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Message: <blockquote data-quote="n00bdragon" data-source="post: 6245542" data-attributes="member: 6689371">AEDU does not create balance. It does not foster balance. It doesn't have anything to do with balance between classes. AEDU is simply the idea that everyone has non-generic mechanical things otherwise known as "cool things" they can do all the time, everyone has slightly cooler things they can do slightly less often, and everyone has really cool things they can do every once in a while.One thing that really repulses me is this idea (featured in 5e and in a few other games) that simply adding AEDU makes the game "balanced" in the same way that adding sugar makes food sweeter. AEDU is not an ingredient of "balanced" games. It's not the cause of "balance" in games. It's a symptom of a design philosophy that regardless of what character building options you choose you should have access to the same amount and variety of abilities as anyone else. Symmetry is important to game balanced game design. The aim for symmetry simply begat AEDU. It could beget many other things as well but in the case of 4e that's what they went with. You can speak on the demerits of AEDU all you like (it has many) but it's pretty hard to seriously argue that symmetrical design is bad.</blockquote>