NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 1832810" data-attributes="member: 3424">I believe we may have slightly different definitions of heroism and powergaming. To my mind, they are not mutually exclusive, and one applies to the character and another to the player. The character does things which are heroic, and the player powergames to ensure that the character can do so consistently. As I mentioned, it is not a bad thing to want a competent character, as a competent character can do more. Certainly, it takes a great deal of courage, and some would say heroism, for Joe Commoner to stand up to the Dread Black Knight, but he isn't likely to last more than six seconds against him. Realistically, only Peter Paladin has a chance to defeat him in combat. For a real-life example, consider policemen, fire-fighters and those who risk their lives to save others on a regular basis. Are their actions any less heroic because they have been specially trained and have the proper equipment for their jobs ("powergamed", if you will)? On the contrary, some would consider it downright irresponsible if they did not. While we salute the heroism of those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and accomplished great things that they were untrained and ill-equipped for, we should recognize that not everyone can perform heroic acts consistently.D&D takes the approach that the characters are better than "normal" people. They are more naturally talented (have better ability scores on average), and have better training (PC classes vs NPC classes). They are mechanically heroic in the sense that they can accomplish more than the average commoner on the basis of the rules and dice. Powergaming enhances this aspect of the character. However, to have a character that is heroic in all senses of the word, it is up to the player to add self-sacrifice, perseverence against odds, and other related characteristics. This is where role-playing comes in.Too much candy is bad for you. You can get through life without candy, and you'd probably be healthier, too. Still, it's nice to have candy once in a while, as part of a balanced diet.</blockquote>

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