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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Irda Ranger" data-source="post: 4016242" data-attributes="member: 1003">First: that was a great post. Thanks for taking the time to lay it out clearly.To address the above point though, I think both 3E and 4E have a system (each with strengths and weaknesses) for addressing this point.  I'll address the 4E system, since it's both the forum topic and the future.First, let's assume that 30th level PC's, who have fully embraced their Epic Destiny, are really badass.  Whatever it is they do, they do it like it's going out of style.  No magic item in the world can make a 5th level PC as badass as they are without any items at all.So fine. Now we have a scale. Everything in the game is somewhere between a 0th level, pre-teen commoner, and Ultimate Badassery.  We'll assign this scale a series of numéraires between 0 and 30.When a new item is introduced we can assume it has an applicable numéraire between 0 and 30.  Unless it's just ridiculously, laugh-inducing powerful, it's somewhere on the scale.  And the only question, really, is: Where?That score is a helpful "Based on our experience, this (thing) is (this) powerful. It will have (this) effect on your game." It's not really "balance."  It's a series of guideposts. It's a received wisdom from DM's that have come before.  3E used gp cost to simulate that instead of a purely abstract numéraire, which was unfortunate, but it served the same purpose.Frankly, I don't have the time to make all the possible mistakes DMing offers all by myself.  If Mearls et. al. can make some mistakes for me, and then share the wisdom of playtests, I'm all for it.  We'll find out that some Yrrsilary Sword is more 15th level than 12th level, or that the Fire Burst ability is a little too good for 12th level (and can be tweaked "just so"), and I'm thankful for that.It's an ongoing process of learning where things are on the scale, not "balance".  Nothing's "Mission Accomplished", but both experience DM's and "newbs" can benefit from the item level suggestions.</blockquote>

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