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Balanced vs. Imbalanced vs. Today's D&D
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<blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 9081783" data-attributes="member: 5435"><p>I think "balance" and "swinginess" are orthogonal. You can design a balanced, swingy game or an imbalanced reliable version of D&D easily enough.</p><p>For me, too much balancing leaves a bad taste for another reason: balance and the grand unification of mechanics can discourage building characters who interact with the game world in different ways, leading to different game experiences for the player.</p><p>This always felt to me like one of the guiding principles behind AD&D class design that has gotten lost along the way. Almost every class had one or more aspect that strongly incentivized playing a certain way. The implementation of these incentives was not always great (cf. Barbarian, Cavalier) but the principle was one of the things that made AD&D a game with great replay value. </p><p>It's not completely gone, but I worry about the trend to conceive every class as a basket of interchangeable powers and spells that give bonuses to whacking monsters while vaguely supporting a literary theme. The last playtest we say dilutes paladin oaths, fighter master, the differences between clerics & druids or sorcerers & bards. </p><p>I don't want balance, unification or convergence in my D&D. I want diversity of the game experience, implemented in ways that encourage the PCs to work together.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="fuindordm, post: 9081783, member: 5435"] I think "balance" and "swinginess" are orthogonal. You can design a balanced, swingy game or an imbalanced reliable version of D&D easily enough. For me, too much balancing leaves a bad taste for another reason: balance and the grand unification of mechanics can discourage building characters who interact with the game world in different ways, leading to different game experiences for the player. This always felt to me like one of the guiding principles behind AD&D class design that has gotten lost along the way. Almost every class had one or more aspect that strongly incentivized playing a certain way. The implementation of these incentives was not always great (cf. Barbarian, Cavalier) but the principle was one of the things that made AD&D a game with great replay value. It's not completely gone, but I worry about the trend to conceive every class as a basket of interchangeable powers and spells that give bonuses to whacking monsters while vaguely supporting a literary theme. The last playtest we say dilutes paladin oaths, fighter master, the differences between clerics & druids or sorcerers & bards. I don't want balance, unification or convergence in my D&D. I want diversity of the game experience, implemented in ways that encourage the PCs to work together. [/QUOTE]
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