[Controversy] So what's a munchkin to you?

[Cloudgatherer]

Munchkins are those that take the rules and use them to their advantage by finding that combination that makes the game unfun for everyone else.

In general, I use it as term that singles out one character as significantly more powerful than the rest of the party (at equal level).

 

[Dagger75]

Aren't munchkins those littledoughnut thing Dunkin Doughnut sells?? I didn't see that on you list to vote for

 

[Psion]

None of the above

What munchkin usually means on the internet:
Someone who plays a game or a playstyle I don't like, whether or not my detractions have any relation to real life.

What I mean when a say munchkin:

A player who creates characters ultra-optimized for survival situations at the expense of role-playing considerations, party balance or harmony, and exploiting loopholes or deliberately misinterpereting rules to do so.

 

[Hedgemage]

I have no problems with powergamers who can bring together diverse abilities into something surprising.

I do have problems with people who do this with no regards for reason or character. People who pick a group of unrelated classes just to get the right mixture of abilities, yet have no good backstory as to why they picked those classes, are annoying.

Powergamers can take a character and develop them as they play, adapting the character's powers to fit the game as well as the PC's personality.

Munchkins usually have a pre-made plan, or even a pre-made character that doesn't jive with the campaign, and often conflict with it. They come to a game with their minds already made up about what their character will be, and expect the game to change to fit them.

Munchkins are powergamers who can't roleplay.

 

[Bagpuss]

If everyone is powergaming then it isn't munchkin, its just a high power campaign. If you get my meaning. Munchkin powergaming is when one player either by cunning manipulation of the rules (by ignoring the spirit of those rules), min-maxing or sleeping with the DM, out shines the other players so much so as to cause envy, and spoil their enjoyment.

If the other players are happy with say Alum being a one man-melee machine which nothing can touch in hand to hand, because they are "at one with the night, (the day, evening and even bank holidays)" then its not munchkin then.

A munchkin has to spoil other enjoyment of the game, being a powergamer, rules-lawyer, or even a cheat isn't munchkin so long as everyone is having fun. IMHO.

 

[Weeble]

Metagaming

No one has mentioned much about metagaming. I just love it when a player who knows more about something than his character should uses this information to the character's advantage. This happens alot with magic items. You know, characters that would have little knowledge of, or a natural fear of, magic or the effects of magic items who constantly strive to enhance the crap out of that character. It's always nice to have a party of adventurers who meet, say, a wight for the first time and grumble thinking the encounter is overpowered because none of their weapons are magical (especially when wights can be hit normaly). It's even cooler when the scout rogue stumbles into a silent and aware enemy when he is 60' from the party and around a corner, and the other party members say things like "I cast bull's strength on the fighter" or "I pull ot such and such scroll", then I have to say "no" and "no".

 

[Weeble]

double post, sorry...

 

[Samanosuke Akechi]

Hey, I posted some threads asking how to get my players to roleplay more. I didn't do it because I wanted them to roleplay more, I wanted advice because our games were getting stale when all we could do was use our skills and weapons to get things done. My players wanted to have friends, and enemies, and motivations to go questing other than: "Get Gold and Experience."

Now I have cut out some of my players (at its peak we had 12 people playing each session) down to six total PCs. Everyone has delicately different characters designed so that characters can be similar, but they never overlap in duty or traits (how dumb would it be to have four characters with one eye and that always show up late or have an opium addiction?).

We take time to figure out characters progression (through 20th level... though we have never exceeded 9th level in game). By planning thier progression (such as: Corbec de Bec 1st-4th level fighter, 5th-11th level rogue, 12th-18th assassin, 19th-20th sorceror) so that I know what kind of training and quests they are going to look for just to progress thier characters. Thats the kind of roleplaying I was looking for... the kind that gives players thier own motivation to do things. Maybe some of you just go straight into the dungeon, but my players tend to be scared (and rightly so) of anything involving a dungeon. They don't want to die for a few magic items and some gold... but if it means that they can earn the right to become an Alienist by contacting the psuedonatural sorceror in the dungeon they will do that.

I don't think it is munchkin to plan characters out, so that the DM can know how to progress the plots and character motivations to include things like special prestige class requirements.

The only kind of things I think are munchkin are when players take out of game relationships and knowledge and use it in game to influence things. I don't mind if the intelligence 7 barbarian mysteriously knows that all trolls are weak against fire, but I do mind if intelligence 7 barbarian knows exactly which spells to cast to take down a prismatic wall.

Munchkin is one crappy term. It keeps getting confused because its so undefined. If I say base attack bonus... we all have the same idea. If I say munchkin one person thinks I'm talking about anything in Forgotten Realms... another thinks I'm talking about my eight year old brothers DnD sessions, and yet another thinks I'm talking about people who take time to design thier characters progression to make thier character more elaborate. It's just boring.

 

[Bob5th]

Powergamers can roleplay.
Munchkin ruins everyones fun.

 

[Nightfall]

Re: None of the above

What munchkin usually means on the internet:
Someone who plays a game or a playstyle I don't like, whether or not my detractions have any relation to real life.

What I mean when a say munchkin:

A player who creates characters ultra-optimized for survival situations at the expense of role-playing considerations, party balance or harmony, and exploiting loopholes or deliberately misinterpereting rules to do so.

I think Psion/Alan sums up my feelings on this subject.