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Surely you can understand, however, that those of us who do not have anything against maimed veterans as characters would feel being restricted solely to what is possible under the rules a bit...constricting, no?

Maybe, but I think the real problem is I'm not explaining what exactly I refer to by fiat and the like here. Well, two things. First: I don't break the rules often, though I'm entirely willing to do so any time I deem it necessary. Second: I don't consider the 20th level neck-snap a break in...

Yes, exactly. This is well said. Your whole post is well said. You are an excellent person. The purpose of hit points, the combat system, is for use in play to make for fun, tense, tactical combats. For that purpose, I'll use 'em. For storytelling and world-simulation purposes, the mighty...

If there are NPC healers about, just assume that dying bad guys will last six rounds before kicking the bucket, and never roll that natural 20.

I concur about the Order-of-the-Stickness. Unless I'm aiming for a humorous campaign, the game world is not aware of game mechanics.

But D&D doesn't create a set of world assumptions. You aren't supposed to derive a world from the rules. The rules are just an abstraction. They're built to be a game, not a simulation. I disagree. Superman's invincibility is an in-world element. Superman's plot immunity is a meta element...

That was a joke, though. Netchurch broke the fourth wall regularly.

I never said anything about that, though. Presumably we're only playing D&D because we want the possibility of character death, after all. I wouldn't consider that a reasonable exercise of fiat, most of the time. But there are exceptions. Let's say I completely overpowered an antagonist and the...

Well, maybe we're just talking past each other? "Make up a rule" is indistinguishable from fiat. I don't define fiat as running roughshod over anything. Rule 0 is just, "Feel free to employ fiat decisions." Which bit did? The player deciding on how his PC ended up, or the knight? Where are...

The only game I'm aware of that even tries is GURPS, and even that has mook rules, cinematic options, etc. Yes, here is the disconnect. Superman is a Kryptonian; he's invincible. He can't break his neck. Even a Superman who never went super-heroing, Clark Kent the tax accountant, couldn't...

But I'm still going off the reservation, am I not? You will say later in your reply that "Events in contravention of the rules require explanation." Fair enough. Event: High level knight breaks his neck. Explanation: "Level" is a metagame abstraction, not an in-world concept and is only...

I want to tell stories with the players. I want to see stories emerge from game play. The only "story" I prepare in advance is whatever kicks off a given scenario or adventure, and the NPCs. Sometimes I don't even have to prepare the kick-off if the players are proactive. My scenario notes...

Because we're not starting with the assumption that you can derive the rules of the world from the rules of the game. Remember, it is a game. The rules are there for game play. They're designed for ease of use, fun, and all that good stuff. Real universes- even fictional ones, even ones with...

But the DM has a different job and responsibilities. I could not function as a GM operating under the same 'restrictions' as the players. Couldn't do it, wouldn't want to do it.

And if I can't get the ability I want from those rules? What then? The high-level knight is only a high-level knight when there's high-level knighting to do. Otherwise, off-screen he's just some dude on a horse. Likewise, if a player retires his PC and later says that he's killed in a...

Yep. One of my biggest problems with the idea that "Everyone plays by the same rules" is that not everyone has the same obligations, responsibilities and requirements. Players have to run one character. That character (for D&D purposes) has all kinds of options and tricks and stuff to make...

Abusive to the DM, maybe.

And what if something comes up that's not in the rules? Or the DM thinks of a cool monster with a special ability not in the rules? Neither the players nor the DM can do anything, by your standards. I don't give a damn about the examples above. You can think of an example to prove any point...

Yes, well said. As a player, if I try something off the wall, not in the rules, and the GM says: "You can't do that, it's not in the rules." I don't have fun. That's anti-fun. I don't mind trying something and failing, but not being able to try? That's boring. If I'm a GM, and I introduce...

You have an incredibly unreasonable perspective. Frankly I would consider you a bad player and eject you from my game. What you ask is tantamount to asking the DM to not have any fun. To be bound to some mindless set of rules instead of his own imagination. You're also asking for every other...