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<blockquote data-quote="Mallus" data-source="post: 5649213" data-attributes="member: 3887">I'll echo what some people have been saying: there's nothing wrong with optimization per se, but there is a problem with groups that have wide power disparities between PCs.And it's a pretty big problem: it makes the game harder to run for (most) DMs.The guiding principle in PC design should be: build a character that fits into your specific group. The best PCs are the ones who work well with others, not necessarily the ones with the maximized chances of survival. I've been thinking a bit about optimization w/r/t different systems lately...&nbsp;I might join a Pathfinder group soon. Since it's a 3e-framework game, a certain level of optimization is practically required. There are a lot of options, a lot of synergies, a fair number of traps, and by deciding not to spend a little time on the mechanical implementation of your PC, you miss out on one best features of the system.We've also played Savage Worlds recently. I have no idea how to optimize a SW character. But it is fun to play around with the character build options, since the system gives you, for a compact rules set, a lot of interesting mechanical dials to twiddle, though they seem more geared to character modeling, and not so prone to &quot;killer builds&quot;.Then there's our AD&amp;D campaign, where character optimization amounts to the magic-user acquiring Sleep and Web, the fighter double-specializing in a sword, and everyone buying 10' poles, war dogs, and as much flame oil as they can carry <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mallus, post: 5649213, member: 3887"] I'll echo what some people have been saying: there's nothing wrong with optimization per se, but there is a problem with groups that have wide power disparities between PCs. And it's a pretty big problem: it makes the game harder to run for (most) DMs. The guiding principle in PC design should be: build a character that fits into your specific group. The best PCs are the ones who work well with others, not necessarily the ones with the maximized chances of survival. I've been thinking a bit about optimization w/r/t different systems lately... I might join a Pathfinder group soon. Since it's a 3e-framework game, a certain level of optimization is practically required. There are a lot of options, a lot of synergies, a fair number of traps, and by deciding [i]not to[/i] spend a little time on the mechanical implementation of your PC, you miss out on one best features of the system. We've also played Savage Worlds recently. I have no idea how to optimize a SW character. But it is fun to play around with the character build options, since the system gives you, for a compact rules set, a lot of interesting mechanical dials to twiddle, though they seem more geared to character modeling, and not so prone to "killer builds". Then there's our AD&D campaign, where character optimization amounts to the magic-user acquiring Sleep and Web, the fighter double-specializing in a sword, and everyone buying 10' poles, war dogs, and as much flame oil as they can carry :)! [/QUOTE]

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