NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mallus" data-source="post: 492047" data-attributes="member: 3887">I vote 1 and 2 as well."Viability" can mean more than combat skill, but lets face it, combat in D&D is the lowest common denominator --at least in the games I've heard of and the published modules I've read. An RPG is balanced when the greatest number of character types have the greatest number of workable play options available to overcome challenges. In D&D this practically neccesitates giving every class combat options. The one thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread in this thead are some of the implications of non-violent means resolving conflict. To be overly simplistic: killing stuff is the easiest way to get eveyone in on the fun. I can't imagine a large group --of diverse characters-- who resolve challenges mainly through stealth, or worse, consversation. Its too time intensive. Plus it demands solo play w/the DM. That's great for solo games, but I've never found a away to make that work for a group. Now I realize I'm over-generalizing, but still...I really like the way 3E's designers handled balance issues. They made every class combat viable while at the same time added the most robust skill system. They gave players both the mechanics to talk their way out of a fight and more options to fight their way out if they want. More options available in more situations. That's balance.In fact I play a character more at home at a cocktail party than in a dungeon... and while he's certainly less powerful than the groups pure fighter/would be duelist, he can hold his own when it comes time to put down the martini and draw cold steel. And really, as much as I like to run intrigue and story heavy games that can go sessions without combat, fantasy RPG's are meant to simulate the works of Howard and Tolkien, not Coward or Beckett...</blockquote>

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