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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 5982785" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Isn't it kind of ridiculous for individual players to get so hung up on how WotC ends ups deciding how to "balance" the game? Whether it's by encounter, by day, by adventure, by ability use, by this, by that? Isn't the fact that they are balancing the game AT ALL good enough to serve as the foundation from which individual DMs can build and figure out how their game balances off of that?</p><p></p><p>Because let's be honest here... barely anyone plays the game the exact way necessary to match up with whatever way WotC chooses to make their rules balanced. Some will play with more players than recommended, some will play with less. Some will play with a standardized class distribution, some will play with 5 clerics. Some will play with nothing but humanoid NPCs built as PCs for their enemies, some will play with dragons as the bad guys 75% of the time. Some will have one encounter each "adventuring day", some will have 8 encounters each "adventuring day", some will not even keep track of encounters each adventuring day because it'll end up being completely random based on wandering monster tables. Some will not give any magical items or much treasure, some Monty Haul as default. Some will be nothing but combat encounters, some will be nothing but interaction and exploration, some will play with a 10/50/40 % distribution, others with a 50/25/25 %, others with 33/33/33 %.</p><p></p><p>It is IMPOSSIBLE for WotC to balance their game to such a degree that it works <em>exactly correct</em> for <strong>every</strong> single DM out there, such that those DMs do not have to <em>do anything</em> whatsoever to maintain it. Part of your job as the DM is to keep tabs on how your game plays, and make little nudges here and there so that you maintain fun at your table. You CANNOT EXPECT WotC to balance their game to the extent where you can get away with doing <em>nothing</em> (assuming game balance actually matters to you, which admittedly, for many DMs it does not).</p><p></p><p>So to get hung up on all the nitpicky little rules, terminology, and decision points along the way is (in my opinion) missing the forest for the trees. So long as you know that the game has been balanced IN SOME FORM at all... and you have been <strong>shown</strong> what that form is... you (as DM) can now run the game and have a pretty good idea how YOUR GAME will deviate from that balance that's been shown to you, and make any adjustments necessary for your table.</p><p></p><p>Which to my mind is much, much better than being given a game that hasn't had it's balance looked at and worked on AT ALL. Because then, we're all just flailing around in the dark.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 5982785, member: 7006"] Isn't it kind of ridiculous for individual players to get so hung up on how WotC ends ups deciding how to "balance" the game? Whether it's by encounter, by day, by adventure, by ability use, by this, by that? Isn't the fact that they are balancing the game AT ALL good enough to serve as the foundation from which individual DMs can build and figure out how their game balances off of that? Because let's be honest here... barely anyone plays the game the exact way necessary to match up with whatever way WotC chooses to make their rules balanced. Some will play with more players than recommended, some will play with less. Some will play with a standardized class distribution, some will play with 5 clerics. Some will play with nothing but humanoid NPCs built as PCs for their enemies, some will play with dragons as the bad guys 75% of the time. Some will have one encounter each "adventuring day", some will have 8 encounters each "adventuring day", some will not even keep track of encounters each adventuring day because it'll end up being completely random based on wandering monster tables. Some will not give any magical items or much treasure, some Monty Haul as default. Some will be nothing but combat encounters, some will be nothing but interaction and exploration, some will play with a 10/50/40 % distribution, others with a 50/25/25 %, others with 33/33/33 %. It is IMPOSSIBLE for WotC to balance their game to such a degree that it works [I]exactly correct[/I] for [B]every[/B] single DM out there, such that those DMs do not have to [I]do anything[/I] whatsoever to maintain it. Part of your job as the DM is to keep tabs on how your game plays, and make little nudges here and there so that you maintain fun at your table. You CANNOT EXPECT WotC to balance their game to the extent where you can get away with doing [I]nothing[/I] (assuming game balance actually matters to you, which admittedly, for many DMs it does not). So to get hung up on all the nitpicky little rules, terminology, and decision points along the way is (in my opinion) missing the forest for the trees. So long as you know that the game has been balanced IN SOME FORM at all... and you have been [B]shown[/B] what that form is... you (as DM) can now run the game and have a pretty good idea how YOUR GAME will deviate from that balance that's been shown to you, and make any adjustments necessary for your table. Which to my mind is much, much better than being given a game that hasn't had it's balance looked at and worked on AT ALL. Because then, we're all just flailing around in the dark. [/QUOTE]
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