Dungeons and Dragons Wiki:Article Balance

Campaign balance is a fine art that is difficult to classify. What is balanced in one campaign might not be balanced in another, by virtue of what classes, feats, and other such options are available to characters. To that end, we want to help any potential users of information on this wiki have an easier time deciding what is balanced for their own campaign world.

What this page attempts to do is list a number of different levels of balance. Each level is represented by a class or prestige class, published by Wizards of the Coast. If an article is listed at the given level, we believe it is appropriate for inclusion in a campaign that already includes the class or prestige class that represents the level.

3.5th Edition Balance Points

Monk Level

The Monk Level is the lowest possible level of balance. Materials in this category will remain competitive with higher categories up to level 6, though additional levels may be possible with extensive optimization. After this point, the higher category content will pull away noticeably.

The Monk is widely considered to be the weakest of all the core classes, and this fact is agreed upon by this wiki's Rating Committee. We do not allow any level of balance lower than Monk-level on the wiki.

Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Monk level of balance include:

• Samurai^CW
• Healer^MH
• Soulknife

Some feats, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Monk level of balance include:

• Alertness
• Combat Casting
• Most of the feats in the game, unfortunately.

For a complete list of articles on this wiki that use the Monk Level of balance, click here.

Fighter Level

A step up from Monk Level is the balance level corresponding to the core Fighter. Materials in this category will remain competitive with higher categories up to level 12, though additional levels are possible with extensive optimization. After this point, the higher category content will pull away noticeably.

This balance point stretches roughly from the chain tripper Fighter to a Fighter whose primary goal in life is to wield a lance and use Spirited Charge and have very careful magic item selection (a build that is fairly competitive, if boring, against monsters at all levels of the game). The latter is an example of the level of optimization required to keep this content relevant with Rogues at high levels.

Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Fighter level of balance include:

• Barbarian
• Warlock^CA
• Warmage^CA

Some feats, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Fighter level of balance include:

• Power Attack
• Weapon Focus

For a complete list of articles on this wiki that use the Fighter Level of balance, click here.

Rogue Level

A step up from the Fighter Level is the balance level corresponding to the Rogue, and it is this level that most articles on the site strive to achieve. This level of balance can also be called Same Game Test level, as the Rogue corresponds to an almost perfect 50/50 matchup on that balance guideline. Materials in this category will remain competitive over all levels of the game, and can generally be optimized for play with higher category content.

Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Rogue level of balance include:

• Bard
• Crusader^ToB
• Duskblade^PHBII
• Psychic Warrior
• Swordsage^ToB
• Warblade^ToB

Some feats, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Rogue level of balance include:

• Combat Brute^CW
• Leap Attack^CV
• Quicken Spell
• Robilar's Gambit^PHBII
• Shock Trooper^CW
• Stand Still
• Stormguard Warrior^ToB

For a complete list of articles on this wiki that use the Rogue Level of balance, click here.

Wizard Level

The highest level of balance on the wiki is the Wizard level. This level is rarely reached outside of spellcasters and Tome melee classes. This level does not include people who play their wizards casting spells like Magic Missile and Lightning Bolt -- if your players use that, you should consider the wizard to be a Fighter Level class instead and allow or disallow material appropriately. This category assumes that players will be using tactical spells like Color Spray and Stinking Cloud and make otherwise optimal spell and tactical decisions.

Note that the Wizard level should not be considered a "badge of shame", as some have referred to it. It is a perfectly acceptable balance point to use and is used for many items on this wiki.

Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Wizard level of balance include:

• Artificer^Eberr
• Archivist^HoH
• Beguiler^PHB2
• Cleric
• Druid
• Sorcerer

Some feats, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Wizard level of balance include:

• Divine Metamagic^CD
• Dragon Wild Shape^Drac

For a complete list of articles on this wiki that use the Wizard Level of balance, click here.

4th Edition Balance Points

Righteous Brand Level

The top balance point in 4th edition is one that uses the Righteous Brand power of the Cleric (Muscle Cleric style build) as an example. Other such examples of this balance point include Orbizards and Rangers.

Unquantifiable

There are a few rare articles on the wiki whose balance is completely unquantifiable. These articles are very rare, and are generally reserved for NPC stuff that PCs won't take because it does not have an effect on any in-game statistic or provide any new options. The best example of such an article is Memories of Death, whose effect on gameplay cannot be quantified by any means because it's so entirely volatile. Some examples from the SRD include the Leadership feat, the Planar Binding line of spells, and the Gate spell.

For a complete list of articles on this wiki that are unquantifiable, click here.

Deletion Policy

If a page declares a balance point and tries to fit into that balance point (and succeeds), we generally won't delete it. If no balance point is declared, we're going to assume it's Rogue-level or Same Game Test balanced and act according to that. Unbalanced pages will be deleted to keep wiki usability high.