DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
Dealing 0 damage is dealing no damage AKA "not dealing damage"
Nope. It isn't the same thing and apparently you are not able to grasp that simple concept. A net does not deal 0 damage, no damage, or anything but the fact it is incapable of dealing damage.
If you allow it to deal damage, you can add to it. A character would do Dex modifier damage (of some new, mysterious unknown damage type...) when hitting with a net. Suddenly your net is dealing damage, which it is not capable of doing, which is why the designers put "-" for a net's damage and not a "0". Damage in D&D is a result of dice rolls and/or constants, not "-".
Agreed.
Good.

I didn't say 0 damage = incapable of dealing damage. I did say that incapable of dealing damage means that it always does 0 damage.
You just contradicted yourself, do you realize that? Using your F(x) = 0 you just said, "I didn't say 0 = F(x), I did say F(x) = 0."
Sure. But it doesn't satisfy things that are not capable of dealing damage. F(x) = 0 does.
Sure it does, things that not capable of dealing damage are undefined because a damage function does not apply to them since they don't deal damage. You really just don't get it, do you?
Exactly, my damage function handles all things capable of dealing damage by resulting in a value and being undefined for things that are incapable of dealing damage.
You have explicitly chosen a function that excludes "-" from it's domain and then are trying to argue that since your carefully chosen function excludes "-" from it's domain that I must be incorrect. Proof by counterexample. Let "-" be included in the domain of x. Then f(x) = 0 is a function which maps "-" to 0 damage. Since I can provide you a function that includes "-" in it's domain and always returns 0 then your function as nice as it is doesn't prove anything about the issue at hand.
The symbol "-" was placed there because the net only has a special attack that never deals damage. To mathematically model that you don't need to talk about undefined functions or null values etc. All you need is f(x) = 0. 0 damage is the absence of damage. 0 velocity is the absence of velocity. 0 apples is the absence of apples. etc.
It proves everything. There is a vast difference between none of something and a something that doesn't exist. Your "proof" goes "poof" because all you did was create a rule for your concept of what "-" should be mapped to for damage. It is what you've been doing all along. My point was exactly what my function shows: that damage in D&D is a result of dice rolls and constants, not "-".
You should go back and study you higher math again... maybe you will learn something the next time around. Best of luck!