Amen to that.Worlds Without Number has an interesting mechanic for this. And I believe it's completely independent of all other mechanics, so it could easily be dropped into any other games.
I am one of those people who, in their later years of their 30s, found that there's actually something to the idea that OD&D makes for a great Sword & Sorcery game. Precisely because there are so few rules and characters barely have any abilities.
Anything that doesn't have a specific mechanic restricted to special classes or character upgrades becomes something that everyone can do. A fighter who only gets hit points, saving throws, and attack bonus and nothing else actually becomes very flexible and versatile. It makes freeform playing the default mode, with mechanics for PC actions being restricted to a few special cases, like making attacks and casting spells.
I would argue that D&D has to put the most effort into it because its system design, particularly in the WotC era and its emphasis on character builds, rewards system/rules mastery by the players. You are essentially lauding D&D for solving its own self-created problems.As a reply to recent posts:
I have found that the vast majority of RPGs don't even attempt system balance. D&D is by far the games put the most effort into this quality.
I would argue that D&D has to put the most effort into it because its system design, particularly in the WotC era and its emphasis on character builds, rewards system/rules mastery by the players. You are essentially lauding D&D for solving its own self-created problems.
???You are essentially lauding D&D for solving its own self-created problems.
I have found that the vast majority of RPGs don't even attempt system balance. D&D is by far the games put the most effort into this quality.
Adding to what Aldarc says: in what RPGs that are not either D&D variants, or Champions-style points-buy, is balance a problem?I would argue that D&D has to put the most effort into it because its system design, particularly in the WotC era and its emphasis on character builds, rewards system/rules mastery by the players. You are essentially lauding D&D for solving its own self-created problems.
Balance is a designer-created solution for a designer-created problem.Balance is a solution, not a problem.
This may say more about you than the games in question. Simply because WotC era puts the most effort into balancing the game doesn't make it an inherently worthy endeavor. There are games that require less effort to balance than D&D because they are less prone to game-breaking spells, combos, builds, or the like. There are games where balance isn't fetishisized to the extent that it is in D&D, and yet they are likely more balanced than D&D 5e.Most games I like are notoriously not-balanced.
Many Fate flavors are "everyone has the same number of skills, and the same number of each level..."Adding to what Aldarc says: in what RPGs that are not either D&D variants, or Champions-style points-buy, is balance a problem?
Thinking of "old" RPGs: I've never heard of balance being an issue in RuneQuest. I believe from play that it's not an issue in Classic Traveller. In Rolemaster it's easy to get the balance you want by tweaking a few spell lists.
Thinking of "contemporary" RPGs: has anyone ever found balance to be a problem in Apocalypse World? Dungeon World? Burning Wheel? HeroWars/Quest? I've never heard of it.
Okay, I stopped reading there. You are now officially preposterous. Good day.Balance is a designer-created solution for a designer-created problem.
It's a bit like praising Exxon for its efforts and all the money it spent helping to clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
You're laying your thumb quite heavily on the scale there, mate.Many Fate flavors are "everyone has the same number of skills, and the same number of each level..."
The use of the Pyramid ...
+5 ×1, +4 ×2, +3 ×3, +2 ×4, +1 ×5...
"advancement" in many of these is simply swap a skill at +X with a skill at +(X+1)
EG freido has Sword +3 and Blaster +2, and hits a milestone, so deciding he needs more blaster, he swaps them and now is Sword +2 and Blaster +3. He also later swaps his +1 pilot (and awarness 0) for Awareness +1 and Pilot 0.
It's not the same kind of balance, but it's a tyrannical one - not all skills are equally valuable in play, but are equal in Allowed Skill Levels. Picking wisely can be a big issue.
You are now officially preposterous.