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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 5839717" data-attributes="member: 3192">I think one thing that throws people about AD&D and other early D&D games is what balance means in them.  They are not balanced by character. This does not mean they are unbalanced no matter how much some may wish to derogate those games or their players.It is possible to have a 1st level PC who lost everything but 2 coppers. They can be in the same party as a 10th level PC who happens to be emperor. That can happen. Characters are not balanced against each other.Now even if both those characters were Fighters, then they still would be unbalanced. That's because different classes are not balanced with each other either, but as I posted earlier in this thread they do fall in a standard range (the bottom minimum about 1/2 the top maximum for each level)What about if 2 PCs were the same Class & Level (e.g. fighter 1)? Yes. Now they are balanced against each other, but only when it comes to class abilities. The characters will have different strengths and weaknesses determined during character generation. For example, how many HPs, the Ability Score rolls, starting money. Some derived abilities like # of languages can be different too. These characters are still not equal. And I haven't even got into how treasure / equipment is potentially gained, used, and lost every session as well. Power from equipment can alter what a character can do vastly. And of course, then there's the value of information...So how are players balanced? They have the same odds as everyone else during character generation. They can choose whatever class path to progress in of classes available. They may face the same amount of difficulty for that class's long road of challenges as any other player who chooses it. Advancing up the Fighter path for me will be as tough as it is for you within a given campaign. However, if we play in the same DM's game, then my playing can actually benefit your ability to progress as well as yours can mine. Awesomely, this works across class/paths too.The amount of content measured in difficulty / complexity of each path is different, but it is relatively balanced as I mentioned in the third paragraph. Classes are not designed to compete against each different classes. This is a cooperative game. We can advance alone, together, or even complementary by helping each other achieve each others class-related objectives (not to leave out personal player hopes and dreams either). Game content is even balanced across different classes by overlapping enough of these paths to enable common ground while still allowing for niche protection. Spotlight time, which I think is the only balance that exists at all for some games, is never enforced. If every player (not DM) wanted to talk at the same time the whole session, the DM is not there to stop them. But as long as the communication they receive is confusing they're going to keep seeking clarification. This is one of the ways the game subtly tilts towards cooperation rather than interpersonal conflict. The players can get into arguments with each other, that's not being mediated here (and I do not mean characters), but the resulting game will be a mess of individuals fighting to be heard until folks can sort themselves out. That can happen in any game, true, but most have rules that knowingly or not divide people into turn taking instead of promoting teamwork. The structure is required for play rather than determined by the player through play.</blockquote>

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