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Wutai Rule: "Most RPGs, no matter what their mythology, include a land based on ancient Japan. Full of pagodas, shrines, shoguns, kitsune, and sushi, this completely anachronistic place is the source of the entire world's supply of ninja and samurai characters."
It's probably because a lot of games today are being done in Japan, including our RPG's. Most of our traditional RPGs of today come from Japanese developers, so it's quite understandable that most RPGs we get our hands on have mythological bases on Japanese history, even if it only manifests in one particular location.
What I think is missing from this rule is that it should also incorporate the fact that not only do many RPG's today include Japanese elements of mythology, but also the Japanese way of life. You'd observe that Japanese mannerisms, food and social structures are incorporated in the games. Perhaps it's clear that the influence of Japanese culture has affected mainstream.
Of course not all RPG's will have a dashing of Japenese to it. Western made RPGs, such as the D&D-based Baldur's Gate series, draw heavily on western literature, mythology and culture in general. This is in stark contrast to the overflow of Japanese culture found in other RPGs, and to me sometimes I find it refreshing to play RPGs that have roots in different cultures.
Law of Mooks: "Soldiers and guards working for the Evil Empire are, as a rule, sloppy, cowardly and incompetent. Members of the heroic Resistance Faction are, as a rule, dreadfully weak and undertrained and will be wiped out to the last man the moment they come in contact with the enemy."
This isn't an isolated case for RPGs and games in general; this is common in entertainment across the board. By default, bad guy henchmen will always be such in one way or another, and the good guys (with the sole exception of the lead) are also under this rule. Why?
Too make the heroes look cool.
Duh. To help make the heroes stand out, you have to make the bad henchmen look like they're complete idiots who are out of they're league. Also, to make it look like the heroes are indeed the only ones who can save the world, you need to make supporting cast of goody-goodies completely weak and pathetic. Heroes are heroes because everyone else can't compare, with the exception of the lead villain.
You need to make it look like the heroes are the last hope for the good guys. If all the supporting cast were just like them, then where the heck would the heroes look all special and important? They wouldn't be heroes if some two-bit schmuck could take out the final villain. As a corollary then, henchmen have to be incompetent so that it'll look like the heroes are all powerful and mighty, at least when compared to henchmen.
Arbor Day Rule: At some point, you're going to have to talk to a tree and do what it says.
Trees talk, believe it or not. On TV I once saw a plant whisperer who claimed they could listen to what pants say, especially what plants want....
And of course, talking trees aren't alien to RPGs. In one way or another you're bound to meet a plant or plant-like thing that has speech capabilities, or at the very least a spirit that lives in a tree. RPGs both recent (Golden Sun, Legaia Dual Saga) and not (Secret of Mana) had talking trees. So why do trees talk?
My guess is it's all becuase of the "Trees are old" bit. Yes, of course most tress today are very very old, and scientifically speaking it is believed that trees do not not age and are not programmed to die at certain ages. In a sense, if given the right environment, trees could be immortal.
And being old gives trees the traits of being "Wise" with the "knowledge of ages past", having experienced the changes that has occurred in the world during its life. By that sense, you have to give respect and props to ye old trees, since they're probably the smartest of all RPG entities. As such, they are much, much smarter than your regular RPG heroes, and thus must follow what it says, because it is wise. Or something like that.
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