Not true. There are RPG with no artifical restrictions whatsoever.
You have two kinds of items restrictions:
Those that are based on common sense and those that are based on pure mechanical rules with no connection to the world or lore.
Is there any explanation provided for why a character that is LVL10 can't use a LVL14 weapons?
Do levels exist a real thing in that world? Nothing is mentioned or implied.
Such POINTLESS restrictions are just simply bad mechanics and bad gameplay design. Again, I'm asking you to tell me what purpose those restrictions serve? What do they ad to the gameplay? How do they make the game better?
The answer is that they don't.
And yes, I will drag in real world because all fantasy rests on those fundations.
Even the rediculous explanation that "you're not serious about a fighter character" doesn't hold water. All it does is restrict you in how to build a character. Dump all points into one stats. Others become completely useless. The "One True Build" school of design is outdated and flawed.
