Optimizing is fun, we've all seen it by now. But having the best optimizer in the group behind the screen means that the characters will be guaranteed a challenge...or that the fights will be ridiculous, and players will end up clinically depressed.

Now, I'm not saying my vote is one way or the other. Actually, I've seen incidents where this goes both ways. I've DM'd for more experienced players and felt like my manhood was being dissected, and I've been DM'd by a very big power gamer and had no fun whatsoever. (Not you, Meta... Someone back home).

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Those Wererats were straight out of the Nine Hells, though.


In all three of my current groups the one with arguably the best optimizing skill is Dungeon Master.

The two arguments I have right now are:

Pro: A less experienced DM will feel overwhelmed by the better players characters, and will overcompensate, which will result in TPKs.

Con: The best player will over-optimize encounters and treat it as his goal to kill the party, focusing less on storyline, and make impossible encounters, which will result in TPKs.

Which do you guys agree with? Or, if we wanna get interesting, what arguments could you see for either side?