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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6404203" data-attributes="member: 22779">Well, given the rigorous math of 5e and the whole tightly controlled numbers thing, I'd say balance is a HUGE concern in 5e.&nbsp; Just like in every edition of D&amp;D.Rolling back a bit though BRG, my personal problem with random balance is that it only becomes balanced when you take the long view.&nbsp; If my character is better in every way than your character, that's not balanced, regardless of how we got there - random chance or choices made.&nbsp; And if the situation reverses the next time we make characters, that's still not balanced.&nbsp; It's simply two points of imbalance.&nbsp; This is largely my concern in AD&amp;D balance.&nbsp; It's rarely a well balanced system, but rather, a series of imbalances that add up to an even game.&nbsp; The only problem is, there are so many presumptions that you have to make to achieve that balance (players will play multiple characters, the campaign will last long enough to advance to balance changing points, etc) that unless you play exactly the same campaign every time, you don't actually ever achieve balance.But, sure, it's a range.&nbsp; There's very balanced and there's kinda balanced and lots of wiggle room in between.&nbsp; But, even at the, &quot;kinda sorta balanced&quot; end of the spectrum, balance is still considered an issue.&nbsp; Whether balance is achieved through the mechanics or through the agreements at the table, you're still going to reach that balance point, regardless.Personally, and this is only my own preference and not meant in any way to go beyond my personal preference, I'd rather that the system was balanced up front.&nbsp; It just saves me so much work.But for those that consider balance to be unimportant, try this in your next D&amp;D game - refuse to advance your character for the entire campaign.&nbsp; You start with a first level character, same as everyone else, but, you will not level up that character.&nbsp; After all, balance doesn't matter, so, this shouldn't be a problem right?&nbsp; Now, play the campaign for, say, ten levels, and then come back and tell us how much fun you had in that campaign.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 6404203, member: 22779"] Well, given the rigorous math of 5e and the whole tightly controlled numbers thing, I'd say balance is a HUGE concern in 5e. Just like in every edition of D&D. Rolling back a bit though BRG, my personal problem with random balance is that it only becomes balanced when you take the long view. If my character is better in every way than your character, that's not balanced, regardless of how we got there - random chance or choices made. And if the situation reverses the next time we make characters, that's still not balanced. It's simply two points of imbalance. This is largely my concern in AD&D balance. It's rarely a well balanced system, but rather, a series of imbalances that add up to an even game. The only problem is, there are so many presumptions that you have to make to achieve that balance (players will play multiple characters, the campaign will last long enough to advance to balance changing points, etc) that unless you play exactly the same campaign every time, you don't actually ever achieve balance. But, sure, it's a range. There's very balanced and there's kinda balanced and lots of wiggle room in between. But, even at the, "kinda sorta balanced" end of the spectrum, balance is still considered an issue. Whether balance is achieved through the mechanics or through the agreements at the table, you're still going to reach that balance point, regardless. Personally, and this is only my own preference and not meant in any way to go beyond my personal preference, I'd rather that the system was balanced up front. It just saves me so much work. But for those that consider balance to be unimportant, try this in your next D&D game - refuse to advance your character for the entire campaign. You start with a first level character, same as everyone else, but, you will not level up that character. After all, balance doesn't matter, so, this shouldn't be a problem right? Now, play the campaign for, say, ten levels, and then come back and tell us how much fun you had in that campaign. [/QUOTE]

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