Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What does balance mean to you?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Nagol" data-source="post: 7155064" data-attributes="member: 23935"><p>Depends on what portion of the game we're discussing. For PC options, something is balanced if it falls between 'no rational player would pass this option up' and 'no rational player should choose this option: it is either feeble or a trap'. For GM options something is balanced if I can conceive of situations where its inclusion would be fun for the group in general. For adventure or encounter balancing, that's not something I typically worry about too much in D&D. Other games (like say CHAMPIONS) I've developed metrics to help guide appropriate opponent capability.</p><p></p><p> The short answer is 'No.' THe longer answer is my DMing for D&D play is typically a sandbox with a lot of regions offering different types of challenge across a spectrum of difficulty. The players give a lot of input into how difficult the encounters and adventuring day becomes. </p><p></p><p> See above.</p><p></p><p> For me and the group to have fun. To offer challenges and dilemmas. Sometimes a TPK is fun or the result of the dilemma choice. That's OK. Sometimes the situation becomes a complete cakewalk for the players. That's OK too.</p><p></p><p> Pre-play, I'll issue a clarification/house rule. After play begins, I'll lay the case before the group and abide by the group's decision.</p><p></p><p> Your premise is flawed. Much of the time games consider balance AFTER SCORING and scoring adjustments are part of balance. Other times part of the game is constructing a deck that can beat more than half the field through strategic choice. In my games, the 'win' rate is probably closer to 65-75% since many of the contests are not 'to the death' or the players used a tactic to mitigate their failure (like running away for example). Once scoring is taken into consideration (i.e. treasure levels and xp) the win rate probably falls to 60-70%. I've had groups with substantially lower win rates because they didn't 'build their deck' (i.e. choose their strategic and tactical resources) well.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nagol, post: 7155064, member: 23935"] Depends on what portion of the game we're discussing. For PC options, something is balanced if it falls between 'no rational player would pass this option up' and 'no rational player should choose this option: it is either feeble or a trap'. For GM options something is balanced if I can conceive of situations where its inclusion would be fun for the group in general. For adventure or encounter balancing, that's not something I typically worry about too much in D&D. Other games (like say CHAMPIONS) I've developed metrics to help guide appropriate opponent capability. The short answer is 'No.' THe longer answer is my DMing for D&D play is typically a sandbox with a lot of regions offering different types of challenge across a spectrum of difficulty. The players give a lot of input into how difficult the encounters and adventuring day becomes. See above. For me and the group to have fun. To offer challenges and dilemmas. Sometimes a TPK is fun or the result of the dilemma choice. That's OK. Sometimes the situation becomes a complete cakewalk for the players. That's OK too. Pre-play, I'll issue a clarification/house rule. After play begins, I'll lay the case before the group and abide by the group's decision. Your premise is flawed. Much of the time games consider balance AFTER SCORING and scoring adjustments are part of balance. Other times part of the game is constructing a deck that can beat more than half the field through strategic choice. In my games, the 'win' rate is probably closer to 65-75% since many of the contests are not 'to the death' or the players used a tactic to mitigate their failure (like running away for example). Once scoring is taken into consideration (i.e. treasure levels and xp) the win rate probably falls to 60-70%. I've had groups with substantially lower win rates because they didn't 'build their deck' (i.e. choose their strategic and tactical resources) well. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What does balance mean to you?
Top