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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 3936792" data-attributes="member: 198">But it's quite possible for the spell choice and usage to be based on the character. I can't think of a spellcaster-type I'm playing or have played where the choice of spells and their use in a fight wasn't heavily reliant on the character concept. And that rarely translates to optimal spell choice/usage. I've only ever played one spellcaster who did what I'd call optimal spell choice/usage, and even that's because it fit the character concept.Yes, but the choices are not necessarily based on what's tactically expedient. They can be, but they can also be based on the character concept. For me, personally, they're based on both simultaneously, and concept beats expedience if they have to conflict. Do characters ever charge in at the wrong time because the player knows better but the character wouldn't? Sure. For me they do and for many other players I've seen in action.  Again true, but also (at least for some people) based on what the character concept is. If my lying, womanizing, cheating, stealing shugenja (yes, a current PC) happens to have the Eschew Material Component, Still Spell and Silent Spell feats, it's not because my skill as a player tells me they'll be the most powerful in combat. It's because I figure being able to pour a woman a drink without lifting a finger or evidently casting a spell is really important to him. Does my player skill tell me that'll make the PC less effective in a fight than could be otherwise? Sure. But that doesn't stop me from making the choices. You're assuming that players always use their skill to maximum advantage and do so with little or no consideration for character. I don't think that's universally the case.Perhaps, but I'd say puzzles are completely reliant on player skill rather than character skill, whereas most other elements of the game (combat effectiveness, for example) are based on a combination of both.</blockquote>

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