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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 5458916" data-attributes="member: 7006">shadzar... I think the point Umbran was getting at and what others were agreeing with, is that some game systems actually give you a format on how to accomplish Rule Zero, rather than just saying that you can do it.You are absolutely right in that D&D has a Rule Zero - the DM can do anything he wants and make any rules in his game as he sees fit that work best for the story.  And with Rule Zero, yes, the PCs could invent completely new spells or merge existing spells together to accomplish these "new things" that you are suggesting allows players to come with solutions that aren't A/B choices.However, I think we can all agree that the D&D rules do not tell or show a DM how this could be accomplished.  The magic system is actually rather rigid in that there are a specific number of spell powers each with specific results.  A Scorching Burst does 1d6+INT fire damage in an Area burst 1.  Now certainly as a DM, you can Rule Zero this to say that this Scorching Burst can also set the curtains in a room on fire, and if right after that the wizard then casts Magic Missile with the intent of the missile to "pick up and carry" the burning curtain out the window to light up the straw golem that is 20 squares away outside (which would have been too far for a normal Sorching Burst to reach)... again, you certainly can allow this cause it's cool.  However, the rules don't show or tell a DM how to improvise these sort of reactions or what these reactions can and can't accomplish.  The DM is entirely left to his own devices and has to hope that what he is creating or allowing with these frankenstein's monster of spell effects does not unbalance the combat or the game.However, other roleplaying game systems actually do include rules in them on how a DM can do this very thing-- combine or create completely new effects... how much damage or effect these things can have... and how to set target numbers or difficulty classes to determine whether they are successful.  If a player inside a house see a straw golem through the window 100 feet away, he can say "I want to cast a fire spell that can set the monster on fire causing X amount of damage to it...", there's no pre-created spell list that you have to search through in hopes that you have one on your sheet that can accomplish this-- fire at a certain distance that can set flammable objects alight for a certain amount of damage.  You just say you want to do it, and the DM can follow the rules given to him by the game to allow it to possibly happen, and come with the target number needed to accomplish it.  The rules themselves tell the DM how to Rule Zero it.Unless I'm mistaken, this is really all the point Umbran was trying to make.</blockquote>

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