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What is balance to you, and why do you care (or don't)?
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8623810" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Well, I mean, I did do that, but I can give it again. Different system, so it obviously would need translation, but the fundamental concept is sound. Specifically, the Dungeon World Fighter class and its <em>Bend Bars, Lift Gates</em> move.</p><p></p><p>As a quick preface, so mechanical differences are explained in advance: In DW, which IIRC you are at least somewhat familiar with, players roll 2d6+MOD for almost everything (stat mods are always three capital letters; stat <em>scores</em> are the full text of the stat's name). This is exploited to give ranges of success: rolling 10+ is a full success/hit (so you get all or almost all of what you want), 6- is a miss/fail (so you don't get what you want and something bad happens), and 7-9 is a partial success (which can mean "get what you want + complication," "get <em>part</em> of what you want," or "get a weakened or lesser version of what you want," among other things.) Many moves have a structure where you have a list of roughly 3-5 options, but how many you <em>get</em> from that list depends on how well you roll, e.g. if there are four options, a 7-9 may give you two picks, while a 10+ might give three (and later improvements might allow you to get all four on 12+, or choose to enhance one of those benefits, or the like.)</p><p></p><p>With that out of the way, here's the text for <em>Bend Bars, Lift Gates</em>:</p><p></p><p>This is a default move of the Fighter playbook. No one else gets this move, as playbook rules (in the base game, anyway) are mostly unique to each class. The main exceptions are Cleric and Wizard, since their "Cast a Spell" move is essentially identical apart from class-specific flourishes about the costs of mediocre or bad rolls. Other than that specific move, however, each class gets its own unique moves.</p><p></p><p>Now. This is clearly an exploration-focused move, albeit one that might have very niche uses in combat. Things like "nothing of value is damaged" and "it doesn't make an inordinate amount of noise" are really only useful if you're trying to avoid detection or not sacrifice useful resources, which is rarely (not <em>never</em>, but rarely) relevant once combat has already begun. Further, even with a 10+, you only get to choose 3--even on a "full" success, you can't get <em>everything</em> you might want. (I have instituted, as part of my "Legendary" beyond-max-level rules, a new additional success category, "superlative success," for when you roll 13+, in other words, beyond the limits of ordinary mortals. This may grant all options from a list, or enhance the benefits of a move in some other way.)</p><p></p><p>I consider this an excellent example of a clear, useful, Fighter-specific ability that offers a defined area of competence. Its utility applies to <em>some</em> (but not all) stealthy situations, something Fighters are otherwise not necessarily good at, and it encourages Fighters to think about the environment around them, not just the threats that might need to be killinated. By design, it doesn't give you everything, but it may be very useful.</p><p></p><p>[SPOILER="Aside about other Fighter moves and other playbooks"]This is far from the only utility-focused move Fighters can take, it's just the only one they automatically start with. Their other starting moves make them able to use heavy armor without penalty, and give them a Signature Weapon which they can choose the details of. (It may be worth noting, here, that DW explicitly recommends against having more than one player play the same playbook, because it can lead to the two characters feeling too samey.) Giving some brief summaries of their other utility move options (which are purely elective; it is quite possible to play a Fighter that never takes a single additional utility move): <em>Heirloom</em> (roll+CHA; consult the spirits in your Signature Weapon for guidance, maybe being asked questions in return; 10+, get a detailed answer, 7-9, get a vague impression), <em>Interrogator</em> (when you Parley, a generic move, using threats of violence as leverage, roll+STR instead of +CHA), and debatably <em>Through Death's Eyes</em> (when you go into battle, roll+WIS: 10+, name someone who will live AND someone who will die; 7-9, name someone who will live OR someone who will die; 6-, you see your own death and take a penalty. Please pick NPCs, not player characters, and "the GM will make sure your vision comes true if it's even remotely possible.")</p><p></p><p>All of these are unique to the Fighter playbook. In theory, a character can pick them up if they take a multiclass move (most classes get one or two multiclass move opportunities, some narrower than others), but apart from that, only Fighters get these things. Barbarians, by contrast, get a completely different set of moves with utility benefits, and very little in the way of <em>starting</em> utility. (For example, there's a move that just straight-up declares you've travelled pretty much everywhere, so any time you enter a region or city etc., you can ask the DM about the traditions, rituals, etc. of that place and "they'll tell you what you need to know.")[/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p>Again: this is from a different system, and so it cannot JUST be ported over wholesale, that's not how game design works. But it provides a clear example of something that can be Fighter-unique and open-ended in its use, <em>without</em> being "good at everything." <em>Bend Bars, Lift Gates</em> is useless for forging a document, deceiving a guard, persuading a noble/royal, or surviving in winter. In a heavier system like D&D, I would hope that the equivalent of <em>Bend Bars, Lift Gates</em> would be one option among a small handful (e.g., perhaps you could pick your choice of two from BB,LG, a "survive the trenches" kind of thing, and a "I may not be good with words, but my buddy is, <em>you should really listen to them</em>" kind of thing). Again, <em>not</em> enough to be "good at everything." Not even enough to cover all areas of a relatively narrow thing like "exploring a ruin"; BB,LG offers no direct utility for, say, climbing around a wide spike-pit by clinging to the dilapidated walls. But it's enough to give a clear, defined area of competence that can be leveraged, and which players are encouraged to consider creatively and exploit.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8623810, member: 6790260"] Well, I mean, I did do that, but I can give it again. Different system, so it obviously would need translation, but the fundamental concept is sound. Specifically, the Dungeon World Fighter class and its [I]Bend Bars, Lift Gates[/I] move. As a quick preface, so mechanical differences are explained in advance: In DW, which IIRC you are at least somewhat familiar with, players roll 2d6+MOD for almost everything (stat mods are always three capital letters; stat [I]scores[/I] are the full text of the stat's name). This is exploited to give ranges of success: rolling 10+ is a full success/hit (so you get all or almost all of what you want), 6- is a miss/fail (so you don't get what you want and something bad happens), and 7-9 is a partial success (which can mean "get what you want + complication," "get [I]part[/I] of what you want," or "get a weakened or lesser version of what you want," among other things.) Many moves have a structure where you have a list of roughly 3-5 options, but how many you [I]get[/I] from that list depends on how well you roll, e.g. if there are four options, a 7-9 may give you two picks, while a 10+ might give three (and later improvements might allow you to get all four on 12+, or choose to enhance one of those benefits, or the like.) With that out of the way, here's the text for [I]Bend Bars, Lift Gates[/I]: This is a default move of the Fighter playbook. No one else gets this move, as playbook rules (in the base game, anyway) are mostly unique to each class. The main exceptions are Cleric and Wizard, since their "Cast a Spell" move is essentially identical apart from class-specific flourishes about the costs of mediocre or bad rolls. Other than that specific move, however, each class gets its own unique moves. Now. This is clearly an exploration-focused move, albeit one that might have very niche uses in combat. Things like "nothing of value is damaged" and "it doesn't make an inordinate amount of noise" are really only useful if you're trying to avoid detection or not sacrifice useful resources, which is rarely (not [I]never[/I], but rarely) relevant once combat has already begun. Further, even with a 10+, you only get to choose 3--even on a "full" success, you can't get [I]everything[/I] you might want. (I have instituted, as part of my "Legendary" beyond-max-level rules, a new additional success category, "superlative success," for when you roll 13+, in other words, beyond the limits of ordinary mortals. This may grant all options from a list, or enhance the benefits of a move in some other way.) I consider this an excellent example of a clear, useful, Fighter-specific ability that offers a defined area of competence. Its utility applies to [I]some[/I] (but not all) stealthy situations, something Fighters are otherwise not necessarily good at, and it encourages Fighters to think about the environment around them, not just the threats that might need to be killinated. By design, it doesn't give you everything, but it may be very useful. [SPOILER="Aside about other Fighter moves and other playbooks"]This is far from the only utility-focused move Fighters can take, it's just the only one they automatically start with. Their other starting moves make them able to use heavy armor without penalty, and give them a Signature Weapon which they can choose the details of. (It may be worth noting, here, that DW explicitly recommends against having more than one player play the same playbook, because it can lead to the two characters feeling too samey.) Giving some brief summaries of their other utility move options (which are purely elective; it is quite possible to play a Fighter that never takes a single additional utility move): [I]Heirloom[/I] (roll+CHA; consult the spirits in your Signature Weapon for guidance, maybe being asked questions in return; 10+, get a detailed answer, 7-9, get a vague impression), [I]Interrogator[/I] (when you Parley, a generic move, using threats of violence as leverage, roll+STR instead of +CHA), and debatably [I]Through Death's Eyes[/I] (when you go into battle, roll+WIS: 10+, name someone who will live AND someone who will die; 7-9, name someone who will live OR someone who will die; 6-, you see your own death and take a penalty. Please pick NPCs, not player characters, and "the GM will make sure your vision comes true if it's even remotely possible.") All of these are unique to the Fighter playbook. In theory, a character can pick them up if they take a multiclass move (most classes get one or two multiclass move opportunities, some narrower than others), but apart from that, only Fighters get these things. Barbarians, by contrast, get a completely different set of moves with utility benefits, and very little in the way of [I]starting[/I] utility. (For example, there's a move that just straight-up declares you've travelled pretty much everywhere, so any time you enter a region or city etc., you can ask the DM about the traditions, rituals, etc. of that place and "they'll tell you what you need to know.")[/SPOILER] Again: this is from a different system, and so it cannot JUST be ported over wholesale, that's not how game design works. But it provides a clear example of something that can be Fighter-unique and open-ended in its use, [I]without[/I] being "good at everything." [I]Bend Bars, Lift Gates[/I] is useless for forging a document, deceiving a guard, persuading a noble/royal, or surviving in winter. In a heavier system like D&D, I would hope that the equivalent of [I]Bend Bars, Lift Gates[/I] would be one option among a small handful (e.g., perhaps you could pick your choice of two from BB,LG, a "survive the trenches" kind of thing, and a "I may not be good with words, but my buddy is, [I]you should really listen to them[/I]" kind of thing). Again, [I]not[/I] enough to be "good at everything." Not even enough to cover all areas of a relatively narrow thing like "exploring a ruin"; BB,LG offers no direct utility for, say, climbing around a wide spike-pit by clinging to the dilapidated walls. But it's enough to give a clear, defined area of competence that can be leveraged, and which players are encouraged to consider creatively and exploit. [/QUOTE]
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