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September 22, 2008 
Character Optimization (CO) is the practice of building the best possible character for dnd or another rpg. The question is what a player means by “best”. For most optimizers (min/maxers, munchkins, power-gamers), this means a character with the best mathematical chance of performing an effective action in the game, usually an attack.
Everyone who has read the Player’s Handbook knows to add strength to their melee fighter. Not everyone sees the synergy of multi-classing their ranger with a rogue to increase their damage potential.
Spend a little time in the forums at Enworld or Wizards of the Coast, and you will see just how far many players will go.
The question of the day is why and how far should a player go when optimizing their character.
Whenever I speak with players about why they do various things, it always comes down to increasing their potential for having fun. A character optimized to be effective in combat will generally die much less often in combat, and character death is not fun (usually). However, if they play with me, they will soon discover that there are many ways of effectively ending a character’s life/career outside of combat.
I am then not surprised to find the players optimizing against or in reaction to whatever their last horrible situation was. As an example, I was DMing for a party that had no rogue. They had wonderful healing ability, and could dish out damage left and right. They walked through most combats easily. Every time they found a trap the party had a serious challenge to deal with. Eventually they found a trap that killed a party member and hamstrung the party. Next session, the player whose character died showed up with a rogue – optimized against traps. The party did much better.
The moral of the story is that as a player when you build your character you should think of it in terms, not only of your character concept, but also in terms of survivability.
I love to build backgrounds for my characters in dnd. I will spend up to forty hours building a single character (yes, overkill, I know). I consider where the character came from, who their parents are, their likes, dislikes, favorite phrases etc. And then I go and optimize feats, skills, powers, and everything I can think of to keep that character alive – all within the concept of who that character is and what they want to do. Because spending a week’s worth of work to build a character only to have it die in the first session is very, very unfun.
I don’t recommend that you obsess as much as I do. That’s just insanity. However, I do recommend striking a balance between theme and mechanics. If you wish to play a Dwarf wizard with a penchant for drink and an eye for Halfling women that is fine. Just remember to make him a useful wizard, and give some thought to what will happen when the party eventually leaves the tavern.
The other side of the optimization coin, is when it goes too far. Many players would suggest that there is no such thing. Respectfully I disagree. All things can go too far. When you find yourself debating energetically and emphatically with your Dungeon Master or with other players, take a step back. You may have crossed the line into the realm of unfun. If your build is making life unfun for the Dungeon Master, you can bet that he or she will make life unfun for you, either they will target you unfairly or they will stop running the game for you.
If other players complain, I suggest you listen. They are not whining at you. They are warning you, and often not so subtly, that you have crossed into unfun territory and that your actions are not welcome. If those players are your friends, then you owe them the respect of listening and working with them to restore fun to the game.
Build the best character you can, and have fun with it!
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