Theres a tension in the common ttrpg culture of play, where roleplaying can take over game systems.
If you are playing a ttrpg as a simulation engine, it makes sense to ignore the rules and try to reason what would be the result instead of using the game systems.
But if you play ttrpgs as games instead, the way you overcome obstacles is meant to make players experience a specific experience. Going out of the ttrpg sphere for examples, Resident Evil makes makes inventory a puzzle because it wants you to focus on what items you carry, Mario Kart gives you better items in the worst positions because it wants everyone to be close together and not have people fall behind (in casual settings), Elden Ring places cool items all over the map because it wants you to engage with the open world.
All of those decissions didn't come from trying to be realistic, they came because the designer wanted a specific experience and those systems help achieve it. There are simulators (powerwash simulator, farming simulator, etc) but those aren't games as much as they are toys. Toys dont try to get the player to achieve an end goal, games do.
When reading a ttrpg, try to understand what experience the mechanics lead to. DnD 5e is a game about fighting monsters and running out of combat resources the longer you go without resting. Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a game about creating relationship drama and angst. Eureka is a game about investigation.
All of these games have mechanics that try to get the player from playing that way. Issues start to arise when those systems are used to run adventures they don't fit well, since now half the rules will become annoying, bothersome or clashing with the intended experience of the adventure. Trying to play a Mutants and Masterminds adventure with Dungeon Crawl Classics without any homebrew will lead to a worse game because the mechanics of DCC don't reinforce the superhero themes that MnM goes for.
theartofmadeline
dededos
origamiaround
kaledo-art
pixelskylines
tangentwithtanner
ellievsbear
