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Campaign balance is a fine art, as it is extremely difficult to classify exactly. 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. Balance goes both ways, and it's important to realize that material that is perfectly reasonable in some games may be ridiculously overpowered or so weak as to not be worth writing down in others. A primary goal of this wiki is to help our users more easily find homebrew material that fits well within the balance their campaign already uses.
To that end, most of our pages will list a ''level'' of balance. These levels are described here. It should be said right off that no level is better or worse than any other, the only right level is the one that works for your game and your playstyle. Each level is named after the class that best exemplifies it, and contains a number of classes, prestige classes, and character options published by Wizards of the Coast to provide further examples of material at that level. The options listed here aren't intended to be used to win or lose any contests, but just to give you a good pool of work to compare our homebrew against. It should be said right off that no level is better or worse than any other, the only right level is the one that works for your game and your playstyle.
As part of that, we accept that an option is only overpowered or underpowered when compared with the other available options. There is material within published works that is going to be overpowered for some campaigns, just as there is material that is going to be weak in some campaigns. Sometimes that is even the same material viewed from two different games. These balance levels are an attempt to place homebrew works on this site in a greater context. If an article is listed at a given level, we believe it is best matched with other material in that level and thus appropriate for inclusion in a campaign that already primarily includes the options indicated at that level. It may overperform at some levels, it may underperform at others, and it may change based on campaign considerations regarding enemy and equipment distributions, but it shouldn't overshadow or be useless compared to other characters overall.
So please look over our balance levels, and see if you can pick out which one your games tend to work underuse. We hope that you find material here for that balance level that helps expand the fun of your games without making you worry about unbalancing it.{{underbar |I never had a problem before... |You may never have had a character in your game consistently overshadowing everyone else. Or a character feel completely useless because they just don't contribute like the rest of the party without that artifact sword you gave them. It's possible that you've never banned a spell because it was too strong, or boosted a feat that you thought was too weak. Perhaps you've never had a player use a strong class ability in a way that seemed like abuse, or you've never seen a group stack some abilities and rules together to "win" the game without actually playing it anymore. If that's the case, you probably don't need to worry about this and can just use whatever you like from the wiki. And you should feel very lucky. For the rest of us who have had some of these problems, these balance points should help to minimize or at least point out the potential pitfalls. Even if you've never worried about it before and don't particularly feel like worrying about it now, we hope that these levels make it easier for your to identify and resolve the actual root of any instances where you feel that a player is over or under performing.}}
==3rd and 3.5th Edition Balance Points==
===Monk Level===
{{sidebar|A man is measured by the strength of his enemies.|There are many things that could be used to measure the strength of a character. On this wiki we have elected to measure classes by their strength against their enemies and challenges, and character options and additions by what they add to a character against his enemies and challenges. This comparison is what led to our balance points, named for classes based on how they compete with the opposition in the game as they rise in levels.
It is important to note that, with respect to classes, these balance levels are not intended to represent the pinnacle of a class, nor its minimum. They are intended to represent an average member of the class, one who avoids trap options and builds a competent member of their class. You can certainly play some of these classes at a lower balance level by intentionally choosing weaker options, and you can occasionally play some of these classes at a higher level by using tricks and optimizing. Attempting to categorize every build of every character is simply impossible, and we go with a more general approach here.}}This level is named for the [[SRD:Monk|Monk]], who is widely considered to be the weakest of all the core classes. It has extensive multiple attribute dependency and needs to boost several attributes to remain competitive with other classes. It has a slower progression in areas it is supposed to remain competent in than other classes. It has class abilities that counter-synergize with its intended role in the party. It gains significant class features many levels after other classes and monsters have gained them, when the feature is less relevant. Sometimes these class features come with extensive restrictions that keep them from becoming a more useful ability. These facets are common among monk level classes. Monk level material, therefore, is material that does not synergize well with other abilities, offers abilities that are well below those seen by higher powered classes and most monsters for the level they are granted at, progresses substantially more slowly than other classes and the monsters, or offers a small or extremely circumstantial bonus. It also contains most material that is almost entirely fluff, only granting extremely minor benefits.
Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Monk level of balance include:
===Fighter Level===
This level is named for the [[SRD:Fighter|core Fighter]], who is an extremely competent combatant for the majority of the early game. It has sufficient progression in important areas to maintain its intended role, but lacks significant class features. It gains sufficient feats to keep abilities fresh and its tricks level appropriate for a time, but eventually begins to fall behind monsters who simply acquire new abilities faster than the fighter can. This level is often restricted in range as well, often being melee only or gaining no significant ranged abilities. Similar things will be seen in other fighter level classes. Fighter level material, therefore, is material that is likely competent at low and mid levels against equal CR creatures, is likely sparse in places, and obtains powers that fail to keep up with equal CR opposition or allow them to compete at higher CR encounter ranges.
Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Fighter level of balance include:
* [[SRD:Barbarian|Barbarian]]
* WarlockWarmage<ref name="complete arcane">[[Publication:Complete Arcane|Complete Arcane]]</ref>* Warmage<ref name="complete arcane" />
Some feats, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Fighter level of balance include:
===Rogue Level===
This level of balance is named for the [[SRD:Rogue|Rogue]], a class that can perform quite well with the right tricks. Like the fighter, it has sufficient progression in the areas it is intended to cover, but it also gains significant class features which allow them to compete on a roughly even footing with enemies of most CRs. Rogues also have utility abilities which allow them to adjust or influence the narrative of the game, and these abilities do not come at the cost of their combat ability. Material at the rogue level is therefore material that is competent against all CRs, grants significant and timely abilities to deal with equal CR creatures, offers significant and level-appropriate utility, or scales to match creatures in some important aspect. This is not to say that they have abilities against every potential threat, since they may still excel at certain types of encounters and do poorly at others.
Material in this category can remain competitive against appropriate CR monsters over all levels of the game, and can generally be optimized for play with unoptimized wizard level content. It should be said that rogue level material only really stays rogue level material if it is played to its strengths, however, and classes at this level that select lower powered abilities or fail to make use of their abilities can quite easily perform at a lower balance level. A single weapon rogue who relies on flanking for their sneak attack is likely playing the game at a fighter level, for example. On the other hand, a two-handed flask throwing rogue who gets sneak attack all of the time without flanking and makes substantial use of Use Magic Device while carrying a large assortment of wands is likely playing the game at a low wizard level.
Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Rogue level of balance include:
* Swordsage<ref name="tome of battle" />
* Warblade<ref name="tome of battle" />
* Warlock<ref name="complete arcane" />
Some feats, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Rogue level of balance include:
===Wizard Level===
The highest level of balance on the wiki is named for the [[SRD:Wizard|Wizard]], a class with substantial potential. The wizard continually gains abilities that allow them to deal with equal CR opposition, but they gain a wider selection of them than other classes do allowing them to deal with a larger range of challenges than some other classes. They may select which abilities they take with them on any given day, tailoring their abilities to their opposition and often winning quickly and easily as a result. They also have substantial plot affecting abilities, allowing them greater control over the story than characters at lower balance levels. Wizard level material is therefore characterized by its strength and versatility, and these combine to make material that often contributes substantially to the flow of an encounter.
Other classes and prestige classes, published by Wizards of the Coast, that can be considered around the Wizard level of balance include:
===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 (3.5e Feat)|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 [[SRD:Leadership|Leadership]] feat, the [[SRD:Planar Binding|Planar Binding]] line of spells, and the [[SRD:Gate|Gate]] spell.
As a result, we have very high power classes like the [[Bane Guard (4e Class)|Bane Guard]] along side more standard classes like the [[Songweaver (4e Class)|Song Weaver]] and [[Black Lion (4e Class)|Black Lion]] with no way to indicate which is the higher powered option at first glance. Each author tends to select a similar balance point, however, even if it is different from that of other authors. Because of that homebrew in this section by different authors with different goals may not be appropriate for different players at the same table, but homebrew by the same author as other material currently in use should be just fine. We strongly recommend that you examine each piece of 4e homebrew with an eye towards what other players in your game will be doing before allowing it into your campaign. And remember, just because it's over or underpowered for your table doesn't mean it's so for the game itself.
==References==
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