Wasteland Knight
Adventurer
"Balance" is the job of the Dungeon Master. It comes from the DM giving each PC their own turn in the spotlight to allow everyone an equal amount of "oh that's cool!" time.
I agree, but I’d expand that to say “balance” is primarily the responsibility of the GM, but every player also has a role to contribute.
The great games I’ve been a part of, the fund that ran for years, all had this in common - every player who came to the table was interested in both developing their character but also doing so in a manner that allowed everyone to enjoy themselves and would give each player opportunities to “shine”. people voluntarily adjusted concepts and builds to fit within the framework of the game.
so when I hear gamers going on about needing specific, detailed and at times complex rules to reign in certain players, my immediate response is no, you don’t need all those things to “balance” the game, you need that player to balance their character. And if the player don’t voluntarily do that, you simply don’t need that player.