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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5823383" data-attributes="member: 54877">No matter where you draw the line on balance--between classes, over an adventure, spotlight, "don't care as long as the class is interesting," etc.--practically speaking, there will be mistakes. There will also be spots where because of your playstyles, players, campaign world, etc. that even if the balance is set right for an average game, it doesn't work for yours. So assume we have a "balance meter". The "balance meter" could be quite complex (within limits), but for sake of example, let's say that it is a number somewhere between a fraction of 1 and 3. Perhaps .5 to 2. This number is what is applied to any experience gained. If we were roughly imitating BECMI, we might use the Fighter table as the standard (at least through name level), and make the thief .6, the cleric .75, and the wizard 1.25. Why would we want this? Well, besides the frank admission that balance is elusive and can vary by environment:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The designers have a class that they really like that is simply not balancing well without destroying the intended flavor and/or adding on stuff that doesn't really belong for power padding. Do it the way they envision and give it an appropriate default on the meter.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">People can vote over time for what the numbers ought to be. Get a good voting system (throw out extremes and so forth), and it gives people a better idea of where the true balance lies.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You don't want to fool with this during advancement, but you've got a new player in a group of veterans (or vice versa). Ignore the meter, but steer the inexperienced players to classes with higher numbers, while giving the veterans a challenge.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If certain multiclass options are overly powerful or weak, adjust the resulting balance number to compensate. (Normally, you'd simply weight the factors by number of levels in each class.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Gives another factor to use for clear bans--no classes sitting above 1.5, for example.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You care a little about balance, but not a lot. Players start however they want, but if some particular character starts dominating (because of the character mechanics), adjust retroactively. This is nicer than taking abilities away.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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