[rant] Balance schmalance

[doghead]

[Aside]The Expert class produced quite a good "experienced" woodsman/hunter/trapper. The lack of feats is a bit limiting for NPC classes, but its doable. Thanks.[/Aside]

And now back to our regular scheduled program.

 

[Orius]

Well, those are like solo sessions where only one player attends. In most other RPGs - Call of Cthulu (BRP) or Traveller (most editions) combat ability is just one skill among many that a character can have, it's not necessarily the most useful skill - certainly not in Call of Cthulu - and a knowledge-based or diplomacy-based PC will get just as much screen time as a combat-based one. This definitely isn't the case in D&D. In D&D combat ability is THE defining characteristic of a character, everything else is ancillary.

Well, that goes back to the origin of the game. D&D was originally designed to be tacked on to wargaming campaigns. And in wargaming combat is really the only consideration. Hell, D&D didn't really take skills into account until proficiencies were introduced in one of the old Survival Guides (was it Wilderness Survival Guide?). D&D has taken those roots, and developed a fairly workable skill system. Other RPGs, unlike D&D have skill systems worked into them from the very beginning.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

[Aside]The Expert class produced quite a good "experienced" woodsman/hunter/trapper. The lack of feats is a bit limiting for NPC classes, but its doable. Thanks.[/Aside]

[Aside]Try dropping their Hit Die to d4, their BAB to 1/2, and give them Skill Focus at 3rd and every 5th.[/aside]