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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aberzanzorax" data-source="post: 5627476" data-attributes="member: 64209">Regarding the golem... It's not the edition that's the issue, it's the focus of the adventure and adventurers.  What is their goal?  If the goal is to kill the golem, then yes, the rogue will not be as capable of completing that goal. If the goal is to get the treasure the golem is guarding, then the rogue might steal it, while the fighter might kill the golem and simply take it.  There is often discussion about how classes are balanced in older editions based upon what they can do in or out of combat (rogue v. fighter) and power across all lvls (mage v. fighter). However, the problem occurs with our current style and focus. If we consider the goal to be combat, then earlier editions seem imbalanced. If we consider the goal to "adventure" which includes exploration, social interplay, and treasure, then the way to reach goals is more balanced. D&D, when played well, is not just "kill things and take their stuff." If the goal is to be about combat, then it is important to be balanced for combat. This was a major (likely unintentional) effect of dropping xp for treasure and making it xp for monsters only. The goal (of leveling up) became framed around combat as a result. Balance became viewed as "balance in combat" as the chief goal was "defeat monsters in combat". Lots of the 4e preview materials touted the importance of combat (but the problem was already a focus in many WotC modules...this may not have been as obvious to people such as myself who mainly used non WotC adventures, including Dungeon mag).   In the end, regardless of system, a good DM can create adventures with every system by making the goals more than just combat. However, different systems might be more fun and provide more options out of combat than others. Importantly, making a game balanced so that everyone is effective in combat makes that the obvious way to solve most goals. Why should the rogue sneak past the golem. He can just kill it. If everyone CAN fight, then everyone WILL fight.</blockquote>

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