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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 3371914" data-attributes="member: 467">Recent threads have gotten me thinking about "powergaming", "munchkinism" and related issues.  The conculsion -- epiphany, almost -- I came to was that such things aren't really there, or at least they aren't there exclusively, nor nearly as often as the charges are made.Let's take the common grognard argument that D&D 3.x is a blight upon the gaming world because it destroys role-playing and turns players into munchkins and D&D into a video game/CCG/minis battle game/etc...  Bull cocky.  The concept of the "build" is not inherently linked to the presence or quality of the role-play, the story or the immersion of a given game, 3.x included.  Coherent mechanics that synergize with one another, in fact, can greatly enhance those parts of role-playing games.  Hand-waving things to get a desired effect -- whether it be a character background or a particular setting or adventure element -- weakens the system as a whole and creats cracks in the foundation of the game.  Handwaving is, IMO, a bad thing.However, consistent rules allow for the creation of new materials that are more likely to be balanced and otherwise mesh with the rest of the rules set.  D&D does what it does(high fantasy action adventure) very well, but sometimes people want a different kind of fantasy game.  The presence of feats and skills and prestige classes and consistent saves and stats and spell effects allows the publisher, game master, or player to create a different feel without having to craft a whole "fantasy heartbreaker" to reach a desired effect.  obviously, the farther one strays from the core D&D rules and implied setting, the more work is required, but nothing changes the fact that feats (generally speaking) are woth X and spells have Y effects and Z levels.To take a ubiquitous example, imagine trying to run the Lord of the Rings straight out of the D&D 3.5 core books.  Impossible, I'd contend.  However, a few tweaks here, a few variants there, and a smidge of UA or 3rd party products and you'd have a workable game -- and it would still be recognizable as D&D.  Even if all the elf PCs were munchkin powergamers because their raes was immensely more powerful than the rest of the party.I've strayed a little off topic.  Anyway, what i mean is that isues of new rules, character builds and optimization and not inherently connected to the other aspects of the activity that is playinga  role-playing game.  In D&D 3.x in particular, those activities are a sub- or mini-game that informs the rest of the game.  But just because your half orc barbarian is a master of the spiked chain doesn't mean he isn't a 3 dimensional character with complex motivations and a complete personality: that's all on you.  Moreover, that that complex, multi-faceted character can also pull his weight in combat is a *good* thing and not something to be sneered at because it isn't "real roleplaying".</blockquote>

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