Faolyn
(she/her)
Which is why the mechanics are important for the game book, at least in D&D. Even in 5e, it's more mechanical than narrative.But a particular game generally has a point of view on that subject (though they may not clearly state it in the text). 4e, for example, seemed to me to fall on the "mechanics first" side more than other editions if D&D. How a game falls on the spectrum affects the playing of it.
I gave an example about exertion and maneuvers from Level Up on a different thread. No matter how you narrate your game, you're still going to need to be proficient in a tradition, high enough of a level to use the maneuver in question (and proficient in it as well), and have enough exertion to spend on it. It doesn't matter how much or how well you narrate--you can't use a maneuver if these four things aren't true.
For D&D, the mechanics come first.
If you want a game where the narrative comes first, you would either have to play a "who cares; just roll the dice" type of game--which is fine, but not "proper" D&D--or you'd have to play a PbtA-type game, or something like it.