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<blockquote data-quote="giant.robot" data-source="post: 5300505" data-attributes="member: 93119">In 2E Dark Sun the you were advised if not required to start a campaign at third level or higher. Getting an extra encounter power at first level is power-wise like characters starting at third level. They're not quite as powerful as normal encounter powers but they do provide a little something to offset the increased power of monsters you typically run across on Athas. In a Dark Sun campaign they let your characters survive at lower levels and give more options to them when they increase in level.The downside to themes, at least Dark Sun themes, is they would tip the game balance a little in non-Dark Sun campaigns. I think for the most part though themes don't add obscene amounts of power to first level characters. They get an extra encounter power that is somewhere between an at-will and encounter in terms of damage/capability. I think in the grand scheme of the game they're pretty balanced and don't really break anything if you use them outside of Dark Sun.They're apparently going to be expanded in subsequent supplements so I think they're meant to be used and will make for cool flourishes for characters. Again they're not all that powerful but give characters cool extra options as they level up. I also like that they always use your primary ability so you can add a theme to any class/race combination.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="giant.robot, post: 5300505, member: 93119"] In 2E Dark Sun the you were advised if not required to start a campaign at third level or higher. Getting an extra encounter power at first level is power-wise like characters starting at third level. They're not quite as powerful as normal encounter powers but they do provide a little something to offset the increased power of monsters you typically run across on Athas. In a Dark Sun campaign they let your characters survive at lower levels and give more options to them when they increase in level. The downside to themes, at least Dark Sun themes, is they would tip the game balance a little in non-Dark Sun campaigns. I think for the most part though themes don't add obscene amounts of power to first level characters. They get an extra encounter power that is somewhere between an at-will and encounter in terms of damage/capability. I think in the grand scheme of the game they're pretty balanced and don't really break anything if you use them outside of Dark Sun. They're apparently going to be expanded in subsequent supplements so I think they're meant to be used and will make for cool flourishes for characters. Again they're not all that powerful but give characters cool extra options as they level up. I also like that they always use your primary ability so you can add a theme to any class/race combination. [/QUOTE]

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