[Not a Troll] An Honest Question (really) About Game Balance

[EricNoah]

I will only play a game I think is fun. To me, it's only fun if everyone has basically an equal chance to shine and contribute. So, yes, in that sense, balance is important. I pay good money for game products and I expect them to be tested out. On the other hand, the d20 system is gigantic and complicated, especially if you count all the third-party publisher stuff. I don't expect a typical product to take all of the other products into consideration. I consider balancing stuff from book A with stuff from book B to be "my" job, in the sense that I need to be in charge of what I let in or don't let into my game.

 

[Olive]

Game balance is a myth that I wholeheartedly subscribe to.

Quotable quotes! [yoink]

 

[EricNoah]

Urg, undead thread indeed. This thing's over a year old!!

 

[Colin_Fredericks]

Is game balance a nice thing to have? Yes, I think so. It helps people feel like they didn't get shafted by their initial choice of character (sounded cool to begin with, isn't that cool at higher levels or XP ratings).

Is it necessary? Heck no. I ran a Wheel of Time d20 game and told my players, "Look, I don't care what level you are, what your background is, whether you're wetlander or ogier or what. Just make an interesting character. 1st level commoner? Fine. 20th level Aes Sedai? Fine. Just make them interesting." And it worked. People had a great time, even when the 15th-level Aes Sedia was in the same team as the 3rd-level Noble. It all worked surprisingly well.

Is that what I want for every game? Probably not, but it can work at times. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I always want the option for game balance, so that I can break away from it when I want to. I'd rather have balance built in than have to figure it out for myself.

--Colin Fredericks
http://www.valentgames.com