[UA] Powergamer != Munchkin

[Rae Gunter]

On 7/23/05, Mike Lake <mdlake at well.com> wrote:

> Sure, its realistic for characters to go to extraordinary lengths to
> preserve their skins.  But realism doesn't always make for a good story.

For me the break is between realism of the *characters* going to
lengths to save their skins, and the *players*.  A character setting
up, in-game, an ambush or such that gives him massive advantages
before a combat, for story/character-appropriate reasons?  Fine.  A
player who minimaxes his character to hell and back, takes
disadvantages that are not going to be an issue outside the most
contrived circumstances to get extra points, and then uses player
knowledge to character advantage?  Not fine.

If your character has useless skills because it fits his backstory,
and also happens to be really, really good at something that *also*
fits his backstory, I wouldn't actually call that powergaming.  A
character can be good at something; it's only when the objective seems
to be to be good at *everything* and bad at *nothing* that could
matter that evil powergaming is in effect.

Then again, I usually play with a group where pretty much everyone
actually *would* spend points on Tim Toner's Rhythmic Intelligence -
or else have a good reason for not doing so to justify it to the other
players, which would then be a part of their character and their
character's behaviour.

Rae