Optimized character needs a bit of help. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Optimized character needs a bit of help. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Sinfire Titan
02-04-08, 11:02 PM Hello all, I'm not new to the boards, but this is my first time asking the CDers for help, so please bear with me.

The Skinny: The world this game takes place in is completely home brew (save for the actual basis for the setting), and can be found here. (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14308572&postcount=1)

But here is the problem, the character in question is so optimized, that the background doesn't make much sense. It is a challenge for me to think something up for the guy, and while it is a tad sneaky asking for help with someone else's character, I really need the aid.

This is the character build. (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=987525) Like I said, hardcore optimization in action. This build is incredibly tough to justify IC, and it is for the Oriental setting of the game above.

So here is the problem: None of that build is easy to make work, even the base character of Factotum/Swashbuckler.

Any ideas? Really, he can be from anywhere in the world, as every continent has been aware of the others for a rough millennium or so.
Mysteria
02-05-08, 03:40 AM Play something less optimized that actually makes sense?
Aaarrrgh
02-05-08, 03:42 AM Well, it is a character who is extremly optimized to be as powerful as possible, so that should be his background. He has been training his whole life to be the most powerful person in the world, by any means necessary. He has traveled the world, seeking the best teachers, learning many tricks and techniques, each bringing him a small step closer to his goal: perfection.

All you need to do is to come up with a reason for him to devote his life to becoming the perfect fighter. Does he have a lifelong rival/enemy? Does he want to become ruler of an army, a nation, or maybe even the whole world? Or does he do it just for the sake of being the best?
Sinfire Titan
02-05-08, 04:31 AM Well, it is a character who is extremly optimized to be as powerful as possible, so that should be his background. He has been training his whole life to be the most powerful person in the world, by any means necessary. He has traveled the world, seeking the best teachers, learning many tricks and techniques, each bringing him a small step closer to his goal: perfection.

All you need to do is to come up with a reason for him to devote his life to becoming the perfect fighter. Does he have a lifelong rival/enemy? Does he want to become ruler of an army, a nation, or maybe even the whole world? Or does he do it just for the sake of being the best?

This is perfect! Just the inspiration I needed. I'll run the idea by him next time he signs on.
Mad_Jack
02-10-08, 02:35 PM Is there some sort of gladiator games occuring somewhere in the world, or some place that would have trained him as a fighter, either voluntarily or perhaps as a slave?
There's a RP distinction between having put yourself through that sort of world-class martial training and having been forced into the career of a battle-monster. If he voluntarily walked that path, then combat is going to be a large part of who he is... If that path just happened to choose him, then combat isn't necessarily a major component of his personality. He may well be rather upset by the fact that he's one of the ten most dangerous slayers in the world.
CrimsonDeath
02-11-08, 04:10 AM Play something less optimized that actually makes sense?

Is this the CharDev equivalent of "Druid 20"?
Mysteria
02-11-08, 07:52 AM I don't know what you mean, I just think it's less of a hassle to playsomething that fits your background instead of playing a background that fits your mechanics. :)
CrimsonDeath
02-11-08, 04:58 PM I spend a good deal of time on the CharOp board. A lot of the questions basically come down to, "What's the strongest (X)?" In Core, the answer is generally "Druid", and if someone asks a question vague enough and puts little enough effort into it, that's the answer he usually gets. (And a few people get that answer from people who just feel like being a little rude at the moment.) I was just wondering if I was witnessing a similar phenomenon.

Anyway, class levels are an abstraction. It looks to me like the OP's guy wants to be a lightly-armored fighter and split his time pretty much evenly between handheld and thrown weapons, drawing techniques from a wide variety of martial traditions in order to refine his overall capabilities. You might portray him as drifting from one region or trainer to the next, or put him in a sort of Foreign Legion setting where he's partnered with people who all have very different capabilities, and he simply picks up various tricks from different ones.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sinfire Titan 02-04-08, 11:02 PM	Hello all, I'm not new to the boards, but this is my first time asking the CDers for help, so please bear with me. The Skinny: The world this game takes place in is completely home brew (save for the actual basis for the setting), and can be found here. (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14308572&postcount=1) But here is the problem, the character in question is so optimized, that the background doesn't make much sense. It is a challenge for me to think something up for the guy, and while it is a tad sneaky asking for help with someone else's character, I really need the aid. This is the character build. (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=987525) Like I said, hardcore optimization in action. This build is incredibly tough to justify IC, and it is for the Oriental setting of the game above. So here is the problem: None of that build is easy to make work, even the base character of Factotum/Swashbuckler. Any ideas? Really, he can be from anywhere in the world, as every continent has been aware of the others for a rough millennium or so.
Mysteria 02-05-08, 03:40 AM	Play something less optimized that actually makes sense?
Aaarrrgh 02-05-08, 03:42 AM	Well, it is a character who is extremly optimized to be as powerful as possible, so that should be his background. He has been training his whole life to be the most powerful person in the world, by any means necessary. He has traveled the world, seeking the best teachers, learning many tricks and techniques, each bringing him a small step closer to his goal: perfection. All you need to do is to come up with a reason for him to devote his life to becoming the perfect fighter. Does he have a lifelong rival/enemy? Does he want to become ruler of an army, a nation, or maybe even the whole world? Or does he do it just for the sake of being the best?
Sinfire Titan 02-05-08, 04:31 AM	Well, it is a character who is extremly optimized to be as powerful as possible, so that should be his background. He has been training his whole life to be the most powerful person in the world, by any means necessary. He has traveled the world, seeking the best teachers, learning many tricks and techniques, each bringing him a small step closer to his goal: perfection. All you need to do is to come up with a reason for him to devote his life to becoming the perfect fighter. Does he have a lifelong rival/enemy? Does he want to become ruler of an army, a nation, or maybe even the whole world? Or does he do it just for the sake of being the best? This is perfect! Just the inspiration I needed. I'll run the idea by him next time he signs on.
Mad_Jack 02-10-08, 02:35 PM	Is there some sort of gladiator games occuring somewhere in the world, or some place that would have trained him as a fighter, either voluntarily or perhaps as a slave? There's a RP distinction between having put yourself through that sort of world-class martial training and having been forced into the career of a battle-monster. If he voluntarily walked that path, then combat is going to be a large part of who he is... If that path just happened to choose him, then combat isn't necessarily a major component of his personality. He may well be rather upset by the fact that he's one of the ten most dangerous slayers in the world.
CrimsonDeath 02-11-08, 04:10 AM	Play something less optimized that actually makes sense? Is this the CharDev equivalent of "Druid 20"?
Mysteria 02-11-08, 07:52 AM	I don't know what you mean, I just think it's less of a hassle to playsomething that fits your background instead of playing a background that fits your mechanics. :)
CrimsonDeath 02-11-08, 04:58 PM	I spend a good deal of time on the CharOp board. A lot of the questions basically come down to, "What's the strongest (X)?" In Core, the answer is generally "Druid", and if someone asks a question vague enough and puts little enough effort into it, that's the answer he usually gets. (And a few people get that answer from people who just feel like being a little rude at the moment.) I was just wondering if I was witnessing a similar phenomenon. Anyway, class levels are an abstraction. It looks to me like the OP's guy wants to be a lightly-armored fighter and split his time pretty much evenly between handheld and thrown weapons, drawing techniques from a wide variety of martial traditions in order to refine his overall capabilities. You might portray him as drifting from one region or trainer to the next, or put him in a sort of Foreign Legion setting where he's partnered with people who all have very different capabilities, and he simply picks up various tricks from different ones.