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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ptolemy18" data-source="post: 3767755" data-attributes="member: 24970">Yes -- I don't think that every class has to be literally equally powerful, as long as every class has some specific thing that only they can do and which can't be exactly duplicated by any other class. (As it stands, spellcasters do step on the toes of rogues a bit, if they choose to go that route... but even the most roguish spellcaster is hampered by their "spells per day" restrictions. It's a question of having two available routes to do the same thing -- either playing a rogue-like spellcaster OR a just plain rogue.) Like in the boardgame Cosmic Encounter, how every alien has one thing that they can do that no other alien can do... even though some aliens' powers are much stronger than other aliens' powers when you actually compare them side-by-side.Or like prestige classes. It's clear that from the moment prestige classes were introduced, some of them completely kicked ass (sometimes to excess -- like the 3.0 Geomancer, give me a break!) while others were just "meh, 3.0 King of the Wild... well this might be good for statting out that NPC, I guess." Making all the prestige classes of equal power is as pointless as making the "NPC classes" from the DMG of equal power with the PC classes. They're there for a purpose and that purpose is roleplaying and creating interesting characters (and, perhaps, statting NPCs). The core PC classes are way more balanced than the prestige classes and NPC classes but the basic principle, I think, should be that versatility and options are the #1 thing when designing classes.Incidentally, this conversation reminds me that I really need to buy a copy of the old Warhammer FRPG (to read, not to play), where the classes at level 1 included things like a Gravedigger, a Ratcatcher, a Fighter or a Wizard. There's a pretty clear-cut difference in power betwen a Gravedigger and a Fighter or Wizard... but if you wanna play a Gravedigger for roleplaying purposes or whatever, then you can. I doubt that the Warhammer creators were besieged by emails saying "Gravediggers should be more powerful! It's not balanced! Fighters and wizards are too good!" @_@I do love me a good 5x5 grid combat, but it's the overwhelmingly, oppressively tactical emphasis of D&D which makes some people insist that all types of character choices should be of equal power, as if the game was something to be "won", as if everything should depend on hard-edged tactical choices and minmaxing rather than luck or character-acting, and when your character gets to 30th level you earn a space on the Honor Roll of All-Time Most Powerful D&D Characters, rather than being a game in which the focus is on immersion and roleplaying and in which low-fantasy (gravedigger), mid-fantasy (typical D&D party) and high-fantasy (overpowered archmage wizard and unbelievably awesome heroic fighter) are all viable options.</blockquote>

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