In a recent post over at Temporary Hit Points, SarahDarkmagic, sort of in passing mentions the conflict between Storytellers and Optimizers in character design. This gets me thinking. Why is there such a difference between storytelling and character optimization?
The First Problem: The Argument
Let’s start by defining the conflict. Optimizers want to get the absolute highest output of damage/defense/control/buff/debuff they can manage.
Storytellers want to make choices based on what they believe their character wants to do with themselves. Choices that are made seem to fall on one side of the fence or the other.
Where this becomes problematic is the point where in game benefit is weighed against story significance. Optimizers will argue that their choices, however they may clash with personal narrative, make the most sense because these choices give their character the greatest chance for lobg-term success. Storytellers will argue that their choices, however they may clash with strategic notions, make the most sense because these choices represent important developments in their characters’ lives, the lack of which define them as adventurers, and separate them from the rat catcher at the local Ren fair.
So, where’s the problem? I guess it lies in one group’s perception of the other. Storytellers put the issue on optimizers, saying their characters are soulless piles of numbers on a sheet of paper, while optimizers put it on storytellers, saying that there’s no good to be had in purposely crippling your character just to push your own story forward or, worse, do this to avoid high-yield abilities.
The Second Problem: Design
Many games, D&D notably, publish new material to supplement the already robust systems. As games develop and expand, new choices become available. These new options give players new directions in which to explore their characters. While this isn’t normally a problem, sometimes new content gets through that is either overpowered, or interacts with previously published material in unforseen ways.
For optimizers, it’s a veritable Christmas day scenario, as they squeeze as much power out of the new stuff as though it were a new battery for their favorite toy. They’ll sit tirelessly, adjusting every last stat, preparing for every last circumstance, until they are satisfied that they still hold the ultimate killing machine in their hands.
For storytellers, this behavior is obscene. They see a player making seemingly dissonant chocies, and immediately the red flag is raised. “This can’t be!,” they cry, “That makes no sense!”
The Solution?
( I actually had this conversation with a friend of mine. By the way, he’s kind of an Optimizer…)
Me: So, here’s my character: He’s an Invoker of Aumanator. When he hits Paragon, I’m gonna make him a Morninglord.
Buddy: He’s a Dwarf.
Me: Right. Wisdom & Constitution work well for Wrathful Invokers.
Buddy: But Dwarves live underground. They avoid sunlight.
Me: You’re a racist!
My point here is that the Storyteller mindset wants things to make sense in a narrative, and the Optimizer wants mechanical benefits. Why can’t we have both? Perhaps the Dwarf I mention above saw the sun peeking out at him from crevice, and he felt the call to Aumanator’s service. Oh, and by the way, once he hits Paragon, thanks to the Power of the Sun domain feat, Sun Strike, and the ongoing radiant damage the Morninglord hands out, he’ll be cramking out more solar damage than a malfunctioning tanning booth can lay on an Irishman.
As always, be sure to comment, and keep an eye on those threatened squares.
Hee, I am both. When a edition first comes out I am all about the story, but the longer I play a game the more optimization I do. I have never been a great optimizer and don’t really care to be, but some of the people I play with are, and as a result in order to keep up I have to optimize to a certain degree. Also as I explore the game mechanics slowly, I begin to understand what the consequences are of not optimizing and so clean up my feats or powers to work better on the whole. Many of the optimizers will plan their characters in advance. I raise a level at a time, because I prefer it and it makes me think about the character and not just the mechanics. I know one optimizer who is always saying he does it from a story point of view but then works the numbers for his character to be the best of the best, even those fields where he is not specifically suppose to be invading the role of. He is a rules lawyer too, so it makes it difficult to argue with him, even though all of his character’s personalities are nearly identical. It makes it hard to believe that it is all about the story.
Well I have rambled enough, B.