I had to snort at this

[Rechan]

I don't want to start an edition war (though that's wholly possible). Just something that happened earlier today I found amusing.

Someone I gamed with a few months ago sent me an email. Before I explain the contents, I should preface this by saying that this man, I shall call Tim, is a power gamer. He coaches everyone on rules at the table, telling everyone what feat and class and skill points they should take at their level. When someone is talking to an NPC, he's having a discussion with another player about rules quibbles with a spell choice. He spouts builds in his sleep. Tim would be a supreme court justice of rules lawyering.

So anyways, Tim sends me an email. "My thoughts on 4e," which consists of "My feelings about 4e are in this thread. They just sound better than coming from me." And he links me to a thread about a rant on 4e.

The kicker, however?

The rant is posted on WotC's Character Optimization board.

 

[Jadeite]

You should tell him about the Orcuslayer. He will love the possibilities. True Powergamers endorse the new game because it gives them something new to exploit.

 

[frankthedm]

Well, could you give the link?

In general, 4e was supposed to make Char-Opp types unhappy.

 

[Rechan]

Well, could you give the link?

http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1044787

 

[Ruin Explorer]

In general, 4e was supposed to make Char-Opp types unhappy.

I dunno if I'd put it like that. It was certainly supposed to make character optimization less of a thing that only a few individuals do/are capable of, and make it so that merely following guidelines would lead one to having a character with a very effectiveness. I certainly hope power-gamers can get some thrills from 4E, because one of my favourite players is a power-gamer.

 

[Asmor]

I shall call Tim

I think I found his myspace, is this his picture?

 

[pawsplay]

Well, could you give the link?

In general, 4e was supposed to make Char-Opp types unhappy.

I don't really agree with that. While broken builds are something of a sport, in the main, people are looking for elegant ways to solve problems with character creation or create big win synergies. 4e is basically a streamlined system that mainly rewards big win synergies.

 

[Rechan]

4e is basically a streamlined system that mainly rewards big win synergies.

I disagree. 4e is a system that mainly rewards strategy.

The best synergy is not for single characters, but for an entire party.

 

[wedgeski]

What I get from that thread? I gotta be honest here, anything which makes that bunch of self-absorbed whiners unhappy can only be good for the hobby.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

What I get from that thread? I gotta be honest here, anything which makes that bunch of self-absorbed whiners unhappy can only be good for the hobby.

Yeah, but everything makes self-absorbed whiners unhappy. 4e makes them unhappy. 3e makes them unhappy. If WotC suddenly cancelled 4e for no given reason, a whole bunch of self-absorbed whiners would become unhappy. If Wizards somehow made it illegal to use 3e, a whole bunch of self-absorbed whiners would become unhappy.

That's what self-absorbed whiners are there for. To be unhappy. About everything.