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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 4880437" data-attributes="member: 22779">I'm probably going to really regret starting this, but it's been bouncing around in my head of late.  While I am going to offer my opinion, it should be taken as only that.  While I do think some methods are better than others, they all have some value.In RPG's, just like any game, there is a need for some degree of balance during the game.  How much balance is certainly a valid point of discussion, but, I think most people will agree that some level of balance or parity between players is needed in the mechanics.There are many ways of trying to achieve this.  I'm going to list a few that have popped into my head and give some good and bad points of each.  Please, feel free to add to the list or add points, either good or bad, for the ones I list.  If you do list another method, try to point out both good and bad for it.1.  Balance over Time.This is a very common form seen in older RPG's and in some newer ones as well.  The idea is that while a given option might be weak or strong at the beginning, it will be the opposite by the end.  Generally, when talking about character balance, it goes from weak to strong, but, item balance can go the other way - run out of charges, or power as an example.The good part of this method is it encourages long term play.  Because you have that big carrot hanging out at the end, players will continue to play to reach that goal.  Ultimate power is not a bad thing to strive for after all.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The bad part is that it presumes a great deal about how the game is played.  If the players don't play to the presumed length, they either end before the goal is reached, or they become overpowered as they continue play after reaching the goal.  Thus it becomes a very heavy handed method.2.  Player Action BalanceGames like Spirit of the Century use this.  Instead of the GM being responsible for keeping things in line, the players are.  In SotC, you only gain Fate points if you have something bad happen to your character.  Since Fate points are so important to the game, it is in the player's best interest to gain more of them.Thus, you could create a Superman character but the other guy who plays a Jimmy Olsen will actually have more impact on the campaign as his weaknesses play into gaining more Fate points.It's an interesting method and really intrigues me.  The problem I see with it is it requires a great deal of flexibility from the GM.  The GM has to be able to improv to a very great degree since it is the players who frequently can have a great deal of editorial control over the session.  Really, this lends itself better to rules light(er) systems, as rules heavier systems require too much work for the GM to be able to do things on the fly easily.Well, I've just been interupted by small monsters attacking my ankles, so, I'll come back to this later.Whatcha think?</blockquote>

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