Game Balance (Was: RE: [gurps] Mitigators (was Cyberpunk & 4e)

[Michael Sarno]

Holmes, Erik wrote:

>>There seems to be little reason to keep track of character 
>>points after character generation with this system. If the 
>>players and GM like it, then it makes sense, but I'd never 
>>want to play in a game like this. If the character point 
>>system isn't broken, then it should be used to regulate game balance.
>>    
>>
>
>While I agree with a lot of what you've said, I've never been one to
>rely on the points to regulate game balance. Some character are really
>good at making GURPS characters, some aren't. I think it's more of a
>GM's job to regulate the game balance of the game.
>
    I agree with you, it is the GM's job to regulate game balance.  I'd 
also add that the best tool for doing so is a working character point 
system.  If we stop keeping track of character points after the 
character is generated, or if we change the way we calculate character 
points once the game begins, then the character point system is of 
considerably less use than one in which we continue to track character 
points in the same manner throughout the lifetime of the character.
    You're right, some people are going to create more useful character 
with the same amount of point or with even fewer points.  But that 
doesn't imply that we shouldn't track character points consistently 
throughout the lifetime of the character.  It means that the character 
point system is not the only indicator of the character's usefulness.  
However, it is still a very good indicator, and is an even better 
indicator than a character point system that abandons or alters the way 
character points are tracked at some point in the life of the character.

-Mike


-- 
Michael Sarno

"The light of the soul is bright,
 but dense clouds of human ignorance obscure it."
	-Deng Ming-Dao