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<blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 5781085" data-attributes="member: 5143">D&amp;D is a tactical wargame on top of a role playing game.&nbsp; Or vice versa.&nbsp; Chainmail that eventually became D&amp;D was an attempt to ask the question &quot;What would it be like if the Wizard and the Fighter from my tactical war game decided to go into a dungeon and kill a dragon?&quot;And immediately after that thought came the &quot;And I wonder what their personalities would be like and how they'd react to the quests people gave them?&quot; and thus roleplaying was born.But balance isn't about being a tactical wargame.&nbsp; In fact, in a tactical war game, it's perfectly ok for the Wizard to be the better unit in your army, because they are all pieces that are being played by the same person anyway.It also isn't about damage.&nbsp; It's about feeling like what you can do matters as much as other people.&nbsp; In the D&amp;D system that uses hitpoints, mathematically the only thing that matters is damage or the ability to eliminate opponents out of a combat.&nbsp; The reverse of damage, healing also matters in that it causes you to win by having more hitpoints than your enemies.Because math doesn't work that way.&nbsp; If wizards are that much more powerful than fighters, than taking out the big bad guy won't matter if your wizard loses.&nbsp; Because the enemy wizard is powerful enough to take the rest of you out once he's done with your wizard.&nbsp; Not being able to take out the big bad guy doesn't matter because your wizard is powerful enough to take him out once he's done with the enemy wizard.&nbsp; The end result is, it doesn't matter what you do.&nbsp; You might as well not have come on the adventure.&nbsp; The only answer to this is specially constructed scenarios that purposefully lure off the wizard to fight his own battle but something else needs to be done at the EXACT same time, so you have to complete it.But those aren't the average scenarios people run into.&nbsp; The average scenarios is: Party walks down a corridor, ends up in a room with 20 orcs, roll for initiative.&nbsp; The fighter kills one orc.&nbsp; The wizard kills them all.&quot;Also, I question how someone can be the &quot;big bad guy&quot; if he's less powerful than the wizard under his command.&nbsp; That makes the wizard the BBG and him just a mook.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Majoru Oakheart, post: 5781085, member: 5143"] D&D is a tactical wargame on top of a role playing game. Or vice versa. Chainmail that eventually became D&D was an attempt to ask the question "What would it be like if the Wizard and the Fighter from my tactical war game decided to go into a dungeon and kill a dragon?" And immediately after that thought came the "And I wonder what their personalities would be like and how they'd react to the quests people gave them?" and thus roleplaying was born. But balance isn't about being a tactical wargame. In fact, in a tactical war game, it's perfectly ok for the Wizard to be the better unit in your army, because they are all pieces that are being played by the same person anyway. It also isn't about damage. It's about feeling like what you can do matters as much as other people. In the D&D system that uses hitpoints, mathematically the only thing that matters is damage or the ability to eliminate opponents out of a combat. The reverse of damage, healing also matters in that it causes you to win by having more hitpoints than your enemies. Because math doesn't work that way. If wizards are that much more powerful than fighters, than taking out the big bad guy won't matter if your wizard loses. Because the enemy wizard is powerful enough to take the rest of you out once he's done with your wizard. Not being able to take out the big bad guy doesn't matter because your wizard is powerful enough to take him out once he's done with the enemy wizard. The end result is, it doesn't matter what you do. You might as well not have come on the adventure. The only answer to this is specially constructed scenarios that purposefully lure off the wizard to fight his own battle but something else needs to be done at the EXACT same time, so you have to complete it. But those aren't the average scenarios people run into. The average scenarios is: Party walks down a corridor, ends up in a room with 20 orcs, roll for initiative. The fighter kills one orc. The wizard kills them all." Also, I question how someone can be the "big bad guy" if he's less powerful than the wizard under his command. That makes the wizard the BBG and him just a mook. [/QUOTE]

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