Balance in Tabletop RPGs - An Animal Farm

Here I'm talking about actual play experiences NOT comparing-contrasting game system mechanics game-to-game. This is how the experience of playing is for me and the people I've played with.

TheVikingHill's post :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2ghmVkbqk
BattleBunny1979's channel : http://www.youtube.com/user/BattleBunny1979
MaccacarianGuy's channel : http://www.youtube.com/user/MaccacarianGuy

Pig photo is taken from Wikipedia and is accredited to the following : Frank Vincentz, GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version: Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• 23penguins32
• clackclickbang
• TheVikingHill
• BattleBunny1979
• MaccacarianGuy
• D&D
• Dungeons & Dragons
• RPG
• role-playing game
• tabletop game
• pen & paper
• fantasy game
• balance
• game balance
• game experience
• GM
• game master
• DM
• dungeon master
• metagaming
• gaming enjoyment

[ZeavoTown]

have you ever played heroclix? i think that counts as a tabletop rpg.

[23penguins32]

@ZeavoTown Is that the superhero miniature game with the dials or what-nots on the bases ? If so, I've watched a full game in a gaming shop a few years ago. I thought it was pretty cool. I used to play and run a Marvel Super Heroes RPG in the '80s-early '90s. That was fun, made up our own superheroes. I always think one can role-play Heroclix or board games, like Diplomacy, Risk, Axis&Allies. Though, by strict definition Heroclix and board games are not 'RPGs'. But, I'm not very strict really :)

[megakuriboh]

Hey, I just wanted to say that I've been using my own homemade tabletop rpg, and this was incredibly helpful for...well everything, but I have one particular gamer who....he really enjoys complaining. Not a whole lot, but enough to occasionally make him irritating. Not about balance, so much, but about my decisions. I don't like pulling the 'I'm the GM' card as much as some. Now I have some other ways to shut him down! thanks! :)

[23penguins32]

@megakuriboh Some things I mentioned in this post actually worked for one of the local GMs I was sort of doing this for. As Onionkid99 mentions below, as soon as you make a penis reference it sort of shuts down the whingers. Funny, I only mentioned 'Penis Envy' because I'm reading some Jung (who mocks Freud for always thinking of it). There are many subtle ways to get people to 'chill'. I always think players should be thankful they have a GM :)

Cheers and thanks for the subscription !

[azirk83]

After considering it a while, I must politely disagree with your use of Animal Farm in this video. Animal Farm is a morality tale about the evils of statements of equality in spite of an inequal, unfair, unchanged system in place. As such, it goes completely against your statements in the video of ignoring systemic inequality. So having an unequal system and pretending it's equal isn't a good thing, if utilizing the Animal Farm as a reference. The pigs say "some are more equal than others"

[23penguins32]

@azirk83 Thank you for your comment.

[azirk83]

@23penguins32 Considering your conversation with me after posting the comment I'm responding to, when reading your previous comments here I can't help but laugh out loud.

[23penguins32]

@Antiks72 Nor us. We didn't have any complaints with D&D3-3.5. Even with the bit odd Grappling, as it was written, we just calmly went through it the first time, changed it a bit and moved on with nary a complaint. We're just there for a great story in-the-making.

[Antiks72]

@23penguins32 When I was playing 1st and 2nd edition, we didn't whine about any of that stuff, we made it work for our gaming group. It never occurred to us to whine about it.

[23penguins32]

@thespiritcoyote Yes, I did. Cheers for that. It was to the point and theme of this post :)