RP builds that are More RP and Less 'effective'

Here is something that popped into my head while reading the thread about What if I didn't take my ally rez? and made me think. There have been times when I have skipped powers for Theme/RP reasons. Like I have a Grav/Kin that has only 3 kin powers and does not have SB.

So the question. Just how far are you willing to go to keep a character within your roleplay theme? Have you made unplayable characters to stay on theme? Do you feel Theme should take a back seat to effectiveness of the build? With the new options for power customization do you take powers and recolor them to act as other powers for theme (ie Dark/Dark colored red to make a blood mage)?

Just curious.

I make the theme and the powersets work together. While every character I have has a theme and a backstory, I've very rarely had to skip powers or gimp a build to make it work.

The worst one I've done was my SS/WP brute taking Whirlwind (for something to do while Rage crashes) and Mako's pool for the single-target ranged attack and the cone attack. While it's great to have two AoE's in Footstomp and Bile Spray, I admit that I do like for "Terrible Two", my SuperDyne-addled toddler to spin around and vomit.
But I don't use Whirlwind very often, and the build is otherwise quite effective, so there was plenty of room for a silly power or two.

I do it with my Spiders.I always take Mu Patron cause it fits the character.

Bit of a mix for me, really. Usually when I allow RP/concepts to dictate a build, I usually have some other way I want them to be effective. My Energy/Energy blaster is an awesome soft-control character, for instance. Presence Pool, a variety of Knockdown powers, Stun-attacks, and four Chance to Hold IO's? Nice stuff.

My Illusion/Emp controller (my oldest character, dating back to near when I started COH) recently went from being more balanced to heavily Illusion. I omitted Heal Other and Resurrect because, well, the concept didn't work and I really do NOT enjoy being a heal-bot anymore. Given the folks I play with, the way COH works, etc., I'm free from being "guilted" into being a "OMGHEEELR!" Why did I take those powers (indeed, empathy?) before? Because I felt like I needed to be worth having in a group, and empathy was the key to that. Silly me. Silly, ignorant me.

Instead of just selecting less-than-optimal powers for concept/RP purposes I actually wish this game would go one step further and allow us to have real Disadvantages (i.e. Superman being vulnerable to Kryptonite). I think it would add a cool layer of "comicbook realism" to the game and force you to have to be tactically smart about what you tried to jump into.

Of course even if Disadvantages like that were totally optional we'd probably still have a bunch of people whining that the idea was stupid and cry about it anyway.

I once saw a player pick powers from Flight, Leap and Teleport instead of Storm Summoning and Electric Blast powers. I asked if the player understood how badly they'd hamstrung their gaming experience and received "I know, but this is the way I wanted to build my character."

I couldn't argue with that.

The only 'compromise' I've really made is on my Shield/SS Tanker, where I stuck in Tough and Weave later in his build to crank up his armour, and skipped out on a travel power, because it suits him to be a bit slower, but rather tough.
That, and Ninja run makes up for it mostly

But I don't think I've ever had to forcefully cripple myself, no.

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Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

So far I've not run into such a problem, all of my ideas have fit the powers available for the characters I play. I have run into such characters but have often found though they arent the FOTM style they are in a much different way able to assit the teams that I have been in.

To each their own really, the game does allow such creations and they can still be very effective just not always in the assumed role those who take all of the powers 'required' for that AT set.

Just different.

While my RP character's builds are far from optimum (Im not a number cruncher, and don't haz phat lewt!) I don't feel they are really gimped. However I do try to make sure the powers I do have are reasonably justified IC. Examples being Big Game having Super Jump due to the Cyber-Strides he looted from Doctor Mechano's place (As chronicled in Mechano's House of Fun. His leadership pool bonuses from him being "Inspirational in his Luckyness" (making me dub it the "Mascot Pool"). Or the Arachnos Disruptor (from Mace Mastery) that he can summon being something he salvaged from a previous mission.

The only time I feel I have gimped builds for concept is in the Mission Architect where some of my custom criiters have had key powers removed to stay in concept. However with the changes to MA with the release of I17 most of them will be fixed anyway.

I tend to limit my "concept" to entire pools and sets, rather than down to individual powers. So, for instance, if my concept dictates, say, an indestructible, super strong cyborg (of which I have at least one), I'll go with Invulnerability/Super Strength, but I won't really worry about the Psi hole in the sets and I won't worry about soft-capping defence or capping resistance.

Sometimes I'll go with a certain ability goal, like "This guy needs to fly!" or "That woman needs to turn invisible!" If the sets that fulfil their concepts don't hold those powers, then I'll simply pick the specific required powers from pools. However, those ability goals are usually malleable. For instance, I have a creepy little psychic girl who's supposed to be utterly terrifying, so I wanted to go with Presence for her. Ultimately, I didn't, because I decided that Scare, Psychic Scream and Psychic Shockwave and World of Confusion would cover that ability without requiring me to pick extra powers. Instead, I'll probably go with Force Mastery for the shields and intangibility, which actually add to her concept in a way I hadn't intended.

I never give myself performance goals based on concept. Even if a character of mine is intended to be indestructible, unstoppable or incredibly tough, I'm not going to worry about how that character performs in actual practice. Good enough is good enough, usually, and I keep my difficulty fairly low for that reason (-1x3, which is harder than you think). I WILL compare characters to one another, but only to answer the question of "Is this character gimped?" As long as the character is playable and not aggravating, that's good enough.

Now, obviously, I'm going to want SOME level of playability. As I mentioned, the character needs to be good enough. If the character isn't good enough, then conceptual coolness will not do. If I feel like I'm wasting my time, if I'm constantly one snap away from pulling my hair out or if I keep yelling at my screen, then that character isn't good enough. After all, this is a game I play, and if it's not fun to play, it's not worth the price of subscription. As such, I will optimise as much as I need to to make a character playable. Anything beyond that is concept.

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Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

I never let concept get in the way of effectiveness in comabt. The closest I came was thinking about skipping the fire sword powers on a fire tank...but I chose to be effective instead.

a few years ago I had a character with out a travel power and did not really have an issue until I hit IP....my sg had 4 characters running with him that had all had tp friend and they all forgot about me...so after that I deleted him...

It was more difficult to run a "concept character" in the "old days". Nowadays, we have dual builds.

When I solo or team with friends, I use my concept builds. Some of them are pretty stinky but when I solo it doesn't matter, and my friends know what they're going to be missing out on. But on a Pick-Up Group, I'll use my "correctly built" character and minus out the role playing. Most of my Dual Builds are slotted with SOs only so its not expensive to keep both builds going.

For instance, my Kheldian is Human Form Only, but my dual build is a tri-form for teaming with strangers that don't know my play style.

Best of both worlds!

Well a "gimped" my Ill/Kin Controller by not taking Increased Density, Speed Boost or Inertial Reduction because I'm playing her kinetic powers as a form of shifting luck and therefore she can't "grant" teammates effects that she can't "shift" from an opponent. She also doesn't have Repel.

I tend to build for effectiveness first, then tweak the RP concept to fit. A little imagination can go along way.

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