Andor
First Post
Firelance said in another thread "A fighter is a martial, weapon-using character who is as effective as his spellcasting companions at all levels of the game and in all situations, with perhaps a slight advantage in combat."
Which has me wondering, Why should a fighter be as effective as a spellcaster at everything?
To my mind that's like expecting a boxer, a doctor and an engineer to all be equally good at doing each others jobs.
Frankly it wouldn't bother me a bit if Mages were useless at combat but could do things no one else could outside of it. Or perhaps like the Magus of Ars Magica who could cast the uber-powerful combat ending spell, but only if the fighters could keep the badguys away for the 3 rounds it takes them to cast it.
The Archetypal fantasy wizard, Gandalf, almost never used magic in combat. Usually he just hit things with a sword. Merlin didn't fight that I recall.
Of course, this is D&D. We expect magic missiles and fireballs. Flying carpets and enchanted swords.
And modern roleplaying expectations want everyone to be able to contribute to every scene.
What do you guys think? Should "balance" be as hardwired in to the system as it was in 4e? Should it be as ignored as it was in 1e? Or should there be dial settings for the GM to achieve what he wants for his campaign?
Which has me wondering, Why should a fighter be as effective as a spellcaster at everything?
To my mind that's like expecting a boxer, a doctor and an engineer to all be equally good at doing each others jobs.
Frankly it wouldn't bother me a bit if Mages were useless at combat but could do things no one else could outside of it. Or perhaps like the Magus of Ars Magica who could cast the uber-powerful combat ending spell, but only if the fighters could keep the badguys away for the 3 rounds it takes them to cast it.
The Archetypal fantasy wizard, Gandalf, almost never used magic in combat. Usually he just hit things with a sword. Merlin didn't fight that I recall.
Of course, this is D&D. We expect magic missiles and fireballs. Flying carpets and enchanted swords.
And modern roleplaying expectations want everyone to be able to contribute to every scene.
What do you guys think? Should "balance" be as hardwired in to the system as it was in 4e? Should it be as ignored as it was in 1e? Or should there be dial settings for the GM to achieve what he wants for his campaign?