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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gimby" data-source="post: 5052975" data-attributes="member: 49875">Sure, but if the issue is creativity, then maximum efficiency isn't always desirable.  If a character has an at-will (however you manage this, power, wand, feat, whatever) "solve problem" spell then clearly you reach maximum efficiency.  It also requires zero creativity to apply.  -edit To expand slightly, if your tools are very powerful, then often you won't need the maximum efficiency you can get out of them, a routine application will often serve your purpose just as well.  The more powerful your tools are, the more extreme the problem needs to be to strech your application of them.  I can open nuts with a hard work and a needle or a hammer, but the needle can't open coconuts.  However, if I only want to open nuts, I don't need to creatively apply the hammer. Even with less extreme cases, you can run into this.  Taking the drowning Fighter example.We have a boat with the party and an assortment of adventuring gear in.  The fighter falls overboard.  If our Wizard has the "solve problem" spell, he clicks his fingers and the fighter reappears back in the boat. If the Wizard has the Water Breathing spell and it doesn't require touching the target or line of sight, he clicks his fingers and the Fighter is no longer drowning but you still need a way to come up with a way to get him back onto the boat.If the Wizard's Water Breathing spell requires touch, now you need to figure out how to get the Wizard down to the Fighter.If the Wizard's Water Breathing spell needs a 10 minute cast, then its off the table and you need to figure out how to use your adventuring gear to save the Fighter.  Which of these situations requires the most creativity?But if we have a long range, no line of sight Water Breathing spell, then this opens up a bunch of other options for facing challenges, that a 10 minute cast one doesn't.So we're back to different sorts of creativity.  Some situations *demand* creativity, some situations *allow* creativity.  These will vary as to the flexibility and power of tools available.  Saying that restrictions *prevent* creativity is, to me, nonsense.</blockquote>

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