Don't let min-maxing consume you

I received a rare opportunity on the weekend - to play D&D as a player instead of a DM! I excitedly loaded up my Protector Shaman, who was moderately out-of-date (hadn't been updated since before Primal Power came out), and began checking out the new feats, power & options that were now available.

The game, ironically, fell through. However, this was not before I spent a good hour toiling over options and possibilities. One of the things that always paralyzes me when building a character too many options, and the desire to maximize my potential. For example, do I take a Mace of Healing +2 to enhance my healing on allies? Or do I take the less-powerful Healer's Broach +1, for less healing to allies but extra healing to myself? And if I take the Broach, that means I can't take the Cloak of the Walking Wounded, which I wanted to ensure that if I got low I could power back up quickly, etc.

I realized I was spending way too much time on calculations and math when I looked down at my notes and saw no less than EIGHT different gear and feat builds, with their strengths, weaknesses, and additional powers listed individually for each one. The real irony is the main cause of my paranoia was maximizing my healing capabilities; capabilities that so far in the campaign have proven more than sufficient.

So I took a step back and distanced myself, knowing that my shaman's healing would be good enough, and just chose one build and hit Save Character. And it was great! It was like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I had a lot of fun finishing my character's power selection and feat choices. Of course, I didn't get to actually *play* my shaman...but oh well.

I guess the moral of the story is that while D&D is undoubtedly a game of stats, bonuses and numbers, and it's fun to make your character awesome and effective...it's important not to take it *too* seriously. If you're stressing out or fretting about feat/power/gear choices - don't! It's just a game.