I mean, the other side of the coin is a character who is totally sub-optimized and can't hit the broad side of a barn with a nat-20 / blows through all their resources in the first encounter / doesn't understand any of the mechanics of the game so they just kinda sit there doing nothing.
I tend to find entry level players do better at low-levels of the game, where the mechanics are simpler and there's less room to go ham. But I also find that Dave 2-rounding the Final Boss clears time to do things other than attack rolls and saving throws. When you inject puzzles and social encounters and other story-based events into the game, min-maxing matters less and player cohesion matters more.
I also like to crib from the JRPG trope of "This Isn't Even My Final Form" when I'm at a truly dramatic encounter, as it gives interludes for PC/NPC banter and other non-murder based story interactions.
I mean, the other side of the coin is a character who is totally sub-optimized and can't hit the broad side of a barn with a nat-20 / blows through all their resources in the first encounter / doesn't understand any of the mechanics of the game so they just kinda sit there doing nothing.
I tend to find entry level players do better at low-levels of the game, where the mechanics are simpler and there's less room to go ham. But I also find that Dave 2-rounding the Final Boss clears time to do things other than attack rolls and saving throws. When you inject puzzles and social encounters and other story-based events into the game, min-maxing matters less and player cohesion matters more.
I also like to crib from the JRPG trope of "This Isn't Even My Final Form" when I'm at a truly dramatic encounter, as it gives interludes for PC/NPC banter and other non-murder based story interactions.
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