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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6666431" data-attributes="member: 42582">I don't know anything about "One True Way". I know there are approaches to RPGing that I enjoy, and approaches that I don't. I prefer a game in which every player has the same degree of capacity to impact the fiction via his/her PC.There are a range of different ways this can be achieved. In D&D, given (i) the absence of GM-side mechanics to constrain/control scene-framing, and (ii) of a metagame economy driven by PC descriptors (like MHRP plot points, FATE fate points, etc), I think this is best achieved via comparable mechanical effectiveness.I'm not a big fan of the "job for Aquaman" approach to GMing, though this is obviously a matter of degree, and what some see as throwing Aquaman a bone others will see as deft GM scene-framing.I had hoped I was pretty clear: If you like systems in which one player's character has greater effectiveness than another's in impacting the fiction, go for it! No one is stopping you. Personally I don't see the appeal, but that's not something that should bother you.A few responses to this:(1) I played Forbidden Desert with my daughter last night. It's a cooperative game, not a competitive one, but the different player options are clearly intended to be balanced.(2) The GM in D&D is under some degree of constraint in some versions of D&D - eg there are rules that at least loosely govern dungeon design in classic versions of the game. And other RPGs have GM-side constraints. For instance, in Marvel Heroic RP the GM isn't free to modify encounters without expending  resources.(3) Some versions of D&D are competitive. Competition between players was a feature of play in the classic game - not arena-style PvP, but competition between players to collect loot, beat dungeons, etc.(4) I think combat is a bit of a red herring in these discussions. Balance as a goal in RPG design is quite orthogonal to combat, at least in general. To the extent that in D&D combat is the focus of balance concerns, that's because it tends to be the only action resolution option where the players have a very high degree of agency. (4e is something of an exception, having closed scene resolution via the skill challenge mechanic.)</blockquote>

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