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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 5519327" data-attributes="member: 996">Answering a slanted pollSo, the polls tacked onto the end of Legends and Lore often look a little slanted, to me.  I suspect that's because I'm missing the slant in a few of 'em.  And, Mr. Mearls has previously rolled up different responses to create a desired conclusion, and even spun a small minority as a mandate (The Gnomelogical Argument).Having witnessed that, I think I can see where this poll is going.  The question & available responses are:How important is game balance to you in RPGs?  It's the most important thing in a game.It's very important, not the most important thing but it’s up there.It's useful but not a huge factor in how I assess an RPG.I don't care about balance at all.Imbalance is fine if it reflects the setting or the genre The extreme responses are the first and last.  The first is stated starkly, making it feel unreasonable. The last provides a rationale, making it seem more considered.The second response is the killer one, it virtually guarantees that Mr. Mearls will be able to say, in the next Legends & Lore that "Most of you think other things are more important than game balance."  It sounds like it's a pro-balance response, because it says, right up front that balance is 'very important.'  But, rolled together with the ones that follow, everyone who picks it can be counted as thinking "other things are more important than balance."   The only pro-balance response is the first one:  "It's the most important thing in the game."Even if more than half the respondents pick it, though, the results can /still/ be spun.  The Gnom argument, again.  "While most of you prize balance highly, a significant minority care more about other things.  We can't afford to alienate those people, why there's probably a gamer at every table who will just freak if we made balance the top priority..."Really, it's kinda sad.</blockquote>

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