Taren Greymoore's page

So many people here have said things that essentially are saying that the players should have fun and be able to build their chars how they want, to have fun. What I notice people forget is that the DM also needs to have fun. Which means that sometimes yes players are playing "badfunwrong" for that game. Players are no more important than the DM as far as who has more of a right to have fun; it should be a balance. But players of late seem to forget that; and think the DM is just their for their benefit.

Players that think they must optimize everything, need to learn that no, you actually do not. It's like an arms race, if players constantly make characters as optimized as possible, the DM has to do the same with NPCs to balance it. Which can just turn a story flat; as certain NPC concepts become obsolete and NPC will become more cookie cutter.

The inverse can be true if a DM always optimizes NPCs; but then players can also learn that you don't need to fill every single character hole. Flaws define a character more than their strength & abilities ever will. Story isn't about winning, it's about having fun and being part of a good & fun story.

As for preplanning builds and growing from story, there is a difference between planning out the entire build and having an idea of a character concept. I think a point he (the thread starter) is trying to make is that say your character has to spend time on a ship at sea, and even goes through the motions of learning it; but then never actually take any skills to reflect that. They aren't interacting or being influence by their environment, they are just going through the motions. It is also a bad habit of metagaming of knowing things ICly without having the actual skills to reflect it; and then act like the DM is the bad guy for enforcing it. And claiming that they experienced it ICly so shouldn't have too, except that's exactly what skills and stats and abilities are, reflecting what you've done ICly.

There is enough leeway in general character advancement to allow someone to be good at something, and still have other abilities without everything having to be towards one skill or fighting style. That's just an excuse to min-max and power-game.

Not sure when "I win" became the most important part of a Role-playing game; it didn't use to be. Actually have seen players that think because they are the PCs they should get away with things without repercussions, like they have some sign above their heads saying they are special.