07-16-2009, 07:59 PM | #21 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
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I perfectly sympathize with the joy of playing a powerful character; I had a blast playing the combat monster in Eben's campaign, which served as the playtest for GURPS Supers. But she wasn't the ONLY powerful character in that campaign. . . . Bill Stoddard |
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07-16-2009, 09:00 PM | #22 | |
Dog of Lysdexics
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Melbourne FL, Formerly Wellington NZ
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
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Last edited by roguebfl; 07-16-2009 at 09:05 PM. |
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07-16-2009, 09:06 PM | #23 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The Enchanted Land-O-Cheese
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
I was just going through some old material today and came across a piece I wrote a few years ago for a gaming column I had on another website. The piece is entitled The Care and Feeding of Mary Sues and is roughly about this subject.
I used the term "Mary Sue" for this type of player partially because at the time I was unfamiliar with the term "Munchkin" but mostly because I had been doing a good amount of online RPGs with players coming out of a fanfic background, some of whom had a tendency towards Mary Sue-ism. |
07-16-2009, 09:14 PM | #24 | |
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Life imitates art--I'm in Pohang
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
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Now admittedly there were other issues--players who felt it was perfectly legitimate to take advantage of the administration of the club in order to further character goals. Munchkinry that was only technically not cheating. That's not an issue most RPers face, given that most games have a single GM. To put it more simply, a gun wins arguments. If other players prefer an intellectual argument, the powergamer who exploits that fact wins the scene and destroys the game. whswhs has that list nailed IMHO. Generally speaking a combative player-character should act as part of a team, and hold back his powers until the more reason-oriented characters feel it's appropriate to use them. And he should never turn them against a non-combative character, not matter how badly the character would want to. Player must respect player.
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07-16-2009, 11:24 PM | #25 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
As a powergamer myself, I really don't see the harm in it if you know what you are doing and, as stated before, respect the game and players.
The one game that you simply can not really powergame is Call of Cthulhu in my mind. Powergaming there is complitely useless and pointless. Horror is the genre that powergaming just won't do. And it's fun to play from time to time something complitely different. One of the funniest powergaming insidents I have ever had was with my ex-girlfriend. She was GMing and was totally unprepeared for the combat monster me and my friends made. She didn't limit our choices or comment on the chars. After one or two session we sort of stopped that campaing because it was not working and nobody was having any fun. We just shot everything that she tried to put against us. The most interresting chars I currently play is in Dark Heresy. He is a sosial monster. He's got every single talking skill in the book and (of course) they are at a high level. He can pretty much talk his way out of any situation. This type of power gaming is a first to me and it has been rather fun. Maybe I'll try this talking thing again in the future.
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When I get to the pearly gates, is God going to put up a fight or just move over and let me sit down? |
07-17-2009, 12:38 AM | #26 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
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And I find that powergaming doesn't work in a lot of genres. My last three full-length campaigns were as follows: Boca del Infierno: A historical horror/supers campaign using Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Frequent combat and high-powered spells, but the engine is one that lets you balance the power gaming of the Slayer against the character parts of the supporting cast and not spoil anyone's fun. Manse: A high fantasy soap opera using Big Eyes Small Mouth, set in a collaboratively created microworld. We could easily have multiple sessions go by without combat. One of the most important and recurrent activities, in fact, was courtship. On the other hand, I have to admit that the head of one of the clans won lasting admiration when he woke up in the middle of the night, naked, in bed, just as an assassin struck at him, and managed not only to survive but to take the assassin prisoner with his bare hands. Whispers: A mystery campaign set in Transhuman Space. Damned close to no combat at all in three years. Instead, we had investigation, defense against hazardous memes, artistic creativity, and character interaction. The supereffective characters were the ones with high IQs, such as the forensic analyst who could probe the programming of a nanite swarm, paint a brilliant picture, or cook the best Japanese food in Montreal. Bill Stoddard |
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07-17-2009, 03:42 AM | #27 |
MIB
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
Before every game session, the GM ought to psych themselves up by looking in the mirror, putting on a scowling face, and say, "I am the GM, I wear the Viking Hat! Players are my gimps! I run the game, not 300 pages of recycled paper full of typos and second-rate art!"
Then during the game session, power gamers are easily dealt with by the firmly-spoken words, "No, don't be stupid."
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* husband * father * personal trainer * gamer * ... in that order |
07-17-2009, 07:58 AM | #28 | |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
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Also, people need to discern between power accumulation and power usage. The first one is perfectly happy to start at 1st level and then go about collecting XPs and magic items. The second wants to start at 400 CPs (or more) and wants the game tob e about his charcter imposing his will on the surrounding world. |
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07-17-2009, 03:19 PM | #29 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Medford, MA
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
Is it? Not all art is escapist in the sense of making your feel powerful and fluffy bunnies.
Art can also be for catharsis. There is tragedy as well as comedy. I think roleplaying gaming can be a lot of different things. Not just power fantasy escapism. |
07-17-2009, 03:41 PM | #30 |
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Idaho
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Re: Power Gaming and How To Thwart It
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