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<blockquote data-quote="Lord Zardoz" data-source="post: 5782122" data-attributes="member: 704">D&amp;D is a very combat heavy game, and there are some serious drawbacks to having characters with a big difference of combat effectiveness in the same group.&nbsp; Running combat takes up a massive amount of time in the game, so a players ability to effectively participate is going to dramatically affect their ability to enjoy the game.Factoring out class, if you have a 4th level adventurer in the same party as a 7th or 8th level fighter, the DM is going to have a very difficult time creating worthwhile combat encounters.&nbsp;- If you balance the encounter towards allowing the 4th level character to be effective, than the 8th level character will dominate the encounter.&nbsp; Maybe that character will blast out most of the targets with a single spell.&nbsp; Maybe the monsters will be too weak to damage the high level character at enough to make attacking him worth while.&nbsp;- If you balance the encounter towards challenging the 8th level player, the 4th level player is not going to have much fun.&nbsp; The 4th level character will miss most of the time.&nbsp; For 3rd edition games, the best spells may still matter, but there wont be enough of them, especially if you run more than one fight.&nbsp; On top of that, the monsters can probably drop that character without trying too hard.The emphasis on mechanical balance of 4th edition may have put off many players due to immersiveness issues.&nbsp; But it made the DM's job a hell of alot easier.END COMMUNICATION</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lord Zardoz, post: 5782122, member: 704"] D&D is a very combat heavy game, and there are some serious drawbacks to having characters with a big difference of combat effectiveness in the same group. Running combat takes up a massive amount of time in the game, so a players ability to effectively participate is going to dramatically affect their ability to enjoy the game. Factoring out class, if you have a 4th level adventurer in the same party as a 7th or 8th level fighter, the DM is going to have a very difficult time creating worthwhile combat encounters. - If you balance the encounter towards allowing the 4th level character to be effective, than the 8th level character will dominate the encounter. Maybe that character will blast out most of the targets with a single spell. Maybe the monsters will be too weak to damage the high level character at enough to make attacking him worth while. - If you balance the encounter towards challenging the 8th level player, the 4th level player is not going to have much fun. The 4th level character will miss most of the time. For 3rd edition games, the best spells may still matter, but there wont be enough of them, especially if you run more than one fight. On top of that, the monsters can probably drop that character without trying too hard. The emphasis on mechanical balance of 4th edition may have put off many players due to immersiveness issues. But it made the DM's job a hell of alot easier. END COMMUNICATION [/QUOTE]

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