My rationale for optimization is this.
In dnd at least, it is not the best roleplaying which dictates whether you succeed or fail, but hard cold stats. Say you want to roleplay an agile and dodgy swashbuckler-style gnome. However, it is not how elaborately you detail him evading the red dragon's fiery breath which determines if you escape harm or not, but your possessing the evasion feat and actually having a high enough reflex save to beat the DC.
And I assume a good reflex save entails some degree of optimization at least.
Similarly, while I won't say that an optimized character will necessarily be more fulfilling to play, I can claim that it should at least be less frustrating. All other things equal, the more optimized PC will have a better chance of success at whatever he does, which in turn should better allow him to showcase the abilities expected by someone of his backstory.
You want to be a master swordsman, you better have the stats and combat prowess to back up your claims, for instance. No use detailing him like Rurouni Kenshin, only to see him getting his behind handed to him on a platter every time he fights.
In addition, since dnd is also a party game, I do not think it is feasible to just focus solely on what you want to play and not care 2 hoots about the needs of the party. For my group at least, we typically sit together, discuss what we want our party to be capable of, then allocate and distribute roles. Sometimes, someone ends up giving in more than the others, but we always try to make concessions (for instance, if no one wants to play a cleric, then we at least be mentally prepared that healing will be harder to come by and adjust our tactics accordingly).
So my conclusion is that while being able to roleplay the way you want is important, it is rarely ever the sole determining factor in how you end up building your PC.
In dnd at least, it is not the best roleplaying which dictates whether you succeed or fail, but hard cold stats. Say you want to roleplay an agile and dodgy swashbuckler-style gnome. However, it is not how elaborately you detail him evading the red dragon's fiery breath which determines if you escape harm or not, but your possessing the evasion feat and actually having a high enough reflex save to beat the DC.
And I assume a good reflex save entails some degree of optimization at least.
Similarly, while I won't say that an optimized character will necessarily be more fulfilling to play, I can claim that it should at least be less frustrating. All other things equal, the more optimized PC will have a better chance of success at whatever he does, which in turn should better allow him to showcase the abilities expected by someone of his backstory.
You want to be a master swordsman, you better have the stats and combat prowess to back up your claims, for instance. No use detailing him like Rurouni Kenshin, only to see him getting his behind handed to him on a platter every time he fights.
In addition, since dnd is also a party game, I do not think it is feasible to just focus solely on what you want to play and not care 2 hoots about the needs of the party. For my group at least, we typically sit together, discuss what we want our party to be capable of, then allocate and distribute roles. Sometimes, someone ends up giving in more than the others, but we always try to make concessions (for instance, if no one wants to play a cleric, then we at least be mentally prepared that healing will be harder to come by and adjust our tactics accordingly).
So my conclusion is that while being able to roleplay the way you want is important, it is rarely ever the sole determining factor in how you end up building your PC.
