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Originally posted by Shoemacker:
I am seening a lot of heated argument about powerplaying and roleplaying. Maybe someone could tell me what the diffence is. I always thought it was ok to role for the best scores, kill drizzt, and use wands of fire and monster summoning. I mean, really, they are all in the game and you have the option to do so.
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Powergamers go through the game to get the best possible everythings. The most money and experience, the best gear, etc. Roleplayers, on the other hand, go through the game pretending that they are the character they have chosen to play.
Powergamers tend to go with lawful good alignment, high charisma, and a heroic reputation. This is not because they wish to be the defenders of Fae'run, but because a lawful good PC with 18 charisma and 20 reputation are going to get discounts from stores, better quest rewards, and even certain quests.
Roleplayers play the game of pretend. If a PC is a true neutral druid, the player won't be choosing greedy dialogue options or fight animals turned hostile, such as bears. It doesn't matter to a roleplayer about getting uber gear or the most of everything. What matters is staying true to alignment and character.
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Let's use an example from Chapter 1. Dreppin needs an antidote for his sick cow. Hull has one, as long as you fetch his sword in the guardhouse for him. Fuller's also in the guardhouse, and wants you to fetch him a quarrel of crossbolts from Winthrop.
Here's how some of my recent characters did this quest:
PIRENGLE (chaotic good cleric/ranger, cha 16): Got the antidote for Nessie for experience, got Hull's sword for ~10 gold and some experience, got the bolts for Fuller for ~15 gold and experience.
MAR CIZAT (chaotic neutral mage/thief, cha 11): Kept the antidote (figured I'd need it more than the cow). Got Hull's sword for ~5 gold, wasn't happy with that, so I pickpocketed it back off him, which turned him hostile, so I charmed him and left him with Dreppin. Fuller didn't speak nicely to me, so I didn't do his quest.
ARGON (lawful evil fighter/illusionist, cha 14): Kept the antidote but wanted something in return, but charming the cow didn't exactly work. Neither did knocking the cow unconscious. (I accidently killed it and turned Dreppin hostile. Ack.) I vowed to myself that if we ever crossed paths again, I'd get that favor paid back. (I had Krypton, a pureclass thief, pickpocket him for spare change later.) Got Hull's sword, and the same thing happened: services rendered did not equal payment. He was rather nice to me, so instead of having chaotic evil Krypton quadruple backstab him on our next meeting, I just had him pick Hull's pocket (well, his scabbard) and got the sword back. I nabbed the bolts for Fuller because I liked his style.
TEMPEST (chaotic evil fighter, cha 6): Kept the antidote, killed the cow, then killed Dreppin. Didn't feel like getting the sword after I talked to Hull, but Fuller did not want to talk to me. Took me a couple of reloads, but managed to at least wound him without getting hurt myself.
QUALIS AUDIENDA (lawful good paladin, cha 18): Gave the antidote to Dreppin, gave Hull back his sword, got Fuller his crossbolts and also got an extra gift for being such a great paladin. Bought my gear, sold everything I didn't need (including the gift), and paid a tithe of 20% to the temple of Oghma. Every time I enter a city with a temple, I tithe 20% of cash on hand to the temple. Every time I use a temple service (buy items, resurrections, etc.), I sell an item to the temple. Since I am a member of the Most Radiant Heart, I pay a 50% tithe to the Temple of Helm.
I roleplay three of these characters. Pirengle is more of my tester for everything, and is more of an extention of myself (as in, what would I choose to do in this situation).
A powergamer would do these quests, but in search of the outcome that gave the most money or experience.
(Bigger spoiler.)
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For example, I mentioned Qualis Audienda getting a gift from Fuller. You need a high charisma and a good alignment to get that gift. A powergamer would have a charisma of 18 and a good alignment to be able to get the gift. It doesn't matter whether Fuller's asking the PC to get him some bolts or kill the Gatewarden or pickpocket Phlydia. It doesn't matter whether the PC is a lawful good paladin or a chaotic evil thief. A powergamer will do whatever Fuller asks to get the gift, regardless of consequences. Why? Because the gift is there, it's obtainable if you do everything right, and BioWare/Black Isle wouldn't add the gift to the game if they didn't mean for you to get it, right?
The example you're thinking of, and the example we're currently beating to death in another thread, is Drizzt. Powergamers use every cheap tactic they've got in order to kill him, not because he's Drow or unfriendly or what not, but because he has the best gear in the game, hands down. While it is true that evil roleplayers will still want to kill Drizzt (he IS on the side of good, after all), they would be killing him for who he is, not what he carries. In that case, the gear would be icing on the cake.
(But the problem I have with the killing of Drizzt has nothing to do with powergaming or roleplaying. The cheesy methods people use to kill Drizzt have to do with the game's AI, especially character movement. It's taking advantage of a bug, which is cheating. I am against cheating that abuses the game for player benefit. Now, if a party were able to kill Drizzt in hand-to-hand combat, without the use of hordes of summoned monsters and/or booted party members, I'd say that Drizzt is fair game. He does pack a wallop, and rightly so.
Players were never meant to get his items using fair play. It's only through the use of foul play that players can obtain his items.
Sorry to hijack the thread, but this point is getting lost in the powergaming vs. roleplaying debate.
Six explains BG cheating in general better in his guide.)
I would say something about how it takes more skill to roleplay than powergame, but I've already served up enough community unrest... ::runs and hides::