Too much power?

[Arnabas]

I've been seeing people complain about "uber" characters, For example, people don't like "Uberminster" (Elminster) and are even starting to turn on Drizzt. I like the struggle of playing low-level characters, trying just to survive. I do, however, also enjoy occasionally having a character who can kick butt. When I played pnp Vampire, for example, it was nice to be somewhat powerful in order to play the cool, tough vampire.
So my question is: do you prefer playing weaker characters who have to struggle, or more powerful characters who can smash their enemies? At what point do you become "too powerful"? Do you think that a character with a good history and good roleplaying possibilities should be shelved just because he's become very strong? If you play a character like Raistlin who seeks out power, should you be forced to retire him when he achieves his goal?
Thoughts?

[Beaumanoir]

I Enjoy Both, But If Your Character Is TOO Good, Then It Just Gets Boring If You Dont Have A Challenge!!

[Legolas]

You can never become 'too powerful'. But as your character grows stronger, there is need for a stronger set of opponents to keep things interesting. You're past the point where you need them when you can fight off a group of your 'old' adversaries taking little to no damage. I think that the game is more of a challenge if you are the underdog, but there should be times when you're allowed to simply wipe the floor with a couple of monsters.
The two main problems are that you'll run out of rules for the larger game after a while, and that it becomes harder and harder to think of a suitable background. You'll need a reason for what's happening, and the ubermonsters gathering, but you can't stick to the same friendly races either. After all, when you're close to being a god, why should you listen to a puny human telling you what to do?

As for retiring, in a way you're forced into it because monsters will start running out if you keep on developing your character way past regular levels. But I would never, ever, want to cap off a good character. Why should you force someone to stop developing? People keep on learning throughout their lives, and new monsters bring new experiences. But if you play in a fixed world, where monsters don't exceed a certain level of difficulty, you'll be slowing the character's development enourmously, in a natural way. A much better solution, in my opinion. And a powerful, nigh unstoppable force in the realms might certainly be an interesting addition to the world...

[Morgan_Corbesant]

i like a mid-ranged character. not too good, not too bad. able to deal with problems, but still has difficulties here and there. my greatest achievement was my elven fighter/mage. he started as an NPC in a friends game. i roled him up, and after my actual character died, i played this one. i love the character, and he is my greatest acomplishment. he has decent stats, but think on this...... isnt a hero SUPPOSED to stand out? i mean, they are a HERO!! i dont mean "UBER", but powerful is what i think of when i here the name "Hercules", "Drizzt", "Elminster", "Alias", etc. just my idea's however.

[Arnabas]

I believe that a character should, indeed, "stand out". I like a character who is capable and competent. But to put it in superhero terms, I like Batman characters up to Spider-Man characters. But one guy in my group insists on playing Superman. If he had his way, he'd be Galactus. I am always reining him in and putting dampers on him. He concentrated solely on amassing physical power, so now he is constantly encountering mental challenges and becoming a bit frustrated "Hulk SMASH!" I let him develop the way he wants, so that he can have fun, but I am having him face the consequences. He is now a target for many people. They know that they must face him in groups, or better yet, use his loved ones against him.
To give you an idea of how strong he is:
We were playing Vampire. His character was so strong I sent some MAJOR heavy forces against him. He was attacked by the Technocracy, which I figured should be enough. He was hit by a plasma cannon. His body was sent hurtling through a brick wall, flew across the street into a truck which exploded with the impact. He then got up, brushed himself off, and healed the "Bruised" level of damage that he had taken. Within minutes, he had destroyed his opposition.

[ 05-18-2002, 11:25 AM: Message edited by: Arnabas ]

[Moiraine]

I prefer other forms of power. For example, I prefer charming an adversary instead of blasting him, stealing what I want instead of burning the town down. Subtility over strength. Much more artistic.

That's why I somewhat prefer low-level characters - because you have to stretch your ressources, cleverness and imagination to the limits to reach your goals. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[johnny]

i once cluaconsoled my characters up to 999999999 xp right from the start, but that totally screwed up the game, it was too easy. I'll never do that again, absolutely no fun.