LostSoul
Adventurer
I see what you mean. In my view, this is an easy situation to avoid as it has nothing to do with fiddling with mechanics and much more to do with achieving the Goals of Play. I thus have no problem adjudicating "called shots" as they arise because I know the players at the table agree with the Goals of Play and wouldn't seek to abuse mechanics in a way that causes them to fail to achieve them.
Makes sense. I don't share those goals for play, so I wouldn't call it abusing or fiddling with the mechanics; I'd just say they were playing the game.
(By the way, that list of things to do sounds like a perfect place to put an XP system.)
As it relates to this thread, encouraging players to do things other than "I swing my sword" is key to mitigating the whiff factor that has plagued D&D since its inception. There are many ways to affect the outcome of a conflict other than relying upon an attack roll. It just takes paying attention to the environment, remembering your goals, stating your approach, and having a DM that will fairly adjudicate (also with an eye toward achieving the goals of play).
Yeah, I agree. I was pointing out that it can be tricky with D&D's abstract combat system, given certain goals for play.