Magic in the Face of Game Balance

As I have spoken of before, one of the major aims of modern gaming seems to be to achieve some sort of "game balance". The problem with this is that there are just as many definitions of what makes a game balanced as there are players. According to the folks at Wizards of the Coast (the current makers of Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition), their idea of game balance is having each character class be able to contribute equally to the game. I personally, don't have any real disagreement with this aim, and I feel that 4th edition accomplishes this admirably.

However, I feel that there is an unintended casualty of this focus on game balance, and that is magic. In 4th edition, there are wizards, priests and a number of other classes and creatures that have magical abilities. But, particularly when compared to the older editions, the magic in 4th edition has much of the scope removed from it. With the exception of Rituals, which still hold some of the old scope, (but have high costs in time and money to compensate), magic in 4th edition has become indistinguishable from the abilities of non-magic using folks. I am not going to attempt to argue whether this is a good or bad thing, as the answer to that changes with each DM and each campaign world. But if I am honest with myself, it is one of the reasons that I feel myself drawn to the older editions.

In second edition, Magic is a very powerful force. With time and the access to the right spells the magic using classes can literally break reality. If allowed to run wild, there can be a major imbalance between magic using classes and their non-magic using compatriots. However, the magic using classes do pay for their power. For example, in the game I am currently running, the mage has only abut 1/4 the hit points of the non-magic using members of the party, and an Armor class approximately 6 points lower than any other member of the party. He also needs considerably more Experience to level up, when compared to the other members of the party. Now, to some people this is not considered balance, because they expect all the characters to be roughly equal. But I would argue that this allows each class to have their own role both in combat and out of it.

The mage has some powerful effects, but he must rely on his friends to protect him in combat, so that he can unlease the awesome power that he holds without being smeared all over some ogre's club. And the Warriors can break down the doors of the ancient ruins, but must rely on their wizardly friend to read the ancient inscriptions they find within. This is the sort of balance that has always existed in my games, and with few exceptions has worked well. The players have had fun, and making sure that everyone is having fun is the only balance that the DM should have to concern himself with.

So my advice to other DMs is to find what balance works for your group. Some will want a more hard coded balance between the class like 4th edition has, but some are more than happy to have a less ingrained sense of balance in order to have the scope that the older editions allowed for things like magic. In the end, balance is only one of the tools that a DM should use to provide an entertaining time for everyone, themselves included.