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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5913001" data-attributes="member: 54877">I control for excessive powergaming in my game using pretty much the techniques you outlined in your post following the quoted one. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> I think "minmax" is as much about attitude as the results for a lot of people. I know it is for me. My simple prescription of, "any mechanic that the players push hard, I get to have the NPCs push back with," enforced carefully, is what allows the players to enforce a reasonable degree of power amongst themselves. Plus, that has the added advantage of letting the players dictate the lines. I find this far more democratic. The players dictate the lines. As DM, it is my job to enforce those lines, not set them. As "moderator" it is my job to express those lines, to make sure that everyone is one the same page. As the guy at the table who is most interested in mechanical interactions, it is my job to think about this stuff. I see those as three separate hats. In our group, I wear the last one nearly all the time, the "moderator" hat when no one else grabs it, and the DM hat when I'm the DM (albelit, most of the time). And I certainly agree with your later point that enforcement on character build versus group rules up front versus in play decisions are all different. We like some careful enforcement on the first two so that we don't need it on the last one.  Trying to run any game as Elf Witch has outlined drives me bonkers.  I don't want to ride herd during play.  I'd rather spend energy beforehand house ruling such issues out of the game, so that my energy during play is directed at things I value more.  Perhaps part of this is because as our group has gotten older, play time is precious while prep time is as much as I care to devote?</blockquote>

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