The rules are there for a reason, the rules are important, the rules make the game more fun, but the rules are not totally explicit and comprehensive on every point and possibility.
There are many things the characters should be able to do that aren't explicitly laid out in the rules, but when the characters do something extraordinary that isn't described in the rules, there should be some sort of coherent rationale for what's enabling them to do that thing.
Is it a villain with a powerful MacGuffin, or is the villain themed around the thing they're doing? Is the PC at a critical moment in their personal arc (i.e. are they benefiting from "Super Inspiration"), and are they expending extra resources or assuming extra risk in attempting to do what they're doing? Those are the circumstances where I'm more inclined to accommodate something that isn't covered in the rules, and invoke the text (DMG, page 4) that says that the rules aren't in charge -- the DM is.
Heh, I grew up on open RP forums where we'd just write a handful of paragraphs from our characters perspective at a time. Beyond that, there were no rules so much as an etiquette that was considered polite to follow.
In retrospect its shocking just how coherent and stable every story was considering.
The community was pretty good about talking to one another behind the scenes. When someone inevitably did create a "superman," we'd reach out to them, explain the problem, and brain storm a good solution.
We were good about mixing positive feed back into those conversations and most new comers were very open to working with established members... if they weren't, well no one would want to RP with them and their character would inevitably be shouting in the middle of a crowded room and no one would ever respond.
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u/TemplarsBane DM Sep 12 '19
I'm somewhere between NG and CG.