NetHack is not real life

"NetHack is not real life" (often abbreviated to NHINRL) is a common response to some YANIs which suggest NetHack behave in a way supposedly more consistent with the real world. Failure to realize this is also a root of many a player's misconceptions about the mechanics of items, monsters and other objects within NetHack, as well as the functions of NetHack as a whole—such misconceptions similarly figure in why some players die frequently.

This article's primary focus is on exploring what makes certain YANIs and other suggestions impractical or unlikely to be implemented, including discussion of reasons why such ideas may not be implemented, even when they are fairly practical or at least do not qualify as a SMOP.

Suspension of disbelief

In general, most games and other works of fiction in general seek to maintain a level of "suspension of disbelief": one particular subset is referred to by TV Tropes as "acceptable breaks from reality", where a realistic outcome is ignored or "softened" in favor of one that better facilitates gameplay and/or storytelling. Yes, a human shouldn't be able to take more than a scant few full-power hits from a roaming band of apes, and would probably bleed out from all the constant slashes and piercings sustained over the course of an average game... but that wouldn't be very fun to experience, would it?

A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:

"Provide examples of YANIs and what makes them impractical/unrealistic/what-have-ye."

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