This Gandalf thing is a bit muddy given the nature of the character in the fiction. But just go to another example. I mean, pretty much any military-based story.
Can we all not picture a non-wizard walking the line and lifting the spirits of his troops? Or a coach or team captain giving a rousing speech? Is that something that we would consider a supernatural quality?
Of course not. It happens in real life all the time. I’ve experienced it myself, and I imagine most of us have.
Yeah, sure. It's a thing.
But the point is:
a) Does everything we want to model in an RPG require a mechanic? Or do players get to also just make authorial decisions?
b) Assuming the latter, where do you draw the line between mechanical determinism and authorial decision? The line I like is the one between the external world and the character's internal mental state (and the actions those states lead to).
c) If a game is going to cross that line, I like there to be absolutely clear rules around how and why, so that it doesn't become a matter of other players and DM telling me what they think makes sense for my character. (edit: that is, positive creative input is fine, but overruling my decisions is not)
d) And, even then, I find it less narratively jarring if that loss of control can be ascribed to something...tangible. Magic, psionics, drugs, brain hooked up to a computer, etc. Whatever fits the genre.
I can totally understand that some people like games where the rules give you...let's call them "prompts", sort of like what you get in some improv activities...that tell you how to play your character. That's cool. Not what I've liked in the past, but you be you.
What I find completely weird is the insistence that there's absolutely no distinguishable difference between emotion and knowledge, or swinging a sword and falling in love, etc. etc. etc. Is that just a stance taken for the purpose of arguing for mental mechanics that affect PCs? If so, it's completely unnecessary. A simple, "Yes, those things are different but I like some mechanics that cross over that boundary" would suffice. We all have different game preferences, right?
It's almost like some folks need to somehow prove that my preference is just
wrong, or inconsistent, or something.