Overall, I have no great objection to what you say. However...
>Add into this the fact that slightly different skills often need to
>be adjusted on a case by case basis.
And
>- Every rule system requires adjustments to be made.
And
>- How the narrator decides to make these adjustments is less
>important than that the perceived and actual challenge both provide
>good entertainment.
Three times you use the word 'adjustment' - implying that you do agree at least that there must be a base set of rules and numbers somewhere to adjust FROM. Where we disagree is that I see no reason why that base should not be logical, predictable, and inherently useful in play (without adjustment).
Otherwise we have the situation where every time an ability is used the narrator will have to start from scratch, even if the ability is one the characters have used every day for years. My character KNOWS how fast horses run, she owns some. Why is it so impossible for her (and the rules she is run under) to quantify that and compare to her own running ability?
Wulf
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