kalani
First Post
I see it as both. If it was just a realm's guide, and the only new character options were an extended list of deities, regional languages, ethnicities, and perhaps the backgrounds - I would have been fine for it to be an evergreen product. Unfortunately, the inclusion of new race, class, background and cantrip options makes it a splatbook as well - and as such, has an impact on power creep (no matter how small).
Who knows what unintentional (and potentially overpowered) combination might occur 3 years from now due to the combination of greenflame blade or the swashbuckler and some as-yet unreleased character option. That's how power creep works - by inches and degrees.
New products are not balanced against existing splatbooks (this becomes increasingly more difficult as the berth of existing content increases exponentially). They are however, balanced internally and with the options in the core books (PHB, DMG, etc). Sometimes a new product improves on existing designs (eg. the Scout vs. the PHB Ranger or the warblade vs. the fighter in 3.5), resulting in power creep compared to the PHB - and other times, it has unintended consequences when combined with another pre-existing option from a secondary source (splatbook, setting book, etc). Those consequences are compounded with each new option that can be plugged into an existing combination.
For Example
In the 3.5 era, I designed a character who could make up to 20+ attacks/round, most with full BaB. This character was a combat-reflexes monkey with the following feats and character options (Fighter 16/Psychic Warrior 2/Monk 2): Combat Reflexes, Hold the Line, Stand Still, Deft Opportunist, Double-Hit (Miniatures HB), Mage Slayer, Karmic Strike, Robilar's Gambit, Elusive Target, and several other feats I forget. The character fought with a chain lash (Savage Species), which allowed them to swap between reach and dual-wield options. With a magically enhanced 27 dexterity, I had up to 9 opportunity attacks/round (each of which were double-hits thanks to the Double-hit feat). Combined with my normal attack routine, I had a potential of: +16/+11/+6/+1, and 18x +16 (not counting STR or magical bonuses to hit).
The character was weak against ranged or flying targets, but was an absolute beast in melee. This is an example of the kinds of things that the Story Origin Mechanic was designed to prevent.
Who knows what unintentional (and potentially overpowered) combination might occur 3 years from now due to the combination of greenflame blade or the swashbuckler and some as-yet unreleased character option. That's how power creep works - by inches and degrees.
New products are not balanced against existing splatbooks (this becomes increasingly more difficult as the berth of existing content increases exponentially). They are however, balanced internally and with the options in the core books (PHB, DMG, etc). Sometimes a new product improves on existing designs (eg. the Scout vs. the PHB Ranger or the warblade vs. the fighter in 3.5), resulting in power creep compared to the PHB - and other times, it has unintended consequences when combined with another pre-existing option from a secondary source (splatbook, setting book, etc). Those consequences are compounded with each new option that can be plugged into an existing combination.
For Example
In the 3.5 era, I designed a character who could make up to 20+ attacks/round, most with full BaB. This character was a combat-reflexes monkey with the following feats and character options (Fighter 16/Psychic Warrior 2/Monk 2): Combat Reflexes, Hold the Line, Stand Still, Deft Opportunist, Double-Hit (Miniatures HB), Mage Slayer, Karmic Strike, Robilar's Gambit, Elusive Target, and several other feats I forget. The character fought with a chain lash (Savage Species), which allowed them to swap between reach and dual-wield options. With a magically enhanced 27 dexterity, I had up to 9 opportunity attacks/round (each of which were double-hits thanks to the Double-hit feat). Combined with my normal attack routine, I had a potential of: +16/+11/+6/+1, and 18x +16 (not counting STR or magical bonuses to hit).
The character was weak against ranged or flying targets, but was an absolute beast in melee. This is an example of the kinds of things that the Story Origin Mechanic was designed to prevent.
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