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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 4439298" data-attributes="member: 710">What is the goal of customization? Typically, you want to achieve a certain character archetype you have in mind. But this can be for thematic or for combat style purposes. Very often, you want to do something that is not exactly nailed down to one of the existing classes. In a class based system, a high customization potential is like a band-aid for someone that doesn't actually like classes - or a band-aid for the fact that you can't have classes for everything reasonable or unreasonable players come up with.Once you have roles, it becomes harder to allow limitless customization. You'd have to ensure that no customization allows you to weaken your role. 4E multi-classing basically is the only thing that does this. That's why it is also so strongly restricted - you can multiclass with only one class (independent of role). The risks of a high degree of customization is that you can have combinations that work _really_ well, and you have that are weak. Every point-buy based games suffers from this problem, and regardless whether intentional or not, they encourage system mastery. Typically, combinations that work well are those that let you cover multiple roles (but in most games, and especially 3E, it comes down to Striker + Defender - you deal maximum damage and can take maximum damage) well. And the weaker combinations are those that limit you to one (causing you to have an achilles heel) or combine multiple roles without getting the chance to achieve anything really useful (combining Leader/Defender in 3E - Cleric/Wizards without Mystic Theurge).</blockquote>

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