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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pedantic" data-source="post: 9044334" data-attributes="member: 6690965">It's a spectrum. Applying speedrunning techniques in video games is generally not my cup of tea, but that's as much because they aren't immediately presented in the material, and generally require me to go to secondary sources to hunt them down. Plus, there's a solid qualitative difference between a clear, unintended consequence of complicated mechanics interacting in unexpected ways under extreme circumstances, and opting to pick a mechanically superior spell from a simple list of them. The solution in competitive environments (including speedurnning) is also rule-based: you have "glitchless" as a category for most games, along with a list of glitches and exploits that are put outside the acceptable means of play.I think the TTRPG equivalent of an out of bounds glitch is like classic 3.5 theory builds, the Omniscifer, Pun-Pun, the Word, and so on. Your base example is a lot closer to someone realizing the sniper rifle's damage is coded thus that it works just as well at short range, and is basically a mechanically superior pistol. Maybe slightly weird thematically, but a clear outcome of the given mechanics. If that's not desirable, then you'd expect some patch notes.To be clear though, I wouldn't actually have a problem with this proposed setting taking an existing system, and starting with a disclaimer. Something like: "these spells are weird, rare magics from a dead tradition. Maybe you'll find their secrets in a lost tomb, but you can't learn them as a standard part of progression." The bit that I find problematic is pointedly handing a player agency and then frowning at them when they use it. Just change the rules, if you want the rules to be different.</blockquote>

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