Building team synergy is a goal, not a problem.
It is a team game. The problem comes when one player doesn't get this and tries to munchkin himself into superman rather than working with the rest of the group.
To be fair it goes a step farther than that -- a player playing a 'god character' is a problem when he doesn't allow the rest of the part a slot at the table.
One of my favorite wizards to play was Rauph L'Mao: He was a 'god wizard' type but he didn't like to get bothered with 'mundane matters' like fights with anything not 'good enough' such as giants, humanoids, magical beasts, lesser dragons, constructs, lesser undead, and the like -- he would still cast spells in such fights... but they would be the 'go my minions!" type spells such as haste or maybe a summon monster.
He could do and make it through a whole lot -- still spell, silent spell, eschew materials, spell mastery (3 times)toughness, great fortitude, quicken spell made up the bulk of his feats... but he allowed the rest of the party a place in the game -- and it was the spot the rest of the party wanted. As such there was no out of character conflict.
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Building team synergy is a goal, not a problem.
It is a team game. The problem comes when one player doesn't get this and tries to munchkin himself into superman rather than working with the rest of the group.
To be fair it goes a step farther than that -- a player playing a 'god character' is a problem when he doesn't allow the rest of the part a slot at the table.
One of my favorite wizards to play was Rauph L'Mao: He was a 'god wizard' type but he didn't like to get bothered with 'mundane matters' like fights with anything not 'good enough' such as giants, humanoids, magical beasts, lesser dragons, constructs, lesser undead, and the like -- he would still cast spells in such fights... but they would be the 'go my minions!" type spells such as haste or maybe a summon monster.
He could do and make it through a whole lot -- still spell, silent spell, eschew materials, spell mastery (3 times)toughness, great fortitude, quicken spell made up the bulk of his feats... but he allowed the rest of the party a place in the game -- and it was the spot the rest of the party wanted. As such there was no out of character conflict.
And it also conserved his good spells for later if you were working outside of a 15 minute workday world.
Which is how it is supposed to work. :)
Well to be fair he was a bit of a coward when it came to blades too -- demons, devils, dragons and the like he could handle, there were spells for those. For an arcanist though there aren't quite as many spells for, "Sword cutting your head off."
Well to be fair he was a bit of a coward when it came to blades too -- demons, devils, dragons and the like he could handle, there were spells for those. For an arcanist though there aren't quite as many spells for, "Sword cutting your head off."
Are there divine spells for that? :)
Well to be fair he was a bit of a coward when it came to blades too -- demons, devils, dragons and the like he could handle, there were spells for those. For an arcanist though there aren't quite as many spells for, "Sword cutting your head off."Are there divine spells for that? :)
regenerate, resurrection, raise dead... yeah there are.
Also the Cleric's Feather Fall. ; )
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In our Serpent's Skull party, 2 players are playing Half-Orc twins who are almost identical mechanically speaking (Barbarian/Fighter), though they will grow a bit more distinct as we gain levels.
This happened because the mechanics-oriented player read Orcs of Golarion and really liked the Amplified Rage feat. He created the characters and their story. This freed the more roleplay-oriented player from bothering with mechanics.
They are very efficient at dealing damage but still have some glaring weaknesses that the rest of the group will need to cover by using our own PCs' powers, which is actually how most groups should work.
A huge benefit from this choice is that even if one of these players cannot attend a game session, the other one will play both characters.
Later on, they will both get the Leadership feat and end up with even more Orc Barbarians to add to the mix.
I must say that I am quite fond of the idea that my Halfling Jinx-Sorceress will become the adoptive Witch-GodMother of the resulting Orcish tribe.
If the game didn't want characters to work together it won't exist in the first place.
Teamwork feats are great for what you are doing. Look at all the flanking bonus feats.
Consider Inquisitor or Cavalier, I'm sure you could still make this work with those too, if not better. :)
Not to mention the Inquistor's spells and the Cavalier can also make sure the rest of your party joins in on the fun. :)
Cooperation is key to this game, that is why it always best to make sure everyone party has someone that can fill a specific role. "The Cleric is healing the tanking fighter, OP!!!" "The wizard is casting greater invisibility on the rogue, OP!!!" "The fighter is flanking with the rogue, OP!!!"
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If the mechanics are built around a story then it is cool, but if it is the other way around then it is cheese IMHO. In the end though the point is to have fun. I have two players in my game taking teamwork feats together. It started after the campaign started, and while I don't care for teamwork feats myself I think the idea is cool.
+1
Every genre of fiction is full of buddy characters that perfectly complement one another... Han & Chewie, Xena and Gabrielle, Sykes & Francisco, Apollo & Starbuck (both iterations!)... and they're all more interesting for it!
BUT... bear in mind that it is a roleplaying game. Unlike all those characters above, you don't have the benefit and protection of a writer with a vested interest in keeping you alive for the sake of his story. One of your characters can easily end up squished.
It doesn't become cheese until one of you dies and the other just says he's retiring...