How Not to be a Power Gamer (Revived)

[Nugan]

Just thought I'd port this topic to the new boards:

Power Gamer, Snert, Twink; whatever you call them, they're the topic of endless complaints on these boards and one of the top pet peeves of many ISRP members. I wonder though, if they are so unanimously hated: Why do they still seem to be such an epidemic? (Or so I've gathered from the many complaints I've seen or heard recently)

My guess: They don't know who they are or they don't know any other way to play. I mean, let's face it, the vast majority of us have been in their shoes at one point in time, and many of us even slip into "power-gamey" behavior now and then. It seems kind of cruel to keep attacking these people in PMs and on the boards when they may not even know what their doing wrong or how to change.

That brings me to the body of this topic: I'm going to try to give tips to help these players realize what they can do to help themselves. This topic is going to be divided into two sections Non-Combat Role-Playing and Combat Role Playing.

Non-Combat Role Playing
This section is going to cover tips and common mistakes for situations not relating to battles.

An Embarrassed Character is not the Same Thing as an Embarrassed Player: If you only feel like reading one of my points, and I can understand that, this is the one I would recommend reading. Too often it seems players are afraid to allow their characters to fail, or to act stupid, or whatever simply because they are afraid of "making fools of themselves". This is not the case at all; it will not hurt your reputation in the least if your character is proven fallible. In fact, it would probably make you look better in the eyes of other players. This is a role-playing site, so one of the focuses is to make a believable, interesting character. Well, an infallible being certainly isn't believable and, if you think about it, such a being wouldn't be all that interesting either.

Flaws Make a Character: Continuing from my last point: What do you think makes a character interesting? Funny? Entertaining? Even Likable? Imperfections. That's right, its what's "wrong" with your character that make them, well, a character. Think back to your favorite character from a movie, book, or whatever. What made that character so impressive in your mind? Chances are that it wasn't because s/he could cast meteor swarm at will or summon all of nature's powers to his/her whim. No, chances are that it was some cool quirk that made the character. That's right, a quirk, or in other words: A flaw. A neurotic little habit, or a grammatical quirk in their speech (Think Yoda would have been so cool if his was just a wise little man?), or whatever.


Keep Your Abilities True to Your Character: A wizard that has a ring the gives him Meteor Swarm at will looks like a power gamer, but a fighter (or rogue or barbarian or whatever) with the same ring only looks ridiculous. Having abilities that deviate too much from your character concept (class for those of you who like to think in terms of DnD) is a bad idea. You may see it as adding interesting variety to your character's image, but in fact it only turns on that big flashing "Twink" light in most people's minds. If you want to add an interesting twist to your character that goes against concept, look at my last point.

Massive Displays of Power, They aren't Cool: We've all seen those amazing scenes in the big summer blockbuster movie of the year where the hero or villain does something big and flashy that blows the entire audience away. I'm sure many of us have thought: "Wouldn't it be cool if I could do that?" Well, not if you do it in the ISRP rooms. Such displays just do not work for two reasons: 1) There's no million-dollar 21st century special effects in the Emporium and 2) Anyone can do it. You see, such displays of power just don't look that cool in text form. What's more, they're distracting to other players and make you look "power-gamey". So the next time you want to bring down the Crossroad's Tavern with seismic waves emanating from your feet, don't.

Character Level is not the Same Thing as Character Power: There seems to be some confusion, particularly among those of us who play DnD, about a character's level being a god indicator of whether or not the player is a "power gamer". That doesn't seem to be the case. There are plenty of completely reasonable role-players with epic level characters, and there are plenty of 18th, 15th, or even 10th level characters with outrageous abilities. There's nothing wrong with playing a high level character, so long as you don't do it in a flashy, intimidating way.

Combat Role Playing
I'm going to start this section by saying that I'm not exactly an ISRP combat expert. I tend to avoid combat whenever possible actually, but I'm going to share what I have learned about it.

Take Damage: This seems like a given, but its probably the biggest complaint I've heard concerning "power gaming". If you're in combat with someone, get hit ever now and then. I'm not talking about letting your opponent decapitate you, I'm talking about taking a cut in the shoulder occasionally. Not only is refusing to take hits a huge annoyance to your opponent, but it also makes the fight terribly dull for spectators. Think about how fun it would be to watch a movie where the hero isn't even touched during a battle sequence.

Don't Expect to Kill Your Opponent: This topic is sort of the inverse of the one above. People are attached to their characters, so don't expect to be able to kill them in an unplanned fight. Expect them to take hits, maybe even lose (see next topic), but don't expect them to die. Also, even if your opponent does end up deceased at the conclusion of a battle, don't expect them to stay that way. There are clerics all over the place, so resurrection seems perfectly reasonable.

Forget the Rules, Use Logic: That's right, forget that your a 75th level High Dragon Overlord and your opponent's a 1st level Commoner with Leprosy. It doesn't matter, this is freeform. May the best wo/man win. This mean that if your opponent comes up with a clever way to defeat you, s/he should win. I'm not talking about the unleashing of the breath attack of awesome disinegration, I'm talking about finding a weakness in your style and exploiting it. You know, the way people win in real combat. If this bothers you, or if your character has no weaknesses to exploit, then you need to go back and read my first (and most important) point.

Don't Be Afraid to Run: This last one's something of a homage to Nugan the character. If you find yourself in a situation where you'd have to fight a battle that you really don't want to, whether its because your opponent's a power gamer or you simply don't want to, then run away. Despite what your opponent might tell you, you're never a "snert" or "power gamer" or whatever for finding a way to escape from a bad battle. Its better to just get away than to have to fight in an unfair way just to have any hope of survival.

Well, that's it. Thanks for taking the time to read what is probably another long, wordy, useless post from me. At least I bothered to run it through spell check this time...

Oh and if you have any suggestions or comments, let's hear them.

 

[PoisonBlade]

First off, very well written Nugan! Now it's time to add my 2¢ to everything you've brought up!

An Embarrassed Character is not the Same Thing as an Embarrassed Player:
I agree with you a 100% here. No one should try to play the perfect character. Perfect characters are dull, dismal, and terribly unbelievable. Characters who second guess themselves, makes mistakes, and occasionally look foolish are far more interesting and fun to role-play!

Flaws Make a Character:
Indeed! As I said above, no one likes a perfect character. Adding little quirks and weaknesses to a character really helps develop their persona!

Keep Your Abilities True to Your Character:
Yes! Please don't try to make a character who excels at everything! If a character's a warrior, then don't load him up with items that make him a powerful wizard as well. Characters like that just look power hungry and their players simply look like snerts.

Massive Displays of Power, They aren't Cool:
They're annoying. They also make players look like Power Gamers. Avoid big flashy spells like the plague!

Character Level is not the Same Thing as Character Power:
Here's my opinion on the whole "Character Level / Character Power" issue. In D&D, a 20th level character has an edge over a 10th level character. In the ISRP, however, both of these characters should be considered as equals. If the two engage in combat, both should be able to lay hits on one another and both should do about the same damage. Levels have no place in the ISRP, everyone should consider other players to be equally as powerful as they are. (Of course, this isn't always the case. I have one character who would find herself quite helpless in a combat situation.)

Take Damage:
For the love of God, YES!!! Allow your character to get beaten up a little. Nothings worse than engaging in a combat where your opponent wont even take a single hit!

Don't Expect to Kill Your Opponent:
Of course not. You have no right killing another players character!

Forget the Rules, Use Logic:
As I said above, a level 10 character can defeat a level 20 character in the ISRP. If the level 10 exploits a weakness in the level 20's combat strategy, then the level 10 should be declared the winner.

Don't Be Afraid to Run:
He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day!

PoisonBlade

 

[Andion Isurand]

Try tying your character in with other characters:
Sometimes it helps to play off other characters. When in a group, find something that your dude or dudette can contribute without casting a shadow over the rest involved. This will help reduce any outrageous tendencies you may be feeling at the time.

 

[George Washington's Ghost]

 

[Ssussunriyh]

I'd like to offer another bit of advice; this may help explain how not to be a power-gamer in non-combat situations.

Don't offer up instant solutions to everybody else's problems. For instance, if you overhear a character complaining about being poor, don't walk up to them and dump a sack of gold in their lap. Chances are the player has a valid reason for the character's woes that tie into a storyline that's being played out. I know that people like to be helpful, but ask the player Out-Of-Character (via Private Message) before acting In-Character.

 

[Quathmoir Dlaeh Issarhai]

Nuge, three thumbs up for this thread, man!
I have a few things to add, and a few details to cointradict, though:

Massive Displays of Power, They aren't Cool:
There's no million-dollar 21st century special effects in the Emporium
You see, such displays of power just don't look that cool in text form.

The special effects and stuff happen in the readers' minds, not on the screen. When i read someone making a flashy effect that's both well-placed {id est good timing plotline-wise} and written with taste, i immagine it, and enjoy it. I even do them ocasionally.

Massive Displays of Power, They aren't Cool:
Anyone can do it.
What's more, they're distracting to other players and make you look "power-gamey". So the next time you want to bring down the Crossroad's Tavern with seismic waves emanating from your feet, don't.

These things happen if you make those flashy effects often. I believe you shouldn't abstine from them completely, but keep them for very rare ocasions: the more powerfull the effect is, the more seldom you should use it, if you wish it to actually have effect on the readers {and the other players} every time. In other words, next time you want to bring down the Four Oaks Inn with seismic waves emanating from your feet, ask yourself the following two questions:
Does my char, acording to his personality crossed with the storyline, have a good enough reason to do it?
Is this event uniqye enough, and won't doing this make the effect feel mundane and often-used?

Character Level is not the Same Thing as Character Power:
There's nothing wrong with playing a high level character, so long as you don't do it in a flashy, intimidating way.

A char can be flashy and intimidating, if that's his caracture, but his exterior of flashyfull intimidation must falter ocasionally, showing his flaws.

Take Damage:

Moreover, take damage in proportion to the efforts of the attacking char and his player. Don't lose a limb from the first claw-slash of a bear, but don't stay unscratched when an expert archer wastes his wntire quiver on you.
Another good idea is to "award" the oponent's player for good roleplaying, by taking damage when the attack is clever, or described with taste.

Don't Expect to Kill Your Opponent:
People are attached to their characters, so don't expect to be able to kill them in an unplanned fight.

Forget the Rules, Use Logic:

Use logic even when you don't forget the rules. Logic is above rules, but shouldn't exclude them. One character can be more powerfull than another {more experienced, better in some things, physically or intellectually superb, et c}, and that may well be expressed by the opponent being hurt more often than him, or fearing him, but that should NEVER make anyone invulnurable. More powerfull - yes; most powerfull - never.