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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 2123298" data-attributes="member: 18280">Sure.I don't think that the rules of any rpg setting ever are, or ever have been, merely what is written in the rulebook.  We could get into a large discussion on the nature of language over this, but I doubt that it is necessary to convey the point.  The core rules, the SRD, or even the older rulesets that attempted to ban creating more rules have the value of providing a strong starting point, and a large subset of rules which are going to be relatively consistent from game to game.  This is a good thing.Add to this that most of the "implied rules" are common sense.  "If I drop my sword it will fall" is an obvious implied rule.  So obvious, in fact, that the core rules rely upon the existence of the rule without needing to codify it in most cases.  Sure, we need to know what damage falling can cause.  We do not need the game designers to tell us that objects fall.You would hardly expect a player to argue that his sword will not drop when released because it is not explicit in the rules.  The rules, imho, are the mechanics of the game world.  They are the bones, because they give the world structure.  The rules act as a map, allowing the DM and players to determine what happens as a result of their choices.  In a similar way, physics acts as a map of the real world, allowing us to model and predict what will happen in a great variety of real situations.  Both game rules and real-world physics contain random elements.Everything else is meat, giving the world flavor and motion; or connective tissue (if we extend the analogy) bridging rules and description.  Although the structure and properties of a statue can be modelled in physics, its asthetic value cannot be, nor can its communicative purpose.To paraphrase Einstein:  "Crunch without fluff is lame, fluff without crunch is blind."BTW, in the example where a wound exposes bone, may I point out that there are no rules to cover the statement, "There is a clicking noise to the right, scrabbling over the stones toward you."  Instead, that is a descriptive statement that conveys to the players the effects of a successful Listen check.Likewise, "The wound exposes bone," within the context given, was a descriptive statement that conveys to the players that the NPC was low on hp, and was probably going to die soon.  Frankly, such descriptive statements are better than "he's down to 3 hp," which is very concrete, but unlikely to be known to the players or their characters.  We have already been told that, in this case, there were no mechanical (i.e., rules) differences applied.Are you really trying to argue that description of combat results is contrary to the rules?  That it requires additional rules?RC</blockquote>

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