tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944818126005964967.post5777825618614147200..comments2023-06-15T01:12:28.254-07:00Comments on Candiussell corner: Power Gamers and the Mini-Max CharacterAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05893549348934337804noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944818126005964967.post-20373982553368247052015-08-10T23:19:05.245-07:002015-08-10T23:19:05.245-07:00Right on!Right on!gabriellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17939640235554698006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944818126005964967.post-48090691751032276062015-08-10T17:45:43.560-07:002015-08-10T17:45:43.560-07:00Anon sez,
You can't handle my 1337 powers of t...Anon sez,<br />You can't handle my 1337 powers of twinkage. Bow before my wepinz skilzz!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2944818126005964967.post-25830392036863469222015-08-10T17:10:09.065-07:002015-08-10T17:10:09.065-07:00I'll jump in here. Let me start by openly admi...I'll jump in here. Let me start by openly admitting some of that could be about me. A few disclaimers first though - I have been part of play testing SAGA since fairly close to the beginning (when part of our job was to see if we could break the system), and on the other hand, though I am a diehard supporter, I have met others who have been more interesting in their characters, as well as others who have been more clever in stretching the rules to their maximum level. Lastly, I am a bit of a perfectionist, so I find it hard not to give a character the most...something...though sometime it is strength in a spell, sometimes combat expertise, and sometimes playing a quirk to the max.<br /><br />Now, with all that being said, let me say that I agree with the general pita nature of min-maxed characters in general - Cyndi pointed out the problems well enough I won't repeat them. Part of the issue when making a character is balancing role-playing vs. roll-playing, combat vs. politics, wilderness vs. city. Sometimes you want a specialist, sometimes a generalist. Another consideration, which unfortunately raises its ugly head most of the time for me these days, is campaign length - will this be a one-off or a character/SAGA you might develop over years? These are considerations for any RPG.<br /><br />With SAGA I might suggest lowering the allowed maximums for starting characters (and for Hero/Legend class characters as well - maybe let Mythic stand but just for one off sessions or truly Mythic SAGAs). Also, there was a specific mechanism Cyndi used in my recent visit - maximum 1 combat grip at 16 and the rest at 15 or below (of course I misunderstood this and thought it was all grips, not just combat grips). When I first heard this I had a slight pounding in my chest and started playing with numbers to see how to balance that out. After my initial panic, for lack of a better word, I thought it was a great idea. Forced to round the damn characters out, we got to play around with a variety of skills. Of course, to confuse things still further my wife played the caster she had always wanted to try and I made a tank-type (with a little min-maxing, but not nearly as much as I probably would have used without the incentive to think about various skills more). In the end, I decided this was a spectacular device for evening out the playing field. I would have liked it more if I could continue the SAGA to develop the character more, but such is life at the moment. That was a 9500 mile trip in 18 days, and even though the longest stop I had was at Cyndi's, it still didn't give much time for getting the character developed before I got there. My wife actually had a fairly cool background concept, but hates writing in English so you didn't get to hear much of it.<br /><br />So, that was my long-winded way of saying I agree with most of your thoughts on min-max characters. There will always be people who min-max, and I think most people do it some times. I think a good way to cut down on such things is to lower maximums for starting characters, possibly even lowering starting points some, and having some various other instruments (no true grip or hit goal over 16 on a starting character, etc). Also, if any of those tri-decadely visits the one min-maxing is me, please feel free to tell me - I think our friendship has stood up to enough by now that honesty in gaming, which we've always had, wouldn't budge it.<br /><br />Sorry if I'm a bit over-narcissistic right now - still exhausted from that trip :). I have been thinking about that session and some of your suggestions, but higher discussion than tired babbling will have to wait until I get back from Europe, as we take off in about 40 hours.Foren Starnoreply@blogger.com