D&D 5E Are powergamers a problem and do you allow them to play in your games?

[WayOfTheFourElements]

Any player at my table who engages in any type of my imaginary p**** is bigger than your imaginary p**** type behavior is shown the door. Friendly rivalry is fine; power fantasy is not.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Powergamers aren't a problem. Jerks (which is a euphemism for something that rhymes with 'grassbowl') are the problem. A jerk roleplayer can be more disruptive than a jerk powergamer.

 

[5ekyu]

I do not invite players who have shown disruptive behavior and unwilling to change it into games. Any of the players can veto any additions of players and i am one of those with vetoes.

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[Ath-kethin]

Powergamers aren't a problem. Jerks (which is a euphemism for something that rhymes with 'grassbowl') are the problem. A jerk roleplayer can be more disruptive than a jerk powergamer.

I agree with this sentiment, but with the observation that grassbowls seem to gravitate more toward being power gamers (as defined/relevant in the current discussion) in my opinion.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I agree with this sentiment, but with the observation that grassbowls seem to gravitate more toward being power gamers (as defined/relevant in the current discussion) in my opinion.

Perhaps. But obstructionist roleplaying can be even more disruptive to a table than extreme powergaming.

In a recent game for me I had one of those roleplayers who designed a character concept that was pretty much explicitly at odds with being an adventurer, then insisted on repeatedly choosing the most disruptive, least cooperative actions because "that's what my character would do". It led to PvP by the second session (initiated by the roleplayer, irate that the other players killed a monster than he had tried and failed to befriend).

Although in general I'm of the roleplaying > powergaming mindset, that kind of @#$% drives me crazy.

 

[Phion]

I thought the question was relevant. Of course we all know that guy who only picks classes and features to show off and be the hero at the table through abusing the system, but would you say a person who optimizes their character to fulfil their character concept while remaining very efficient is a power gamer?

I ask this because I am frequently considered a power gamer at times because my characters have shown to be very efficient at achieving results. However I also place limits or restrictions on what my character will acquire as features/ multicasting based on what makes sense for their character. My characters tend to be able to contribute on all 3 of the pillars and if I am not skilled enough to directly resolve a matter with one side of my characters abilities in the pillars I know how bypass those situations by using a pillar my character is more proficient in. So in this regard, could a person be a power gamer by their play style and influence on games or is a powergaming purely mechanical based character creation?

 

[Oofta]

Powergamer is a pretty broad term and can encompass a lot of behaviors.

Behaviors are:

Someone who builds optimized characters, but adheres to the rules (including house rules and rulings). This is fine, if it can be a little annoying. If something is really, truly, broken in my opinion I'll verify my understanding (see "rulings" below) or just house rule it. I don't go overboard with it, but there are a couple of spells in particular that just take the fun out of any encounter. Fortunately a lot of the power builds rely on an overabundance of long and short rests and it's easy enough to follow the 6-8 encounters between long rests with 1-2 short rests if you want.

The guy who constantly "bends" the rules, and then complains about my rulings when I override them. Don't be that guy. I don't want to double check every power, spell and ability you claim. I have to do that more than a few times and either you need to change how you play or you need to find a different game. It's one thing to occasionally have different interpretations of the rules or make an honest mistake (we all do it), but be open to correction.

The Bully. The person that is always pushing to get their way, overriding or belittling other people at the table, etc. No. Just no.

The whiner/pouter. When things don't go this guy's way or the DM rules what they're doing isn't correct they either throw a hissy-fit or or sulk. I get it. Sometimes we disagree with a DM's ruling or are disappointed by some outcome. Just try to be graceful about it, OK?

The Dominator. This is the guy who always has to be the center of attention, always the best at every role. It gets old and gets you not invited to the next campaign.

​

So those are some of the behaviors I see typically lumped in to "powergamer", usually in some combination. Add all of those together in one package, and no I don't want to spend my time set aside for fun/gaming with you.

But just building optimized characters that follow the rules, shares the spotlight, and is generally fun to play with? Not a problem.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I thought the question was relevant. Of course we all know that guy who only picks classes and features to show off and be the hero at the table through abusing the system, but would you say a person who optimizes their character to fulfil their character concept while remaining very efficient is a power gamer?

I ask this because I am frequently considered a power gamer at times because my characters have shown to be very efficient at achieving results. However I also place limits or restrictions on what my character will acquire as features/ multicasting based on what makes sense for their character. My characters tend to be able to contribute on all 3 of the pillars and if I am not skilled enough to directly resolve a matter with one side of my characters abilities in the pillars I know how bypass those situations by using a pillar my character is more proficient in. So in this regard, could a person be a power gamer by their play style and influence on games or is a powergaming purely mechanical based character creation?

Yeah, I don't see an inherent problem with powergaming itself. It's when the powergamer belittles/complains because others don't share his (her?) values that it's a problem.

I get annoyed with powergamers for showing up with cookie-cutter builds, their smug little half-smiles when they do ridiculous amounts of damage with their cheesy combinations, and their utter absence of any kind of interesting/creative/original roleplay, but really that's my problem, not anything they are doing wrong.

 

[Oofta]

I thought the question was relevant. Of course we all know that guy who only picks classes and features to show off and be the hero at the table through abusing the system, but would you say a person who optimizes their character to fulfil their character concept while remaining very efficient is a power gamer?

I ask this because I am frequently considered a power gamer at times because my characters have shown to be very efficient at achieving results. However I also place limits or restrictions on what my character will acquire as features/ multicasting based on what makes sense for their character. My characters tend to be able to contribute on all 3 of the pillars and if I am not skilled enough to directly resolve a matter with one side of my characters abilities in the pillars I know how bypass those situations by using a pillar my character is more proficient in. So in this regard, could a person be a power gamer by their play style and influence on games or is a powergaming purely mechanical based character creation?

I get this sometimes too. I don't scour message boards looking for optimized combos but my characters frequently end up being very "effective". I don't see a reason to artificially restrict my character as long as I'm not bending rules or doing something that's just annoying.

 

[Corpsetaker]

I get this sometimes too. I don't scour message boards looking for optimized combos but my characters frequently end up being very "effective". I don't see a reason to artificially restrict my character as long as I'm not bending rules or doing something that's just annoying.

The problem is that the rules of the game are not airtight so sometimes people are bound to come across combos that stay with in the rules, but end up making the game fall apart to the point where all enemies start going after that one person. If you come across something that causes a disturbance in the game and you fail to do something about it then that's a problem. Just because something is "with in the rules" doesn't make it right. Being effective does not always have to be about damage. The object of the game is not about killing everything you can as quickly as possible.