics, abilities, loot, etc. according to the game rules and the campaign rules completely and honestly at all times. You agree to have a fully updated character sheet before play and not just "Wing It."

3. You agree to act in good faith towards others in the game and create a environment which supports having fun. You agree to act courteously and respectfully towards one another.

4. You agree to self-moderate your character builds and actions. D&D is an unbalanced game, plain and simple. Anyone who disagrees with this statement hasn't read enough optimization forums or played enough.

5. The DM cannot audit every character sheet. You have to create and maintain your characters, possessions, etc. according to the rules and you are expected to be honest. You need to choose all of your characters stuff before creation and update as they level accordingly. This should go without saying. No "Oh, well I could choose to learn Orc right now since it'd help with the adventure." Similarly, not every DM is as familiar with psionic tricks, Tome of Battle combos, or whathaveyou tactics from the plethora of available books as you are. It must be expected and understood that you both fully know and fully follow the rules of the mechanics that your character(s) utilizes.

6. We're all playing D&D because we all want to have fun. The fun of the group comes before the fun of the individual. There is no place for jerks here, we need to all act courteously toward one another because of the innate respect each human being is due and secondly courtesy and respect toward each other are pre-requisites for group fun.

7. We have to have some guidelines and decisions to guide the easy transition from adventure to adventure. Some freedom in choice must be delegated away so that arguments are avoided and consistent standards are in place.