Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
What's wrong with scaling (and levels, bonuses, advancement, etc)?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Kzach" data-source="post: 5696303" data-attributes="member: 56189"><p>Two things.</p><p></p><p>Aside from the example you mentioned, the increase of power is an illusion and nothing more.</p><p></p><p>The second thing is that the example you mentioned can be better represented WITHOUT scaling.</p><p></p><p>What people don't seem to understand is that in a non-scaling system, the character still levels up and still gains more power. It's simply that the math stays relatively the same or with very small increases. The true power increase doesn't lie in gaining bigger numbers because the only situation that creates is requiring creatures with bigger numbers to combat. Instead, the character's power grows through versatility and options, as do the monsters.</p><p></p><p>This is already well represented by 4e through powers and non-bonus granting feats. What you can do at 30th-level is far and away more powerful than what you can do at 1st-level. So that 1st-level goblin is still pretty much irrelevant to you since you have so many and much more powerful options at your disposal to deal with it. Having said that, it adds a sense of realism because even though the 1st-level goblin can be easily dealt with, it's still a viable threat when it has a sword at your throat.</p><p></p><p>So that 30th-level devil that can summon in other devils and reshape reality and regenerates and is immune to fire and can wreathe itself in an aura of flames is still a challenge for 30th-level characters. But it's a challenge because it has more abilities and powers and options, not because stabbing it through the heart with a spear won't kill it simply because the spear can only do 1d8+4 damage.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kzach, post: 5696303, member: 56189"] Two things. Aside from the example you mentioned, the increase of power is an illusion and nothing more. The second thing is that the example you mentioned can be better represented WITHOUT scaling. What people don't seem to understand is that in a non-scaling system, the character still levels up and still gains more power. It's simply that the math stays relatively the same or with very small increases. The true power increase doesn't lie in gaining bigger numbers because the only situation that creates is requiring creatures with bigger numbers to combat. Instead, the character's power grows through versatility and options, as do the monsters. This is already well represented by 4e through powers and non-bonus granting feats. What you can do at 30th-level is far and away more powerful than what you can do at 1st-level. So that 1st-level goblin is still pretty much irrelevant to you since you have so many and much more powerful options at your disposal to deal with it. Having said that, it adds a sense of realism because even though the 1st-level goblin can be easily dealt with, it's still a viable threat when it has a sword at your throat. So that 30th-level devil that can summon in other devils and reshape reality and regenerates and is immune to fire and can wreathe itself in an aura of flames is still a challenge for 30th-level characters. But it's a challenge because it has more abilities and powers and options, not because stabbing it through the heart with a spear won't kill it simply because the spear can only do 1d8+4 damage. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
What's wrong with scaling (and levels, bonuses, advancement, etc)?
Top