I have a core group of friends that I grew up with and we all loved role playing games. After using every gaming system you could (late 80s) we just knew how it worked. We'd play any scenario or setting with our common understanding a couple d10 and some notes for inventory and special abilities (or disabilities). So much fun. :)

This is the way, in all sincerity. The OG books all had a small blurb in the beginning to remind the reader that the rules contained therein were earnestly playtested by a group of geeks a lot like themselves, but that your own group's interests and goals were more important than RAW, etc. Which, of course, makes the upcoming 6E bullshit all the more egregious: no "core" books, only "sourcebooks" for encapsulated lore, races, items, adventures, etc. 🤢🖕🏽

A DM that understands monkey's paws can help with the power hungry. I was a power hungry player back in high school and played a game in a low rules setting with a ahape shifting character I thought was broken. The DM allowed it and it worked because you can try to do awesome stuff but still fail even if it's possible for your character. And often it's more fun to succeed but then have to deal with some other curve ball.

That same DM later ran a game intended to be like Devil May Cry, where the whole point was to do cool epic shit. The more descriptive and awesome your description of what you wanted to do, the more likely you were to succeed. You'd have a higher chance of catching a sword mid swing and judo throwing the wielder than just dodging the attack.

After those games, I don't really care about the rules anymore. The flow of the game is more important. Arguing about what can and can't be done isn't fun and no one really wins.

Bookmarking for when I have kids of my own