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01-02-2006, 10:52 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Whats a Munchkin?
I have constantly herd this term used. Often with very different viewpoints on what exactly it means.
To me, I think Munchkin means someone who tries to excede the intended balance of a game or someone who Min/Maxes they're character to be extremely effective in a very narrow field while drasticaly reducing capability everywhere else. Example 1: a fighter who is as strong as possible, wears the heavyiest armor possible, carries the biggest weapon possible, and has no other redeming qualities or storyline/roleplaying purpose. Munchkin Example 2: a wheelchair bound character who has a child, requires frequent medical attention, is a pasifist, and is a extremely powerful psychic would not be munchkin in my openion as long as the campaign involved psychics. The nature of its disadvantages means there is a lot of roleplayability in the character and some inherent dependency on the other PCs who are more physicaly capable. It would of course be totaly unacceptable in a game where mental powers are not part of the storyline in some manner. How do you guys define Munchkinism? Examples would be apreciated. munchkin and non munchkin |
01-02-2006, 11:07 PM | #2 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
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Similar to cases where "Rules Lawyer" was used to villify players whose style consisted mainly of blatant rules breaking!
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01-02-2006, 11:08 PM | #3 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Aurora, SD
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
Munchkinism is like obscenity as compared to art: hard to define specifically, but you know it when you see it. If that was good enough for the Supreme Court, it's good enough for me.
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01-02-2006, 11:45 PM | #4 |
Dog of Lysdexics
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Melbourne FL, Formerly Wellington NZ
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
see: The Munchkin's Guide to Power Gaming ISPN 1-56634-347-7
Last edited by roguebfl; 01-03-2006 at 03:55 AM. |
01-03-2006, 12:08 AM | #5 | |||
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
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IMO, Munchkinism is usually people doing stupid things, totally out of character, in an attempt to "win", and/or going for the power build in order to show off.
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Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. -RAH |
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01-03-2006, 12:37 AM | #6 |
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Norfolk, VA
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
A munchkin is, in short, someone who will put a pink whirligig hat on his traditional fantasy barbarian solely because it increases his ST. (And any other player who tends to do this sort of thing).
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01-03-2006, 01:40 AM | #7 | |
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Switzerland
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
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And truly I don't know many people (exactly noone actually), who don't want to win (yes there are those who don't mind so much if they don't, still they prefer to win) My experience is that if someone yells Munchkin at you, its because you have optimized your character better than him (of course if he had your skills at optimizing he would do so too) Technically, a powergamer is someone who Min/Maxes his character ad extremum (but still within the rules). A munchkin on the other hand sees the rules more flexible (some may be bent, others broken)...
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I'm not a Munchkin, I'm the Munchkin's Advocate |
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01-03-2006, 03:38 AM | #8 | |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Aurora, SD
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
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01-03-2006, 06:04 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and some other bits.
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
I like the definition I once saw on RPGnet: a munchkin is the kind of roleplayer who, upon being told that the game will focus on political intrigue in fifteenth century Florence, asks to play a ninja.
In short it is a term for a player who doesn't care about the background of the game world or the enjoyment of the other players, only their own childish and tedious power fantasy. This generally involves having an ureasonably overpowered character, because that kind of person generally thinks of 'cool' and 'able to kill everyone I want to' as being closely related.
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01-03-2006, 01:31 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Whats a Munchkin?
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