Game Balance
Jun 13, 2013 16:53:37 GMT -8
Post by HyveMynd on Jun 13, 2013 16:53:37 GMT -8
Perhaps we are taking on a restricted view of what 'game balance' actually is.
If we stop restricting the concept to combat balance then it might resolve itself.
Hyvemind mentioned that it should be narrative appropriate - I would take this to mean that seeing as nobody in their right mind would try to take on the entire town guard, then neither would the PC's. This is a kind of game balance, as you are basically saying to your players, 'use common sense, if it looks impossible then it is'. This moderates PC behaviour rather than ensuring every battle is math appropriate - but at the same time the goal of balance is still achieved, because they still only take part in combats they can win
In theory that is. I suppose you would run into problems if your players decide to test you on this. What then? Just kill 'em??
I think you said what I was trying to convey very well, maxinstuff. My feeling is that the game world should always be presented as if it were real. Meaning that the setting should follow its own consistant logic, that may or may not be based on actual reality. Plus, although the player characters are special (because they're the protagonists of the story), they're never, at least in my games, the ultimate bad asses. There's always someone, of maybe a lot of someones, that are bigger, badder, more connected, more skilled, more whatever than the PCs.
It's exactly as you said. No one in their right minds would take on the entire city guard. So, if the PCs do exactly that, then they will suffer the full consequences of their foolish actions. The world reacts appropriately to what the PCs do. But by the same token, GMs shouldn't play "gotcha" with the players. If the PCs do something stupid because they had absolutely no way of knowing their action was a bad one, you can't punish them all the time. The GM can't make every street beggar or peasant a secret master swordsman. Once is a nice twist, maybe, but more than that and you're just getting cheap. "Oops. You didn't check every flagstone for a magical trap, and now you're all exploded." is complete bullshit if the PCs are exploring the house of a dirt poor peon. How can this destitute guy scrape together the money for an arcane trap when he doesn't even have enough to feed himself? If he were a powerful enough magician to can't the spell himself, why is he so poor? Surely he'd have made a name for himself, and the characters would have heard he's a magician. They'd have some reason to be careful. But if the PCs know (or suspect) that they're entering a wizard's house, they'll probably be cautious. If they aren't and just blunder around, then you can blast them with that fireball trap.
Basically it boils down to "don't be a dick". Present the world as being real, but give the players enough information so that they can make informed decisions for their characters.