Game Balance

 

One of the unique qualities of Mythmaster is that players can create a wide diversity of characters from the very beginning. Perhaps one player wants to be a young halfling farmer, another player wants to be a battle hardened ranger, and another wants to be a powerful aging wizard. This is certainly possible, and in a campaign focused heavily on narrative and roleplay, it is wonderful.

However, such a wide range of power in the party can become a problem in a campaign that is more focused on challenge, combat, or both. It can be fun to be vulnerable, and it is certainly fun to be powerful, but when every challenge is resolved by the axes of an indomitable barbarian, or the spells of a powerful sorcerer while the rest of the party take cover and try not to die, things can get tiresome quickly.

Furthermore, in adventuring parties with such diversity, encounters are tricky to plan. A battle against a few goblins can be spiced up and balanced with the addition of an ogre to keep the barbarian busy, but what if things go pear-shaped, and the ogre takes a swing at the halfling farmer? A fun encounter can quickly transform into a funeral and a play session cut short so a new character can be generated.

Power Levels

If a well-balanced party is desired, the Director needs tools to measure the relative power of the characters being generated, and ways to steer (or constrain) players toward builds that fit with the rest of the group. This is where power level comes in.

Unlike most other RPG's where leveling up is the goal, in Mythmaster, power level is simply a measure - a tool intended to aid in balancing the play experience.

A character's power level is calculated automatically by the Character Generator during character creation and is updated as you spend experience earned during play. The calculation accounts for the the values of all your stats and derivatives, the vlaues of all your skills and spells, as well as for your perks and for your progression within your faction. Note, however, that power level does not account for any items or equipment you might have.

Identifying Power Gaps

In a campaign where there are lots of challenges, die-rolling and combat it is a good idea to keep track of the current power level of all the characters in the party, as well as the average power level for the party. To maintain good balance, the most powerful character in the party should not exceed 1.25x the average power level of the party as a group, and the weakest character in the party should not be lower than 0.75x the average of the party as a group.

Preventing Power Gaps

The best way to prevent power gaps between characters is to set a power range bracket for the players before they make their characters. Telling all players when they start to make their characters in the Character Generator that they may not continue with another Life Event after their character reaches a certain threshold (say 4 or 5) is a good way to ensure the party is well-balanced.

Perhaps a player has a vision for a world-weary, aging knight on a personal quest to recover lost honour. If the player rolls exceptionally good stats at the beginning, and then anticipates continuing character creation until they reach their mid-fifties, they may reach a power level of 15 or higher. If the average power level of the party is 5, this will be a problem.

Before beginning character creation, the Director should discuss with each player what their vision for their character is, and help the player set their expectations so they can finish character creation with a character that they are excited to play, and that is also appropriately balanced for the campaign.

Compensating for Power Gaps

It is essential to remember that power level is only a rough predictor of relative power. The specific details of how exprience points are invested can make a big difference, or a magic item that synergizes well with a character's abilities can make a radical difference in their overall capability. Power level does not account for everything.

When a character's power level starts to lag behind the rest of the party, it is a good idea to stack the deck a bit in their favour to give them a chance to catch up. Perhaps they have lower stats, with a few key weaknesses that severely impair their progression. A side-quest that leads to the weaker character gaining magical boons or access to training can help.

Conversely, if a character starts to pull ahead of the rest of the party, it might be time to ask the player in question to bench their character for a while to allow the others to catch up. Perhaps they need to return home to receive an honour, or to attend a funeral, and they can play a new character for several sessions while the rest of the party continues forward.

Equal, Fair, Fun

Not all characters are created equal. Sometimes lucky (or unlucky) die rolls will lead to powerful positive feedback loops that can make some characters extremely powerful or leave others very weak. In some gaming groups, this is seen as fair; everyone had the same chance of rolling well or poorly. In other groups this may be seen as unfair; bad initial dice rolls make it hard, or even impossible, for some players to engage in the game in meaningful ways.

What is important is that the group as a whole is able to agree on what equal and fair mean, and on what they find more fun. Some groups may find it more fun to have characters who are very equal in capability, while others may like the idea that equal opportunties in character creation led to a wide diversity in character capability, and find it engaging to manage a party wherein some characters are much more powerful while others are very vulnerable. There is no correct way to play. The right way is the way that the players agree is most fun for all.

Power level is intentionally not a rigorous enough concept to enable players to directly compare their characters and claim bragging rights. The concept exists to make approximate relative power transparent so that the Director and the players can work together to agree on the kind of play experience they want.