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<blockquote data-quote="bardolph" data-source="post: 5038244" data-attributes="member: 2304">Well, if we want to get technical on the definition of silo-ing, 4e has five different silos:<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Attributes</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Race (including languages)</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Class (including subclass, trained skills, and paragon paths)</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Feats (including all rituals)</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Powers </li>
</ul>These are silos because you generally cannot make sacrifices in one to make gains in another.The one notable exception is the &quot;Feats&quot; silo, which allows you to burn feats to gain access to extra abilities in other silos. I think this is reasonable, given that feats are in relatively limited supply to begin with.Also note that the Powers silo is divided further into four silos of &quot;At-Will&quot; &quot;Encounter&quot; &quot;Daily&quot; and &quot;Utility&quot; powers. Within these four silos, the Utility silo contains many situational and even non-combat powers, but because you only gain one Utility power every four levels, the impact on your overall combat effectiveness is limited.I know that the OP mentioned &quot;silo-ing&quot; as a separation of combat vs non-combat abilities, but as it turns out, that's not really the case. Many skills have combat uses, and characters can spend feats (and utility powers) for non-combat usefulness. The race silo determines languages spoken (non-combat), but every race also has combat abilities.I think the most important silo for purposes of game balance is the Powers silo. 4e is the first edition of D&amp;D that guarantees that all characters of the same experience level have the same number and power level of core combat abilities, regardless of class.The silo concept also has a huge impact on the overall playstyle of the game as a whole. 4e is clearly designed around planned encounters which have a clear &quot;expected challenge&quot; rate based solely on the level of the PCs, rather than a more freeform style where character build is the most important determination of whether or not you'll be able to participate meaningfully in any given encounter.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="bardolph, post: 5038244, member: 2304"] Well, if we want to get technical on the definition of silo-ing, 4e has five different silos: [list] [*]Attributes [*]Race (including languages) [*]Class (including subclass, trained skills, and paragon paths) [*]Feats (including all rituals) [*]Powers [/list] These are silos because you generally cannot make sacrifices in one to make gains in another. The one notable exception is the "Feats" silo, which allows you to burn feats to gain access to extra abilities in other silos. I think this is reasonable, given that feats are in relatively limited supply to begin with. Also note that the Powers silo is divided further into four silos of "At-Will" "Encounter" "Daily" and "Utility" powers. Within these four silos, the Utility silo contains many situational and even non-combat powers, but because you only gain one Utility power every four levels, the impact on your overall combat effectiveness is limited. I know that the OP mentioned "silo-ing" as a separation of combat vs non-combat abilities, but as it turns out, that's not really the case. Many skills have combat uses, and characters can spend feats (and utility powers) for non-combat usefulness. The race silo determines languages spoken (non-combat), but every race also has combat abilities. I think the most important silo for purposes of game balance is the Powers silo. 4e is the first edition of D&D that guarantees that all characters of the same experience level have the same number and power level of core combat abilities, regardless of class. The silo concept also has a huge impact on the overall playstyle of the game as a whole. 4e is clearly designed around planned encounters which have a clear "expected challenge" rate based solely on the level of the PCs, rather than a more freeform style where character build is the most important determination of whether or not you'll be able to participate meaningfully in any given encounter. [/QUOTE]

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