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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5721112" data-attributes="member: 42582">Sometimes in Rolemaster, a crit result would indicate that a character was hurt on the feet or legs, but in the fiction this seemed exceedingly unlikely (the character was fighting from behind a wall, for example). We substituted hits to the hands/arms instead.Also in Rolemaster, I have ad-libbed the mechanical effects of the mortal world merging temporarily with the Void/Far Realm: those with true sight could see many layers and move along them (travelling greater-than-normal distances in the mortal world), and those who could fly could likewise fly along the layers and defy normal geometry.Now there are no rules in RM for the effects of such magic in such situations, so maybe some think this is the fiction overriding the mechanics, but that wouldn't be my preferred way of describing it. As I've said, I would describe this as ad-libbed mechanics.A similar example in 4e is using Twist of Space (a 7th level wizard power that teleports on a hit) to rescue someone trapped inside a trapping mirror. The game text doesn't indicate this use of Twist of Space, but I think that it is a pretty uncontroversial mechancal ad libbing.My personal view is that unless fictional positioning matters to resolution of action, you may be drifting away from RPGing to playing some other sort of game (board game? skirmish game?). Sometimes the mechanics, as written, capture the fictional positioning. Sometimes they need to be extended in play.I think there is a distinction between extending what the PCs can do/endure and constraining what the PCs can do/endure (which goes to [MENTION=23094]Patryn of Elvenshae[/MENTION]'s point). Whether fiction is constrained by mecanical results, or whether mechanical results should be adapted to reflect fictional constraints, depends upon paticular mechanical featurs of particular games. RM crit results assume that mechanic results will be adapted to the fiction. 4e powes assume that the fiction will be narrated so as to fit within mechanical results.</blockquote>

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