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Mearls on Balance in D&D
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<blockquote data-quote="mearls" data-source="post: 3389835" data-attributes="member: 697"><p>I have a meeting in 4 minutes, but let me get the basics of its strengths out there.</p><p></p><p>The key to per-encounter resources is that they are easier to balance against classes. Per day resources are a lot funkier, because a designer (and to a lesser extent a DM) can't predict the rate at which a player goes through them.</p><p></p><p>For example, let's say that the wizard has enough spells to outshine the fighter or rogue three times per day. If the party only engages in three encounters, then it ends up looking like the wizard is better all the time.</p><p></p><p>Even worse, from a story perspective the wizard's flexibility in choosing which encounters to excel in allows him to cherry pick key moments in the adventure. Let's say that the party faces six encounters:</p><p></p><p>1. Beat up the guards outside Throll's hideout.</p><p>2. Trick Throll into revealing the location of the demonscab.</p><p>3. Defeat a pack of trolls sent by Myciner.</p><p>4. Destroy the demonscab.</p><p>5. Defeat Myciner's lesser minions.</p><p>6. Slay Myciner.</p><p></p><p>As with most adventures, this sequence has rising and falling dramatic tension. The wizard gets to pick when he uses his spells. If he focuses on encounters 2, 4, and 6, he gets a lot more "screen time" even though the fighter and rogue excelled in just as many encounters. The key encounters, the important parts of the story, all featured the wizard.</p><p></p><p>I have to run to a meeting, but that's the main tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of tricks a DM can use to try to balance that out, but at the end of the day you have to ask whether it's worth asking DMs to go through such hoops in order to keep the game fun.</p><p></p><p>Your points about making per-encounter feel better are all good ones, and I think they point out the necessity in making such mechanics sensible in light of how D&D works. The factotum, as an example, handles it a bit clumsily.</p><p></p><p>More later...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mearls, post: 3389835, member: 697"] I have a meeting in 4 minutes, but let me get the basics of its strengths out there. The key to per-encounter resources is that they are easier to balance against classes. Per day resources are a lot funkier, because a designer (and to a lesser extent a DM) can't predict the rate at which a player goes through them. For example, let's say that the wizard has enough spells to outshine the fighter or rogue three times per day. If the party only engages in three encounters, then it ends up looking like the wizard is better all the time. Even worse, from a story perspective the wizard's flexibility in choosing which encounters to excel in allows him to cherry pick key moments in the adventure. Let's say that the party faces six encounters: 1. Beat up the guards outside Throll's hideout. 2. Trick Throll into revealing the location of the demonscab. 3. Defeat a pack of trolls sent by Myciner. 4. Destroy the demonscab. 5. Defeat Myciner's lesser minions. 6. Slay Myciner. As with most adventures, this sequence has rising and falling dramatic tension. The wizard gets to pick when he uses his spells. If he focuses on encounters 2, 4, and 6, he gets a lot more "screen time" even though the fighter and rogue excelled in just as many encounters. The key encounters, the important parts of the story, all featured the wizard. I have to run to a meeting, but that's the main tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of tricks a DM can use to try to balance that out, but at the end of the day you have to ask whether it's worth asking DMs to go through such hoops in order to keep the game fun. Your points about making per-encounter feel better are all good ones, and I think they point out the necessity in making such mechanics sensible in light of how D&D works. The factotum, as an example, handles it a bit clumsily. More later... [/QUOTE]
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