GrimCo
Hero
I didn't read all 250+ pages, but i'll give my take on the subject, and in all probability, multiple people already said the same.
First thing is, G part of RPG stands for game. Games have rules. Rules give direction and constrains on how the game is played, what you can and can't do, depending on the games, rules define win and lose conditions. In rpgs, rules mostly exist for conflict resolution arbitrage ( take dnd, most rules are around combat, both directly and indirectly, and what is combat than conflict resolution). They are there to prevent those childhood arguments like " I hit you! No you didn't! Yes I did!" when we were playing pretend. It also constrains characters we crate so they are power wise on more or less equal footing. It's not really fun to play if one player makes Joe the farmer and other player makes Doctor Manhattan.
First thing is, G part of RPG stands for game. Games have rules. Rules give direction and constrains on how the game is played, what you can and can't do, depending on the games, rules define win and lose conditions. In rpgs, rules mostly exist for conflict resolution arbitrage ( take dnd, most rules are around combat, both directly and indirectly, and what is combat than conflict resolution). They are there to prevent those childhood arguments like " I hit you! No you didn't! Yes I did!" when we were playing pretend. It also constrains characters we crate so they are power wise on more or less equal footing. It's not really fun to play if one player makes Joe the farmer and other player makes Doctor Manhattan.