I think we don’t actually disagree and I was just not precise enough in my original post.

What I described above applies to abilities that are relevant in combat and any other type of encounter that the respective system mechanically treats as a conflict similar to combat. That absolutely does not mean other abilities should not exist, just that they should not be practically usable during an ongoing combat-like short term conflict.

Also: Abilities that are useful in short term combat-like conflicts and abilities that are not should not compete for mechanical resources of any kind, that is never fun.

It was my impression that we are at this point discussing (rp)game design in general, not specifically D&D. If your context was D&D specifically, that explains a lot of the disagreement between us.

I absolutely do want mechanical homogenization. Interesting variants can be handled with flavor without forcing everyone to learn completely new rules for every ability. The existence of generic rule systems (e.g. Savage Worlds) proves I am not alone with that view.

That sounds nice in theory, but actually charging stuff for several rounds while the encounter is already ongoing practically just means one player is doing nothing for most of the encounter. Not ideal.

I was thinking more along the lines of preparation before the actual encounter even starts, e.g. setting up an ambush or the magical equivalent of building a trebuchet during a siege.

Abilities that are too powerful for that should either not exist or require significant preparation

Most abilities should be either “per round/turn” or “per encounter”.

Abilities that are too powerful for that should either not exist or require significant preparation (enough for the opposition to have a chance to discover and interrupt it).

Abilities that fall in the second category should automatically come with a less powerful variant in the first category.

Maybe as a middle ground some player abilities could use the “roll for recharge” mechanic from powerful monster abilities.

Self-Hosting GitHub is available under the name “GitHub Enterprise”, but there is nothing stopping a smaller company from getting an “Enterprise” license. At my job we are running self-hosted GitHub for less than 50 developers.

I agree with the general sentiment that there are limits to what should be possible even with the rule of cool.

In this specific case we don’t even need to go into the territory of undefined stuff that the DM decides on the fly, the rules as written already explicitly say “You create up to 10 gallons of clean water within range in an open container.”

catering to gamers who wait at least 12 months after release to play a game

How is a game that did not even enter open beta yet relevant to this comunity?

“being weird, rude and cringy is their whole thing” does not make that thing any less weird, rude and cringy.