Min/Max your Min/Max'ing

[Layander]

This is an advertisement for DDi on the wizards website. Is this the kind of behavior that is currently being rewarded? I know I am an old gamer, but in my day we used to discourage players who sat down for hours before a game min/maxing everything until they put what they think is a god among men down on the table. This led to people being dissatisfied with their characters, roleplayers feeling unwelcome at the table, and people who could not min max as well blatantly cheating. What is your take? Is min/maxing the new norm? Should I get used to it? Is it a growing trend? Is it more valued in certain editions than others?
Thank you very much for taking your time to respond and lets try to keep this a friendly chat please?

 

[knifie_sp00nie]

Those dang kids with their hula hoops and hamburger sandwiches. They'll be the death of us all!

It's just like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Give me five bees for a quarter," you'd say.

Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones.

It was nineteen-dickety-two. We had to say "dickety" because the Kaiser had stolen our word "twenty". I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles. What are you cackling at, fatty? Too much pie, that's your problem!

Some people enjoy the character building aspects of the game which makes them valid targets for marketing. There's no conspiracy here, just a different playstyle.

 

[ExploderWizard]

What advertisement?

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

FWIW, we used to min/max the hell out of any RPG system we came across back in the nineties. So what? Btw, I see that advertisement in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. YMMV, obviously.

@ExploderWizard:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/4new/billboards/DnDBillboard_CharacterBuilder2.jpg

 

[Layander]

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page Here, the fourth add bubble. As I said I know things change over time. I can pull out my old books where D&D used to coach you on how to stop players from min maxing and where today there is both that add and I noticed that in april wizards are releasing a guide to help you min max your characters.
Its a large amount of change an entirely differant point of view than what I saw with 1st and 2nd. Third never officially said anything about min/maxing as far as I am aware and 4th seems to embrace it. It seems odd to me. So I wanted to discuss it.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Ah. OK. No big deal.


My fighters better than your fighter
My fighters better than yooouuurr fighter
My fighters better
Cause I use martial power
My fighters better than yours

That about it?

 

[Ovinomancer]

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page Here, the fourth add bubble. As I said I know things change over time. I can pull out my old books where D&D used to coach you on how to stop players from min maxing and where today there is both that add and I noticed that in april wizards are releasing a guide to help you min max your characters.
Its a large amount of change an entirely differant point of view than what I saw with 1st and 2nd. Third never officially said anything about min/maxing as far as I am aware and 4th seems to embrace it. It seems odd to me. So I wanted to discuss it.

What do you think kits and the skills and powers books were used for in 2e?

 

[Oni]

Eh, it takes all sorts. Rather than ostracize a particular subgroup, why not try to appeal to them? If someone isn't into that sort of thing it's no skin of their teeth. I don't really see anything to get worked up about.

 

[JohnSnow]

Just as a counterpoint - the book you're thinking of is the Player Strategy Guide, which is being released in May (not April). And while it's true that it does claim it will help you navigate the choices available to your character (to "optimize"), it's also going to be a guide on playing effectively and making smart adventuring choices.

According to the info in this month's Previews, some of what's in the book are "handy quizzes" focused on helping you translate your preferred play style to an appropriate character. One example they give in the article is "You see a dozen goblins harassing an innocent family in a carriage. What do you do?" It's multiple choice, and your answer gives you a clue as to what alignment you might want to play.

They also promise tips on solving some of the age-old problems that confront gamers. I daresay it will probably include advice on how to search a room - old-school style.

The game has always catered to multiple styles. In contrast to the add about min-max your min-maxing, there's a strong suggestion to select some non-combat feats in Marital Power 2, because the game is about more than just combat.

Add in skill challenges and the brand-new "martial practices," and I'd say there's a fair amount of "old-school" non-combat support in 4e.

 

[Dandu]

You tell me - what's wrong with having a character that is strong and has great roleplaying potential?