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<blockquote data-quote="bret" data-source="post: 67969" data-attributes="member: 713">I would say that balance can be an element of fairness, but it is not a required element. I think that a game can be fair without being balanced. How do you balance an encounter between an expert longbowman and someone armed with a fully loaded assault weapon&nbsp; who has finished military boot camp?Just because someone is an expert in something (even if it is hard to learn), that doesn't mean that the skill is the most effective way to do something. In the case of combat, there is a reason that military and police are taught to shoot guns rather than bows. You need some way to value the various skills and powers. Rarity and difficulty seem like pretty good measures for a system that attempts to be realistic.I never said that. Please do not imply that I did.What I was saying is that balance is not required for a system to be fair. If all the players have the same opportunity to choose from the same resources during character creation, each player can choose how to budget those abilities.I tried to come up with a better word than myth and couldn't. Some of them (as I noted but you didn't bother to quote) are more a difference of opinion than a myth.In any case, a myth doesn't have to be wide spread in order to be a myth.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="bret, post: 67969, member: 713"] I would say that balance can be an element of fairness, but it is not a required element. I think that a game can be fair without being balanced. How do you balance an encounter between an expert longbowman and someone armed with a fully loaded assault weapon who has finished military boot camp? Just because someone is an expert in something (even if it is hard to learn), that doesn't mean that the skill is the most effective way to do something. In the case of combat, there is a reason that military and police are taught to shoot guns rather than bows. You need some way to value the various skills and powers. Rarity and difficulty seem like pretty good measures for a system that attempts to be realistic. I never said that. Please do not imply that I did. What I was saying is that balance is not required for a system to be fair. If all the players have the same opportunity to choose from the same resources during character creation, each player can choose how to budget those abilities. I tried to come up with a better word than myth and couldn't. Some of them (as I noted but you didn't bother to quote) are more a difference of opinion than a myth. In any case, a myth doesn't have to be wide spread in order to be a myth. [/QUOTE]

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