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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Xetheral" data-source="post: 9459136" data-attributes="member: 6802765">I think we may be approaching the concept of balance from different directions, and talking past each other as a result. Based on your proposed analogy and your description of what I would need to show to continue the conversation, it looks like you're focusing on (and perhaps defining?) in-combat balance as PCs having similar "output" over time. I actually completely agree that lower or higher numbers of encounters are going to differently affect the "output" of different PCs. As I previously discussed, I think the relationship between number of encounters and PC average effectiveness is more complicated than you presented (because you're not accounting for how often a PC can actually make good use of their highest level spell slots, a factor which I think campaign style influences), but I agree on the basic premise.My original point, however, was instead looking at how unusually low or unusually high numbers of encounters affect whether or not any particular table experiences balance issues. In other words, I'm talking about whether the players at any particular table view any imbalance they percieve during their campaign as actually rising to the level of an issue that detracts from their play experience. That's a much broader (and inherently less quantifiable) view of balance than I think you're focused on. Speaking from experience as both a player and as a DM, it's entirely possible for the presence of some types of intraparty balance (e.g. every PC's contributions being equally crucial, a good balance of spotlight time, a shared stake in the party's success, or a good balance of player contributions) to offset a lack of other types of intraparty balance to the extent that the players agree that the game feels balanced.Would you agree that campaign style can impact whether any percieved imbalance in "output" at any particular table rises to the level that's it's perceived as a problem by the players? From there, because I agree with you that number of encounters can impact relative PC "output", I think it follows that campaign style can influence whether that impact rises to the level that it's perceived as a problem.If you can agree with that, then I think we're in broad agreement regarding "balance" as we're each using the term. If you can't agree with that, where do you see our evident disconnect as arising?</blockquote>

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