Anyone just love playing a concept, optimization be gosh darned to heck!!!
I don't mean make a character to be deliberately weak, I mean build for the fun type of character you like. Here is one of my recent builds.
Hill Dwarf Barbarian Berserker 1 Background: Noble Alignment CG
Str 13
Dex 12
Con 17
Int 8
Wis 11
Cha 14
Skills
Athletics
Intimidation
Persuasion
History
He is a dwarven barbarian of the clan of the Northern Wind. Son of a great war chieftain. As such he is trained in the diplomacy and lore of his people. I wanted to play the guy who can take a beating better than anyone. So I went for an all hit point point realizing I will not hit much because of the low strength. But I like the charisma for intimidation and persuasion purposes. I think I will have him using a Battle Axe and shield, though I am still debating Great Axe.
My first game as a DM also involves new players. None of them have optimized characters. In fact, they all wanted to spread things around to get better rounded characters, which is a very different experience than the one I have with my min/maxing hardcore D&D friends. In fact, only one person has a +3 stat modifier, and that is because being a wood elf gives her +2 to Dex. I thought having +4 Attack bonuses might be a problem when running them The Lost Mine of Phandelver, but it's working out ok. It's funny seeing the different mindsets between experiences and new D&D players.
Way of Shadows Monk / Assassin Rogue.
Not particularly optimised though not completely inept either.
Lawful Neutral Ninja Assassin.
Great Weapon Style Stout Halfling Fighter (Soldier), most likely going BattleMaster. Fights with a Warhammer named "The Judge." Because Strength-based Halflings are ridiculous and fun. And swing just below waist level.
Alternate Human Rogue 1/Knowlage Cleric 1/Warlock 2/Lore Bard 3 with skilled feat.
Because you get all the skills.
Ranger, any combination.
Joe_the_Rat wrote:
Wuzzard wrote:
Dragon-born barbarian 1/rogue 1/sorcerer 1.
Not built to optimise, though the barbarian level will add survivability, but because I really liked the idea of a dragon-born pirate accidentally turning his ship into a blue whale when he has a surge of wild magic.
Ooh! I also want to make a gnome barbarian with a high athletics (climb) check. I imagine him using a battle axe and climbing things to offset his height. Including other players characters. I'd probably give him some levels in wizard too, to grab animate dead (important to his community).
arnwolf666 wrote:
And playing a character you like is optimization, too: You're optimizing for enjoyment out of it!
Random character concepts I've got floating around:
-Rock Gnome Bard toymaker who, in every village he goes to, makes little wind-up toys for the kids to play with.
-A half-orc barbarian who was blinded so he studied wizardry to aquire a seeing-eye familiar.
-A halfling bard who rides on the shoulders of a goliath barbarian. The Goliath doesn't speak Common very well( I roleplayed that by only having him say things I still remembered the Spanish words for), so he relies on his halfling friend who knows Giant to translate for him. Sometimes the goliath tosses the halfling into battle. (these were 4e characters)
The concept I'm dying to play is a 3.5 one. There is a divine necromancer prestige class that summons up undead. Shadows on up. It's also an evil one I think. However, I'd like to change it to be arcane and ditch the requirement to be evil.
I'm going to make a human necromancer specialist and go into that prestige class. His family several generations have all be necromancers who have a strong curiousity about death and delve into it, so are not necessarily evil. He will be good. His family are not only all into necromancy, but are extremely family oriented. As a result, they knowling agree to be called up in "service" to living relatives when they die. My necromancer will be walking around with finger bones carved with runes. Each bone will represent one such family member. When I use his prestige class to summon up undead, a very specific family member will show up. For example, if he gets 3 shadows, they aren't just going to be 3 shadows. One might be Grammy Emma and be stooped over with a cane. She was crotchety, but not a bad person (CG). Another might be Molly who shows up with her dolly and died when she was six, six, six. The shadow would be of a little girl holding a doll. She was CN, being young and wild. And so on.
Diffan wrote:
I do enjoy playing concepts. For 5e, I am currently playing a Stout Halfling Wizard (started with the basic rules release), and have a Forest Gnome Druid in the pipes for whenever my halfling dies/I start a new game. To me, off type characters overflow with flavor, since you have to think of a whole, unique backstory for why your character didn't fall into the traditional roles of their people. For example, my wizard grew up in a rich Halfling family that was able to spin their own thread (including gold thread) and used that to make fine clothing for humans and other races that desired such. This freed up their income enough to buy books, which my wizard (as a child) to immerse himself in stories of magic and heroes.
I've yet to build a character who wasn't at least somewhat optimized. That said, I feel like I've been freed from the tyranny if optimization - that I can build entirely from image and not be left nonviable the way I was in 3.X and 4e.
I am in the process of finishing up a new Forest Gnome Druid character whose best friend is a Dryad (in the sacred 'grove and spring' area she calls 'home'). All I have left to do is finish putting her history/background story together and she is ready to go adventuring.
The character concept really appealed to me and this character is going to be a LOT of fun to play!! 
If you are proud of your "non-optimized" characters and want to show them off, please feel free to post them in the Pre-Generated Character Repository for other gamers to use!
When I say nonoptimized I mean a character that isn't built for maximum DPS and every combat situation they can imagine. I would like to see something along the line of a theme or something with spirit. My guy was built for a concept. I wanted that guy who could take a beating like no one, but wasn't really the best at DPS. My brother would joke, no one gets his ass kicked like Arnwolf.
I think that 5e is really well suited for "non-optimised" builds, because at the end of the day, bounded accuracy makes the optimisation matter less, and concepts get a chance to shine regardless. I would love to play my Cleric of Chantea Human Tavern Brawler with a criminal background (used to be an enforcer but have seen the light).
- Vargtass
For the most part my group prefer effective over optimised characters.
One guy does like to bend/break rules to powerplay and another tries to cover every angle/weakness but mostly it's about the character.
I usually play characters inspired by an optimised mechanical concept, not the other way round. The game mechanics are what I'm going to be interacting with a lot of the time I'm playing, so I pick mechanics I'll enjoy playing with, and see what story emerges from them as I do.
I wouldn't play a character I didn't think was the best character I could build for the situation and limitations of the game. The idea is alien to me. Why be worse than you could be?
arnwolf666 wrote:
Arawn76 wrote:
thespaceinvader wrote:
Try it the other way around. Generate a random character and spend your effort thinking up an interesting backstory that matches that character. Ask yourself, how did a character like that, with abilities like that and a personality like that and background like that, become an adventurer in that class?
A quadrapaligic caster who only uses V spells.
Viscous mockery FTW.
thespaceinvader wrote:
I like to throw in characters like a Fighter whose highest attribute at first level is Intelligence or Wisdom, a charismatic social friendly ranger, a wizard that is into Tai Chi, a cleric that is a gambler, a Rogue who is an acolyte of a Lawful Good deity, a Bard that is too shy to dance and has stage fright before a performance, a paladin that... um never mind on Paladin. I like races in classes where the ability bonuses are not optimized for the class, a half-orc wizard, an elven berserker, a gnome champion, a tiefling monk, etc.
In fact I really wish they would have never put ability score modifier with races, and just said everyone gets +2 to one ability score and +1 to a different ability score, but that is a different topic than this thread.
I am going to play a wood elf rogue (probably assassin)/paladin of vengeance. If I can't roll for stats, I'm going to end up with a lot of 13's and 14's, I think.
Two concepts I like "for fun", one of which I have currently established in AL:
1) Forest Gnome Wizard of Oghma who is going to receive a calling to enter the Paladinhood at level 3.
2) High Elf Barbarian who grew up wild on the streets of Phlan (plot point!) and uses Chill Touch when not raging at his enemies.
The Forest Gnome is obsessed with books and collecting knowledge. Everywhere is an opportunity to find books which have been lost to time or which are just not very common. He will barter with book owners to let him copy the books so he can keep them safe. At some point, he'll lose a book in a combat and that's when Oghma's divine might will flow through him and cause him to take on the mantle of Paladin. He'll be a Vengence Paladin, to be sure.
I haven't played the High Elf Barbarian yet. But his background is, basically, that he grew up on the streets after his parents abandoned him. He was helped by another "street urchin" and he decided that he would become the one who helps others. However, he is unrefined in his skill and quick to temper. So, Barbarian over Fighter. He might take a level or four of fighter from 5-8. We'll see. 
Vigil Darglarod, a rock gnome paladin of Gaerdal Ironhand who's a true (folk) hero among the forgotten folk.
