iserith
Magic Wordsmith
I am talking about roleplaying hobby in general. The GM is the final arbitrator of what goes. But hey, if you insist, for example DMG page 5:
Sometimes mediating the rules means setting limits.
If a player tells you, "I want to run up and attack the
orc," but the character doesn't have enough movement
to reach the orc, you say, "It 's too far away to move up
and still attack. What would you like to do instead?"
The player takes the information and comes up with a
different plan.
So yeah, the action cannot be attempted, because the GM determined that the prerequisite conditions are not met. This is no different than GM determining that an action cannot be attempted because the character doesn't have the prerequisite knowledge. I trust that in light of this information you will now alter how you run your games to be in compliance with the rules as written!
The rules say a player determines what a character thinks, says, and does. If the player says the character thinks the NPC is a lich or that fire is good to use on trolls, then that's what the character thinks. (It doesn't mean the character is right.) If the player says the character draws upon relevant knowledge or experience to recall if the NPC is a lich or that fire is good to use on trolls, then the DM gets to adjudicate this action and narrate the results. Even if the character can't recall anything useful - either because the roll went poorly or the DM rules automatic failure - the character can still go on thinking the NPC is a lich and can even try to attack the troll with a lit torch.
I think you're confused about what the assumptions of the D&D's designers are, but I really don't care about that. Rules are just guidelines anyway, so you of course are free to have fun whatever way you like.
Sure. Claim that it's just your preference, perhaps developed in other games, and I have no argument against that. Have fun however you want and glad to hear it, even if I have criticisms having played that way. Claim that the rules in the current books support this approach? There I will debate you. It's just not there. Now, a D&D 3e book I think you could make the case quite well that it is supported by the rules. Just not this game.