Fighter, Rogue, Blaster, Healer . . . Balanced?

[I'm A Banana]

Both sport and war players want to win, and they'll do whatever is most effective to do it -- war players will do it outside the box, sport players will do it inside the box, but they're both trying to be as effective as possible. Sport may allow a little more leeway because there's things that you're "not allowed" to do by the rules, just because those are the rules, but Sport also limits character options from the get-go because it doesn't allow you to go outside of the assumptions.

What enables people to choose "ineffective" combat characters is a belief that combat isn't going to be the only way that one can "win." If your Skinner Box gives you birdseed for dealing with kings or exploring hexes or changing your characters' beliefs or setting up dramatic scenes, you'll find people geared toward that.

Pretty much no one builds a character who sucks at everything on purpose. Choosing to suck at combat is mostly a way of saying "I don't want to win in combat, I want to win in other ways."

 

[Elf Witch]

Both sport and war players want to win, and they'll do whatever is most effective to do it -- war players will do it outside the box, sport players will do it inside the box, but they're both trying to be as effective as possible. Sport may allow a little more leeway because there's things that you're "not allowed" to do by the rules, just because those are the rules, but Sport also limits character options from the get-go because it doesn't allow you to go outside of the assumptions.

What enables people to choose "ineffective" combat characters is a belief that combat isn't going to be the only way that one can "win." If your Skinner Box gives you birdseed for dealing with kings or exploring hexes or changing your characters' beliefs or setting up dramatic scenes, you'll find people geared toward that.

Pretty much no one builds a character who sucks at everything on purpose. Choosing to suck at combat is mostly a way of saying "I don't want to win in combat, I want to win in other ways."

I have built characters that were not great in combat because I want the character to be good at other things. I usually play with DMs who will allow other ways to win a situation other than just combat.


I have met a few people who want to play lame ducks and they are just as bad to the game as a game with a munkin. They don't really contribute and they take resources like healing.

If the game is more than killing things and taking their stuff then while you do need some PCS who are focused on combat you also need PCs who are focused on the other aspects of the game as well. That will be a more balanced party.

 

[pemerton]

Pretty much no one builds a character who sucks at everything on purpose. Choosing to suck at combat is mostly a way of saying "I don't want to win in combat, I want to win in other ways."

I usually play with DMs who will allow other ways to win a situation other than just combat.

I very much prefer it when the action resolution mechanics, rather than just the preferences of the GM, determine whether or not the players can win in ways other than combat.