<<
Ok, here's something that may make me sound stupid, but I'll give it a
go- I've been looking at the documents, and at first I was excited- I
thought perhaps that they would perhaps reveal the underlying balancing
mechanisms that they design team uses/ed to create the game. What I've
found, however, is that its simply a reprinting of the rules.
>>
Unless I'm mistaken, that's what the SRD is intended to be. From there,
you can write your own rulebook if you want.
<<
Are there mechanisms that people/WotC (who are people too, I suppose ;)
) use to balance character classes, for instance?
>>
It's been said time, and again in various forums (well DND-L and the ogf
lists) that balance is not quantifiable. It's alot of guesswork, and
decisions based on one philosophy I use atleast (picked up from
somewhere else), where "If lots of people will want to take it, it's
likely too good/powerful, and if no one wants to take it, or only a few
under specific circumstances, then it might need something to boost
it". In a way, based on what I've seen, and heard from WotC, this is
likely a philosophy they're using in their design.
<<
Their advancement scheme?
>>
13.33333 encounters (of an appropriate challenge) will increase a
characters level. 13.3 CR1 encounters for 4 level 1 characters should
put the characters to level 2. 13.3 CR2 encounters for 4 2nd level
characters should put the characters to level 3, etc.
<<
What about Challenge Ratings?
>>
Guesswork, and lots of playtesting. This is from WotC designers. Take
a balanced party (say a fighter, wizard, cleric, and rogue), of a
certain level, with appropriate equipment and put them up against the
creature of their level/CR, using whatever tactics it would use. If the
party succeeds, put them up against another one (without ability to
regain spells, or special abilities usable X times per day), and then
two more after that. At that point, any additional combats of their
CR/level should result in casualties. If this happens, and you might
want to try this a few times, then the creature is at the appropriate
CR. Of course, if the creature mashes the group into paste, you should
increase the CR, try a higher level party, and try again.
<<
Are there step by step methods for creating new creatures?
>>
If you can find one of the dragon mags, there is info on creating new
creatures. Unfortunately I have as yet to read the article.
Right now, I have a project underway which is named the Game Master's
Toolkit. I've set very lofty goals for it (to gives enough options to
the GM, to modify any part of the d20 system to his ideal system), and
it's a work in progress. If you go to my website (sig listed below), I
have a page with info on how to join the discussion list that it's being
developed on. The latest development was on a system to develop custom
classes that will be balanced.
--
Korath,
http://www.korath.com
"He was already dead, he died a year ago, the moment he touched her.
They're all dead, they just don't know it." --Eric Draven, The Crow
