How important is it to you or your players for characters to feel "overpowered"?

[aramis erak]

It would just be sad if people didn't know what hero means. In any context.

It's meaning in Greek Drama is different than it's meaning in the Military, and both from its meaning in many RPGs.. In Original Edition D&D, It's a fighter of 4th level. It's also sometimes used IRL for lamb on a pita with tatsiki sauce, or for a sub-sandwich. One of which is properly spelled with a G instead of an H, but...

The context is important to the meaning of the word "hero." And given that RPG use can be
1) Synonym for protagonist
2) a person noted for military prowess at a given battle (As in the Hero of Thermopylae)
3) A description of a power level (T&T, D&D, Hero System)
4) a Greek personal name
5) any PC
6) anyone doing something stupid that benefits others at risk to self
7) Someone who inspires your character...

There;s little chance of a single meaning sticking.

 

[Wolfpack48]

So I think the one thing with this quote is that it belies an older notion that has really changed - the idea that the DM is playing the NPCs in an antagonistic way and setting up a DM versus PCs paradigm versus the DM is a fan of the PCs. I think there’s a fine line between you want the encounter to be challenging versus you identify with your monsters and want them to succeed versus the party.

Excellent point, and I point to the "tournament module" in old school games (which I happen to adore by the way). I never identified with the bad guys in those adventures and never wanted them to "beat" the party. I never thought of the GM role as being in competition with players, even then.

I DID see the role as one to provide a suitable challenge, though. It's like setting up a tough auto racetrack, or golf course, or iron man competition; make it is difficult but not impossible. And secretly rooting for the players to overcome those challenges. As a GM, I do want to give the sense of "heroism" in my games, but I also think easy wins are cheap and don't feel anywhere near as good as the ones where the party comes out on top with a lotta scratches and bruises.

 

[KYRON45]

It's meaning in Greek Drama is different than it's meaning in the Military, and both from its meaning in many RPGs.. In Original Edition D&D, It's a fighter of 4th level. It's also sometimes used IRL for lamb on a pita with tatsiki sauce, or for a sub-sandwich. One of which is properly spelled with a G instead of an H, but...

The context is important to the meaning of the word "hero." And given that RPG use can be
1) Synonym for protagonist
2) a person noted for military prowess at a given battle (As in the Hero of Thermopylae)
3) A description of a power level (T&T, D&D, Hero System)
4) a Greek personal name
5) any PC
6) anyone doing something stupid that benefits others at risk to self
7) Someone who inspires your character...

There;s little chance of a single meaning sticking.

I've never seen anything more pedantic in my life.
1. Every PC is their own protagonist.
2. 98.6% of all "rules" are based on combat or battle. No i do not have data for this.
3. The fact there is a "hero tier" and not a "villain tier" should tell you something.
4. I'm pretty sure all of the Greeks had/have names they take personally.
5. All PCs are PCs so i'm not sure what this means.
6. This is when the term is used derogatively.
7. Your character should be the character whos inspiring other characters.

The fact that everyone parses the meaning of everything is just tedious.

 

[Campbell]

Not at all. It is important that they are capable of operating in the space they are expected to operate in. Too much efficacy is as much a problem as too little.

 

[Keith Ammann]

It's meaning in Greek Drama is different than it's meaning in the Military, and both from its meaning in many RPGs.. In Original Edition D&D, It's a fighter of 4th level. It's also sometimes used IRL for lamb on a pita with tatsiki sauce …

That's a yee-ro.

 

[TiQuinn]

Excellent point, and I do point to the "tournament module" in old school games (which I happen to adore by the way). I never identified with the bad guys in those adventures and never wanted them to "beat" the party. I never thought of the GM role as being in competition with players, even then.

I DID see the role as one to provide a suitable challenge, though. It's like setting up a challenging auto racetrack, or golf course, or iron man competition that is difficult but not impossible. And secretly rooting for the players to overcome those challenges. As a GM, I do want to give the sense of "heroism" in my games, but I also think easy wins are cheap and don't feel anywhere near as good as the ones where the party comes out with a lotta scratches and bruises.

And as a player, you also don’t want a cheap win against a monster that feels like it should be a hard won fight. One of my issues with 5e is that at higher tiers, it becomes very easy to steamroll monsters that should be boss level fights, creating a sort of escalation where you have to really ratchet up the challenge, but also throws you into that quote’s other issue it noted - you can overdo it if you’re not careful as a DM.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It would just be sad if people didn't know what hero means. In any context.

The problem is, it means more than one thing.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's meaning in Greek Drama is different than it's meaning in the Military, and both from its meaning in many RPGs.. In Original Edition D&D, It's a fighter of 4th level. It's also sometimes used IRL for lamb on a pita with tatsiki sauce, or for a sub-sandwich. One of which is properly spelled with a G instead of an H, but...

The context is important to the meaning of the word "hero." And given that RPG use can be
1) Synonym for protagonist
2) a person noted for military prowess at a given battle (As in the Hero of Thermopylae)
3) A description of a power level (T&T, D&D, Hero System)
4) a Greek personal name
5) any PC
6) anyone doing something stupid that benefits others at risk to self
7) Someone who inspires your character...

There;s little chance of a single meaning sticking.

Which of course means that "hero" simply isn't a useful term.

 

[KYRON45]

Which of course means that "hero" simply isn't a useful term.

So all words with multiple meanings don't mean anything?
How cynical does a person have to be not to understand or embrace what they common use term of hero means?

 

[Micah Sweet]

So all words with multiple meanings don't mean anything?
How cynical does a person have to be not to understand or embrace what they common use term of hero means?

You tell me then: what's the "common use" definition for hero?