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How Can You Politely Say, "Your Character Sucks?"
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<blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 5073868" data-attributes="member: 15538"><p>What RC was pointing out, as I understand it, is that everyone in the group has to decide to participate, and the GM is the one defines the setting, design challenges, and narrates the game overall. The GM has neither more nor less power than any other player to object to a character, although they may have more influence, but simply by allowing the character, they have warranted that the character is acceptable for the setting, the planned challenges, and the game dynamic. </p><p></p><p>The other players may simply refuse to have a certain PC in their group, but as they have only one two options (leave the group, or convince the group to veto the character), I think as a practical matter players should get used to the idea that each player has great lattitude to make the choices they prefer. Unless and until a character becomes a game-stopper, I don't think anyone has a a right to object, although they may state their own opinions and preferences (identifying them as such, and not as a gold standard for optimization, "sanity," fulfilling their responsibilities to the group, and so forth).</p><p></p><p>Generally combat-optimized characters is *far* from universal as a prerequisite to role-playing, and in fact, many games and campaigns are built around PC incompetence. D&D has only one basic position; PCs should be "adventure-ready" as it is an adventuring game full of physical danger. It is really up to the player how they want to face that premise. Certainly, if I were draggd into a 4e game, I would be far more concerned about stamping a personality on my character than aspiring to a degree of mechanical effectiveness, since my motivation would be almost entirely social and narrative related (hang out with my friends, play a character I find amusing), since the mechanical aspects of 4e are unappealing to me.</p><p></p><p>Since some players find mechanics in general far less appealing than others do, "sub-optimal" character design is not only a fact of life, but a necessary consequence of player choice. If you want to talk about tactical, winning-oriented play alone, Magic or tournament bridge might be more appropriate venues. D&D, and other RPGs, are about slaying dragons, finding treasure, rescuing ogres, and so forth. There are a number of entirely reasonable approaches to such things that place numerical superiority very low in priority. Some people, for instance, like elves, so they will play them, however high or low in effectiveness they are in the game chosen, and regardless of how well their preferred archetype agrees with the elf as written for that game. Some people will pick characters from other media and adapt them, however much or little they resemble a typical D&D Special Ops Treasure Extraction Team member. If it were not for such facts, hobbits/halflings would never have made it at as a playable race in D&D, as their original presentation was "a fighter, but with limited advancement."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pawsplay, post: 5073868, member: 15538"] What RC was pointing out, as I understand it, is that everyone in the group has to decide to participate, and the GM is the one defines the setting, design challenges, and narrates the game overall. The GM has neither more nor less power than any other player to object to a character, although they may have more influence, but simply by allowing the character, they have warranted that the character is acceptable for the setting, the planned challenges, and the game dynamic. The other players may simply refuse to have a certain PC in their group, but as they have only one two options (leave the group, or convince the group to veto the character), I think as a practical matter players should get used to the idea that each player has great lattitude to make the choices they prefer. Unless and until a character becomes a game-stopper, I don't think anyone has a a right to object, although they may state their own opinions and preferences (identifying them as such, and not as a gold standard for optimization, "sanity," fulfilling their responsibilities to the group, and so forth). Generally combat-optimized characters is *far* from universal as a prerequisite to role-playing, and in fact, many games and campaigns are built around PC incompetence. D&D has only one basic position; PCs should be "adventure-ready" as it is an adventuring game full of physical danger. It is really up to the player how they want to face that premise. Certainly, if I were draggd into a 4e game, I would be far more concerned about stamping a personality on my character than aspiring to a degree of mechanical effectiveness, since my motivation would be almost entirely social and narrative related (hang out with my friends, play a character I find amusing), since the mechanical aspects of 4e are unappealing to me. Since some players find mechanics in general far less appealing than others do, "sub-optimal" character design is not only a fact of life, but a necessary consequence of player choice. If you want to talk about tactical, winning-oriented play alone, Magic or tournament bridge might be more appropriate venues. D&D, and other RPGs, are about slaying dragons, finding treasure, rescuing ogres, and so forth. There are a number of entirely reasonable approaches to such things that place numerical superiority very low in priority. Some people, for instance, like elves, so they will play them, however high or low in effectiveness they are in the game chosen, and regardless of how well their preferred archetype agrees with the elf as written for that game. Some people will pick characters from other media and adapt them, however much or little they resemble a typical D&D Special Ops Treasure Extraction Team member. If it were not for such facts, hobbits/halflings would never have made it at as a playable race in D&D, as their original presentation was "a fighter, but with limited advancement." [/QUOTE]
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