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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Theory of Games" data-source="post: 9428994" data-attributes="member: 7042201">I'll start with "these are just my opinions":Referencing the BECMI Rules Cyclopedia, a 20th-level Thief has a 82% chance of removing a trap. Referencing the AD&D Players' Handbook, a 14th-level Thief has a 85% chance of finding and removing a trap. There's something here to be said about LBA (Level Based Advancement) and why that system is important. The "game" of D&D is getting our squishy 1st-level characters as far up the "level mountain" as possible. If you've played BECMI and AD&D, you understand this aint easy. But, it can be the best fun any game has ever offered, to include the sense of reward that comes from EARNING 36 levels of experience (RC).IF a designer shifts high-level capability onto 1st-level characters, the <s>structure</s> challenge of a game depending on LBA begins to weaken. Consequently, the obstacles that once challenged the PC DON'T and the D/GM will struggle to provide interesting adventures for that overpowered character. This was the (very widespread) problem with 3e-5e: GMs were/are having a hard time challenging the overpowered PCs because the structure of D&D had been broken (player capability had increased but the capability of most traps and monsters either remained the same as AD&D or they had been nerfed). Of course this stands right in the middle of "play experience", and yeah, it's fun to run through a game slamming every obstacle with little or no effort. Until it isn't (see <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-linear-fighter-quadratic-wizard-problem.690929/" target="_blank">LFQW</a>). So, when I say that a LI Thief being able to crack locks with 83% ability is broken, I'm looking at what that kind of capability will do to a campaign as that PC levels. But I'm a FGM (Forever Gamemaster) and again, these are my opinions. I'm open to others  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f44d.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt="(y)" title="Thumbs up    (y)"  data-smilie="22"data-shortname="(y)" /></blockquote>

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