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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Beginning of the End" data-source="post: 4742344" data-attributes="member: 55271">Notably these all feature the exact same balance as the wizard's contribution to combat: The wizard has limited resources.The balance for pre-4E wizards depends on there being a sufficient number of encounters per day for the wizard's resource management to be meaningful. If there isn't, <a href="http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/wandering-monster.html" target="_blank">then you've got a problem</a>.If there are a sufficient number of encounters, OTOH, then the resource management becomes meaningful and adds depth and a distinct style of gameplay to the system.There are a couple problems here:(1) The hacker character isn't completely side-lined while other characters are doing their thing, so the hacker gets a special spotlight all his own that nobody else has.(2) Because of the disparate time scales, the GM is unable to juggle multiple balls to keep the spotlight shifting. Everyone else is literally freeze-framed while the hacker does his thing.So you're not looking at spotlight balance here, you're looking at spotlight IMBALANCE. Shadowrun's <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />-up in this regard is actually a really strong argument that spotlight balance is very important.And Shadowrun's spotlight imbalance is made even worse because the practical minimum spotlight time is so long. Players in RPGs are both performer and audience -- if you don't like watching other people do cool things at the game table, then you're missing out. But being pushed into the audience chair for an hour or two is also bad news.</blockquote>

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