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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 8690545" data-attributes="member: 20564">When I was young, I used to min/max the system like crazy.  It was enjoyable.  And I created characters way out of wack with the other players.  Then I got more experience DMing and saw what it was like when one character was a lot more or a lot less powerful then the group in terms of challenges.  So now when I play I aim to optimize around the average of the group +10%.  Maybe +20% if I'm doing a support character or tank who lets others shine.  Not because I couldn't create a more powerful character, but because that's where I have the most fun.One bit that could explain it all is the players you have are not at the same level as you in terms of system mastery - at the very least how to run their characters in combat, and perhaps they aren't even as good at creating tight characters as the generic replacement - the premades you ran in a sample combat.If that's the case, you may have a lot more fun tailoring to their level.  And definitely using it as a teaching experience, to raise them up.This doesn't even need to be everyone - from your description of the sorcerer it may even be that you effectively have a smaller party than the number of bodies, if some people are just generally ineffective or don't engage their role well.</blockquote>