13.2.6 Game balance
Game balance is a very popular topic in the role-playing community. Usually, there will be two typical standpoints, either that it is important or that it doesn?t matter.
Let?s start with finding out what game balance actually means. The term is usually used in two different contexts, the first is balance among the player characters and the other is balance between the group of characters and the opposition the game master throws at them. In a situation like this, there is no wrong or right, it is just a matter of personal preference. If you like everything to be well balanced and fair, go for it. If you want to play a fun but fairly useless character in a powerful group, it is just as fine. Balancing the opposition should always be done, but it is a bit different depending on if the group is balanced or not. So, let?s go on the see how to make the game work in balanced and unbalanced mode.
13.2.6.1 Balanced group
To keep the game fairly well balanced, the main thing to do is to make all player character using the same amount of CHARACTER POINTS and to keep character progress at a similar pace for all characters. Since no point system can take into account all the different combinations and all strange worlds of role-playing, some game master intervention or at least supervision is usually necessary.
When it comes to balancing the opposition, the best bet is usually to make it a little bit tougher than you think is necessary. It may seem cruel, but it is actually very practical, since it is easier to weaken them on the fly than it is to make them stronger. Also, the players tend to be more resourceful than the characters? statistics suggests, so it is always good to have some extra trick up your sleeve.
Still, the most important thing to remember is that the rules is just a framework for support. They can not be expected to provide perfect balance in every situation, so use them for support but keep careful watch over the with your own judgement.
13.2.6.2 Unbalanced group
It may appear very difficult to run a game where the characters are very different, but if you just use common sense it is actually very easy. Just think of it as a real situation and act accordingly, and in most cases it will work out fine. Once you accept that the different characters will fill different roles, balancing the opposition will become simple. The main pitfall to avoid is to think of the situation in a fairness perspective.
A group of three characters is attacked by three bandits. The characters are a big knight in shining armour, a sneaky thief and an old lady who bakes good cookies and occasionally get strange visions.
Will the attackers split up, one on each character? Not likely, they will perceive the knight as the big threat, the thief as a potential threat and the old lady as harmless, so they?ll probably gang up two on one on the knight while the third handles the thief. Even if the old lady should start to bash one of them over the head with her umbrella, they?ll probably not bother killing her, just push her aside and continue to fight who they perceive as the main threat.
This way of thinking allows for a mix of characters. It will put a larger load on the tough fighters, but that?s what they are there for, while it will allow weaker character a reasonable chance of survival. This does not mean that the weaker characters will be boring and have nothing to do, they probably just have some other specialisation or are personalities which are fun to play even if they don?t get much done. In fact, it even gives the weaker characters more room to play around, since they will not have the same heavy responsibilities and face the same serious threats that the others do.
When the big bad guy walks into the room, the big good guy have to fight him and fight for his life, while the spoiled girl can just grab an object close at hand, perhaps a bunch of tulips, and bash him with. The big bad guy will not focus on killing her, since his main adversary is the big good guy, so he?ll probably just throw her aside and continue towards the big good guy. The spoiled girl can play her character as far as she wants, phoning dad, throwing easily breakable objects towards the big bad guy, whining about her messed up dress and so on.
The big good guy probably accomplices more, but who has the most fun?
As you can see, balancing the opposition with an unbalanced group of characters is mostly a question of balancing the opposition based on each character, rather than on the entire group. The opponents will be smart; they will go after the biggest threats with their biggest guns and they will probably avoid killing someone they perceive as harmless. This is also realistic and makes for a more interesting game. There is absolutely no reason to be afraid of mixing different character levels in the same group, quite the contrary; it often makes a better and more varied game.
