Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 6403488" data-attributes="member: 8835">let's talk about Spotlight Balance, in which I do see reflections of Game Balance.In an RPG with me and Bob, and we're both the same level, but different classes:1) If Bob gets 20 minutes of solo talking time with NPCs, I want 20 minutes of the same or equivalent &quot;fun&quot;2) If Bob's PC is handily killing a dragon in the big show case encounter, I don't want to be struggling to kill one of the weak minions during the same fight.3) If my PC really isn't meant to be good at combat, after Bob gets all the glory for that combat encounter, I want the next encounter to be where my PC's specialty is important and Bob has to rely on me.4) When it comes to splitting treasure, I want a fair share, and not to be bullied into less because Bob's PC can kill mineNow my list may not be applicable to every player, but I bet there's a decent amount of resonance with most players.On #1, an Extrovert is easily stealing spotlight with NPCs from an IntrovertOn #2, some might claim 4E tried to truly balance actual combat output across players.&nbsp; I don't think that's the only valid interpretation to solve the core concern that Bob doesn't need my PC, but I need his.On #3, I try to address the &quot;combat's not for every PC&quot; kind of campaign, but the reality is, a combat heavy game/campaign screws characters with different focus.&nbsp; It's an imbalance.On #4, this may sound like a problem kids, have, but you know what, many of us were kids when we started and it was a real problem.&nbsp; And some of us may still be experiencing some party bullying because one PC really is better.&nbsp; Kind of a stupid design problem for an audience that was typically victims of bullying.My guess is that the game system SHOULD try to solve these problems, and not rely on the GM to do so.&nbsp; Or at the least, it should not contribute to making them worse.&nbsp; I think these things as I describe sound like &quot;Spotlight Balance&quot; but they easily translate to Game Balance.&nbsp; It's the same thing in practical terms.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Janx, post: 6403488, member: 8835"] let's talk about Spotlight Balance, in which I do see reflections of Game Balance. In an RPG with me and Bob, and we're both the same level, but different classes: 1) If Bob gets 20 minutes of solo talking time with NPCs, I want 20 minutes of the same or equivalent "fun" 2) If Bob's PC is handily killing a dragon in the big show case encounter, I don't want to be struggling to kill one of the weak minions during the same fight. 3) If my PC really isn't meant to be good at combat, after Bob gets all the glory for that combat encounter, I want the next encounter to be where my PC's specialty is important and Bob has to rely on me. 4) When it comes to splitting treasure, I want a fair share, and not to be bullied into less because Bob's PC can kill mine Now my list may not be applicable to every player, but I bet there's a decent amount of resonance with most players. On #1, an Extrovert is easily stealing spotlight with NPCs from an Introvert On #2, some might claim 4E tried to truly balance actual combat output across players. I don't think that's the only valid interpretation to solve the core concern that Bob doesn't need my PC, but I need his. On #3, I try to address the "combat's not for every PC" kind of campaign, but the reality is, a combat heavy game/campaign screws characters with different focus. It's an imbalance. On #4, this may sound like a problem kids, have, but you know what, many of us were kids when we started and it was a real problem. And some of us may still be experiencing some party bullying because one PC really is better. Kind of a stupid design problem for an audience that was typically victims of bullying. My guess is that the game system SHOULD try to solve these problems, and not rely on the GM to do so. Or at the least, it should not contribute to making them worse. I think these things as I describe sound like "Spotlight Balance" but they easily translate to Game Balance. It's the same thing in practical terms. [/QUOTE]

Verification