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<blockquote data-quote="Scribble" data-source="post: 4727055" data-attributes="member: 23977">Yes. The DM isn't doing anything. The way the rules are set up are. Both players choose a class that's designated equal in power level, but one (by the rules) is given an edge. The player of the fighter cannot choose to use spells. The handicap idea doesn't fit because it doesn't matetr who plays the position, someone skilled at D&amp;D or not, they're always going to have the same edge.But really the &quot;edge&quot; isn't my real concern. It's how that edge effects the game's ability to give me anything useful. And this is the heart of the matter for me, and why I say it doesn't matter between sandbox and AP style.For me balance isn't something I'm trying to &quot;achieve&quot; in my game. It's a tool I use in running my game; an informational tool, that as the DM I can use in a variety of ways. Everything from looking at odds, to understanding the relative power level of things and how they fit into my game world.If one class ends up being out of balance it throws things off. It's like using a digital scientific scale but forgetting to calibrate to 0.&nbsp; It makes that tool virtually useless to me. The numbers become pretty much meaningless.I'm not the type that likes to throw only encounters that are designed to be in the range of my players at them. I don't care if the encounter is vastly overpowered, or underpowered. I DO, however, like to have an idea about where it stands in relationship to my players. It helps me convey information about the situation to my players.That's why I feel balance is important, and why I want all the players working with gear that has the same power scale. I don't mind if in the game someone's gear ends up being better then someone elses, but I want that to be because of an in-game effect, and not an artifact of the rules not working properly.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Scribble, post: 4727055, member: 23977"] Yes. The DM isn't doing anything. The way the rules are set up are. Both players choose a class that's designated equal in power level, but one (by the rules) is given an edge. The player of the fighter cannot choose to use spells. The handicap idea doesn't fit because it doesn't matetr who plays the position, someone skilled at D&D or not, they're always going to have the same edge. But really the "edge" isn't my real concern. It's how that edge effects the game's ability to give me anything useful. And this is the heart of the matter for me, and why I say it doesn't matter between sandbox and AP style. For me balance isn't something I'm trying to "achieve" in my game. It's a tool I use in running my game; an informational tool, that as the DM I can use in a variety of ways. Everything from looking at odds, to understanding the relative power level of things and how they fit into my game world. If one class ends up being out of balance it throws things off. It's like using a digital scientific scale but forgetting to calibrate to 0. It makes that tool virtually useless to me. The numbers become pretty much meaningless. I'm not the type that likes to throw only encounters that are designed to be in the range of my players at them. I don't care if the encounter is vastly overpowered, or underpowered. I DO, however, like to have an idea about where it stands in relationship to my players. It helps me convey information about the situation to my players. That's why I feel balance is important, and why I want all the players working with gear that has the same power scale. I don't mind if in the game someone's gear ends up being better then someone elses, but I want that to be because of an in-game effect, and not an artifact of the rules not working properly. [/QUOTE]

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