Awesome question. Thinking on it for later.
I personally like settings in which my character is on an even keel with those around me. I think it becomes too easy when your character is head and shoulders above everyone else for the character to develop a mentality where they feel they can do whatever they want. Pathfinder is about the GM and the players coming together to tell a story, and when a character's actions no longer have consequences that makes for a lousy story. If my character can do whatever they want, is unbelievably untouchable, and comes out on top every time, then where are the stakes? I view every class feature I get as an opportunity to further the collective story, and if I can blow everyone else out of the water, then what's the point of working with others to create a narrative? Telling a good story involves weaknesses, and shifting focus away from the individual and onto the group, including sometimes shifting it to the greater world that the characters exist in. My character's actions should matter, but they shouldn't be the be all end all in the world, and they shouldn't just be able to do whatever they want. They should be allowed choices, but they should still be playing inside a collective narrative.
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I just want to be a bad enough dude to save the president when he is kidnapped by ninjas
Alternately, do you prefer games in which you're acknowledged as an elite combatant/caster/creator, head, shoulders and chest above most of those around you, even though you're 5th level and most of them are 2nd?
After putting in the (considerable) effort to achieve it, then this, but mixed with enough reminders that there are always people that are even better. Enough to keep me grounded and remember that at the end of the day my character may be amongst the elite, but is still a mortal in a world of (mostly) mortals. Well, unless we've got the Mythic rules out :)
Hmm. I'm not sure it's either, although I'm probably leaning more towards wanting lots of spells/abilities/options as opposed to relative power. What I really want is to truly fear for my life once I reach the BBEG itself, regardless of how easily (or not) the group dispatched of the BBEG's minions :)
What I mean is this: When playing a game such as Pathfinder, are you more concerned with possessing a myriad of abilities such as high-level spells, eidolon or other creature summoning, multiple attacks, smites, etc., no matter what others around you may have—even if many of them are more powerful than you?
Alternately, do you prefer games in which you're acknowledged as an elite combatant/caster/creator, head, shoulders and chest above most of those around you, even though you're 5th level and most of them are 2nd?
Is it more important to be a complete bad-ass, or just be badder than most everyone else?
After thinking on it, I'd have to say both or either (but usually not neither), depending on the campaign, character, and style I'm going for.
In general, I like more options - I'm often a fan of high-level play. However, sometimes I just want to be in an E6 world - a world where being low level can still be something serious.
In the most recent memory of one such, I ran a one-shot E6 game where one player was a blue goblin out looking for their mysteriously-vanished tribe, it was an absolute blast - I brought them up against "an archmage"*, a sixth level sorcerer, who had (terrifyingly enough) fireball and an owlbear* half-way through the game (they were, at the time, 3rd level). It was thrilling for them to have such high stakes, even as they became rapidly more powerful than those around them, in general. It was fun for me as a GM to see how well they could do.
What I'm not a big fan of is being consistently lesser than everything. By that I mean, regardless of your total or relative power, most creatures are more powerful than you.
That might make an interesting game session, but I've heard it espoused before, and tried it once... it was very uninteresting.
That's not to say that there can't be things - lots of things - more powerful than the PCs. In fact, that's normal, and not problematic. But if the PCs are never able to (in theory, even if not in practice**) achieve the highest levels of power, that strikes me as a little "off" and usually lessens my over-all enjoyment of the set-up. It's not a bad set-up - far from it! - it's just not one I enjoy.
In general, though, I'd have to say I tend to prefer both absolute and relative power, simultaneously, with plenty of leeway for only having one or the other instead.
* They ended up deciding to use one of his own scrolls to tranform him - and the owlbear, which was just a random encounter - into their pet skeletal champions. They mostly hung out on the cart and fought bandits thereafter, though the archmage became the servants of the goblin tribe in general later, while the owlbear was destroyed in the adventure, if I recall. I might not, though! It's been a while!
** In other words, in my games, usually the PCs could, theoretically, become liches if they wanted to. They don't, because they're not awful characters, and, I mean, who wants their skin to slough off anyway, right? But that option is, in theory, there, so long as "lichdom" exists in the world. Similarly for anything - they might not be willing to go through the hoops to get that power (whatever it is), but it's theoretically there for the offering. Although more rare, there are a few exceptions to this principle.
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If it's a long campaign, I want to start beign relatively good, but shown that it's a big world out there and I'm a big fish in a small pond. Over the course of the game, I'll rise up to be at or above the levels of those who I once feared/admired.
Like last campaign my character was one of the best swordsmen in his town and he was confident in his skills, but maybe 2 or 3 sessions in I got into a duel with an Aldori swordlord who completely wiped the floor with me. I couldn't even land one blow before he shattered my scimitar. I did manage one lucky 20 on a trip attempt to the surprise of everyone, even the swordlord, but he still beat me without taking even a single point of damage. He considered me too weak to kill, but saw the potential in me and told me to get stronger before challenging him again.
It was 2nd to last session when we finally crossed paths again. There was another boss with him him, but both me and the swordlord agreed to not get involved in that fight so we could have a fair duel at full strength (I was confident the rest of my party could take the boss on and likely would have sprung at the fight if any of them were in mortal danger). After a fairly lengthy duel, it made me feel like an utter badass when I landed the killing blow to him and nicely capped off my characters arc for that story. It didn't feel awesome since I was stronger than him, it felt awesome since I had grown enough to deffeat the one who previously took me out with no effort.
I like having an area I'm competent in that actively comes up a bunch. I don't want to be outshined by a fellow PC outclassing me in my area and dominating the action all the time or sidelined by the monster opposition or game situation all the time.
High or low level, lots or few powers do not matter as much for my enjoyment. I think.
I like being the best at something. For instance back in the living arcanis days I had a character that was only ok in combat but rocked on the social skills, he could talk his way through anything which was a big deal in arcanis.
Nothing is worse that being only one of 4 people that all have similar skills. "I use knowledge nature...no I do...no I have just as big a bonus!
That is one reason I don't get the every character must be able to do everything movement.
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Both, to some degree. I play RPGs partially as a wish fulfillment thing, where my character can accomplish things I never could, so on one level being able to cast spells to rewrite reality itself or create my own demiplane is pretty cool, and on another knowing that most people who mess with you are screwed is all that's needed.
But really, I think the most important thing is neither of these per se, but the simple ability to achieve one's goals. Narrative power, if you will (though it can be mechanically based). If my character can defeat the villain, I feel powerful, if he can't I feel powerless. If my character can successfully woo his love interest, I feel powerful, if he can't I feel powerless. And so on and so forth. It's about the ability to meaningfully succeed within the game world.
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Did your character think about sparing the guy who'd let him live when first they'd met?...I got into a duel with an Aldori swordlord who ... considered me too weak to kill, but saw the potential in me and told me to get stronger before challenging him again.
... when we finally crossed paths again ... it made me feel like an utter badass when I landed the killing blow ...
My intention was to leave him alive since my character wanted to face him again someday and bore no grudge. However, I dealt too much damage with my final blow (Think I critted for the finisher) and he fell with no chance to heal him. Also the Swordlord was getting old and wanted to die in a battle, even having left a letter in his coat for me in case he lost. Both men went into battle as equals knowing the risk of death.
Also he left me alive back then since he could do it without any danger. He only hit me with the pommel and was never under any risk since my sword was already in pieces. Even if it wasn't I could only hit him with a nat 20 at the time. In the last battle either side taking it easy would insure a loss. I even tried just disarming him several times as a nonlethal way to end the battle, but his CMD was clearly too high since I never succeeded.
So while I wanted to leave him alive, GM had pretty much planned he'd die there.
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Did your character think about sparing the guy who'd let him live when first they'd met?...I got into a duel with an Aldori swordlord who ... considered me too weak to kill, but saw the potential in me and told me to get stronger before challenging him again.
... when we finally crossed paths again ... it made me feel like an utter badass when I landed the killing blow ...
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
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I want to be the best at the things my partymembers consider as least usefull, so I can prove them wrong time and time again.
Had a lot of lolz in a combat-oriented party with a charisma & intelligence based rogue evading most combatsituations by talking my way through and getting the loot while the rest of the party was having their jolly way a few rooms earlier.
It was a great deal, they didn't like exploring, or roleplay, only COMBAAT!!! so I'd just scout ahead and send all the encounters towards them, then follow, wait for them to kill everything, and hand out the loot :p
This.
Actually, my ideal character is someone who is the second best character in the party at *everything*. That way I'm always useful, but never the top target.
Both, sort of.
In comparison to the rest of the PARTY, I want to be seen as equals. It's why balance issues bother me in a general sense even if people at my table don't deign to use them. I want to be the equal of the people in my peer group, and options that skew that make that not a guarantee.
But as compared to the world as a whole? I take it in waves. I don't mind there being someone better before endgame, and I don't mind there being equals to my power when I'm AT endgame.
IMO it should go something like (in order from most powerful to least) Endgame Boss/BBEG >/= High Level PC >Mid-game BBEG > Mid-game PC (makes for a more interesting story if you're 10th level and there's like a 13th level dudebro who whipped your ass a while back) >Low-level PC > Low-level BBEG/Boss (build up your confidence, stroke your ego...then throw the real challenge at them) >>>>>>>>>NPC Classed NPCs.
Relative power. Practically speaking levels don't mean anything beyond and expanded list of abilities and higher numbers. I could have just as much fun as an 8th level character in a world where few go beyond 5th as I could playing a 15th level character in a world of 12th levels.