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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 9750053" data-attributes="member: 6667921">I think part of what’s going on here is less a design failure and more a reflection of what D&D has always been about at its core. The game loop is pretty simple: kick down doors, beat up monsters, take their stuff, and level up so you can do it again at a bigger scale. That’s the engine that drives progression.So why do rules for food, light, or time exist at all if they’re so easily trivialized? I’d argue they’re not really about survival or simulation in the first place. They’re there to create the illusion of a broader strategic game.If casters never had to think about Light, Create Food & Water, or other utility spells, their only real incentive would be to fill their slots with combat options. And if players never had to track torches or rations, then everyone would just pour all their resources into fighting better. That’s fine for efficiency, but it flattens choice.By keeping these “red herring” challenges in the rules, D&D gives players the feeling of being thoughtful and resourceful when they prepare or track them. At the same time, the system quietly ensures those challenges never have enough teeth to derail the core loop. The result is a design compromise: the rules gesture at exploration and survival, but always default back to combat as the real heart of play.That’s why they feel self-defeating—because they are. They’re vestigial by design, included to broaden the surface of the game without ever distracting from its true focus.</blockquote>

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