DnD5e Tweak No2: Better Fighters

Issue 2: Fighters specifically should have better accuracy, regardless of weapon choice

Problem:

All else being equal (stats, equipment, etc), a martial's accuracy with a weapon they're proficient in is exactly on part with that of a caster. This does not spark joy for the martial - ESPECIALLY a dedicated Fighter class character. A build concept that wants to be part martial and part caster (Usually called a gish, spellsword, or some other term that gets the point across - see this Screenrant article for deeper context) will usually take more levels in a caster than a martial, and/or pick a caster with a martially inclined subclass (such as Bladedancer Wizard).

As with proposal number 1: magical weapons and complex abilities should not be the blanket solution here; the former are not guaranteed to be acquired, and asking a martial to embrace complex in-combat decision making, multiclass elsewhere, or take a magical ability granting feat defeats the purpose of them being a humble sword-swinging martial in the first place.

Improving the play experience of martials is a broad thing I want to tackle of course, but to narrow scope and focus on the point implied by the title: Fighters should be king amongst martials for the bread-and-butter act of Hitting People with Weapons, and should feel this impact early on. This desire is what has the Fighting Style of Archery (a flat +2 attack roll bonus to ranged weapons) at the top of most build ranking lists, because who doesn't want more accuracy? The opportunity cost of passing that golden goose up is massive, and ranged combat already has you a safe ways away from most retaliation. This makes archer fighters a no-brainer for those who simply want the best odds to hit their target and/or be away from the danger while still contributing to combat. 

At the very least, melee combatants that are putting more on the line should be treated to a similar accuracy boost with their melee weapon attacks; perhaps even an AC boost to aid with the additional threats they're going to face in melee. Yes, they can flank to get advantage... if you can find two melee combatants that embrace being in the fray and all that implies. Depending on how high the CR of the creature is, that can be a tough sell - some "boss" creatures have specific counters to people in melee with them, to include retaliatory reactions upon receiving a melee hit.

Proposal:

Buff fighter accuracy by splitting the Fighting Style ability in two: one half for providing attack roll bonuses with specific weapon types and weapon-wielding setups (named Weapon Preference), and another half providing miscellaneous combat style benefits besides (which will keep the name of Fighting Style). This lets the class feel properly exceptional both as a martial and compared to other martials - they hit more often with their straight-up better accuracy! Weapon Preference will also help add quality of life improvements for their particular weapon setups.

Instead of a +2 off the bat, this will be a +1 upon reaching 3rd level, which rises to a +2 at 5th level, and finally a +3 at 13th level. This is mostly a barrier to keep single-level dips into the class from reaping immediate benefits with minimal investment, but also maintains a sense of progression that has players look forward to getting even better at their main thing on the horizon, alongside getting more Extra Attacks.

"Well what about level 1 and 2 fighters, with no levels in anything else?" Valid question! Please show me a table that doesn't start their games at level 3 off the bat, and I'll humor you with an answer. I jest - they'll probably be fine. While Weapon Preference will be at 3rd level, the non-accuracy-boosting Fighting Styles will still be at level 1. In essence, a fighter kinda-sorta has three subclasses in the same way Warlock kinda-sorta has two via their Pact Boon: the traditional one, their Fighting Style, and their Weapon Preference.

Fighting Style

With the addition of Weapon Preferences, some Fighting Styles have been made redundant. Below is a list of all Fighting Styles from PHB, TCE, and UA adjusted to fit this homebrew.
 

• Archery (PHB): Redundant and removed with Weapon Preferences in play.

• Blind Fighting (TCE): As published, but the blindsight range is a number of feet equal to Proficiency Bonus x 5 (So still 10 feet to start, but grows as the fighter levels)

• Close Quarters Shooter (UA): As published, but remove the bonus to attack rolls. Within the listed 30 foot range, a shooter ignores the AC bonus to shields that their target is wielding.

• Defense (PHB): Your AC is permanently increased by 1, even when unarmored. You don't suffer the penalties for wearing armor while sleeping, can don and doff it in one-sixth the usual time, and can do either as a single action in a pinch - once per long rest. Finally, you can spend a short rest scrounging for fabric scraps or something similar (such as woven plant material), and making a shoddy set of armor with no sale value. This shoddy armor is treated as either padded armor or hide armor, only works when worn by you, and decays back into valueless scrap cloth (or other material) when you take a long rest.

• Dueling (PHB): Increase the damage bonus to be equal to your Proficiency modifier. 

• Great Weapon Fighting (PHB): As published, but if the damage dice roll on a 1 or 2, the die result is automatically treated as a 3 - no reroll. This is a sidegrade meant to save time rerolling dice; a DM can allow it to work exactly as published for a given player, or allow the player to alternate between the two per attack if desired.

• Mariner (UA): Available without modification, but these benifits have been split between the Agile Brawler and Brutish Brawler Weapon Preferences. The +1 AC bonus does not stack with the scaling AC bonus an Brutish Brawler gains.

• Selfless Protector (Homebrew): A fusion of Interception (TCE) and Protection (PHB) - you can spend a reaction to do one or the other, but only one per enemy attack.
• The Interception half of this new feat remains as published, but the damage reduction is equal to double your proficiency bonus + 1d6. 
• The Protection half of this new feat is usable with either a simple or martial weapon as well as a shield, to match the requirements of Interception.
• A fighter with Extra Attack can forefit Extra Attacks on their upcoming turn to use Selfless Protector a like number of times, effectively granting them extra reactions usable only for this feature. For example, a 5th level fighter can forefit their single Extra Attack to Protect a total of two times, and an 11th level fighter can forefit both Extra Attacks to Protect a total of three times - and so on. 

• Superior Technique (TCE): As published, but increase the number of superiority die to Proficiency Bonus - 1 to allow a bit of scaling. 

• Thrown Weapon Fighting (TCE): Redundant and removed, see Thrower weapon preference

• Tunnel Fighter (UA): As published.

• Two-Weapon Fighting (PHB): As published, plus the latter two benefits in the Dual Wielder feat: ability to use two-weapon fighting with non-light weapons, and the ability to draw/stow both weapons at once. The AC bonus from this feat has been moved to the Twin Weapon Wielder Weapon Preference (and buffed); the original Dual Wielder feat still exists to be taken normally, but it's now mostly redundant for Fighters. An offensively minded fighter with the Shield-Bearer Weapon Preference may also find this Fighting Style useful.

• Unarmed Fighting (TCE): Redundant and removed; see the Agile Brawler and Brutish Brawler Weapon Preferences.

• Weapon Wounder (Homebrew): Your focus is damage, first and foremost. Pick a Weapon Preference category, even if you're not level 3 yet. You gain a bonus to damage rolls equal to your proficiency bonus with melee attacks that would gain a bonus to attack rolls from that class feature. When you reach level 3, your Weapon Preference must match the category you chose for Weapon Wounder - although you can change the category of one or both to achieve this.

Weapon Preference

Beginning at 3rd level, you have grown to have a preference for a particular groups of armaments. Choose one of the following weapon categories; in addition to the listed benefits, you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls you make with those weapons, which increases to +2 at level 5 and +3 at level 13. You can't take a Weapon Preference option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

• Archer: Ranged weapons that use ammunition. You can use a held ranged weapon (such as a shortbow or crossbow) as an improvised melee weapon that deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage and has the finesse property. As normal, you can also use held ammunition as an improvised weapon. In either situation, you don't get the bonus to attack rolls during this melee use. If you wield a crossbow or firearm, any blacksmith or other crafter can turn this to piercing damage via a bayonet, a simple modification that costs 3gp (or 1gp plus a dagger already paid for or otherwise available). You are additionally adept at recovering and making ammunition in the field: If you end a long rest with 10 or less of a given ammunition type, you gain an additional 20 of that same ammo type - which has no value when sold on account of its shoddy nature, but works just fine when used by you. If your DM has granted access to firearms, this includes both bullets and the gunpowder necessary to make them useful. This Weapon Preference renders the Archer Fighting Style redundant.

• Agile Brawler: Your fists, kicks, and other body parts - which deal more damage as well as boosting your defense. Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength mod (minimum 1), and you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack rolls. Additionally, as long as you are not wearing medium or heavy armor, using a shield, or wielding a weapon (unless it has the light property), you have a swimming speed and a climbing speed equal to your normal speed - 10ft (or increases those speeds by 10ft, if you already have a swim or climb speed from another source). This renders the Mariner Fighting Style partially redundant.

• Brutish Brawler: Your fists, kicks, and other body parts - which deal more damage as well as boosting your grappling effectiveness. Gain benefits exactly as Unarmed Fighting, but buff the start-of-turn damage for a grappled victim to deal bludgeoning 1d4 + Strength mod (minimum 1). Additionally, as long as you are not wearing heavy armor or wielding a weapon, add Weapon Preference's bonus to your attack rolls to your AC as well. This renders the Unarmed Fighting Fighting Style redundant.
• DM Note: Got Monks or Barbarians worried about their niche being trampled on with unarmored defense? For such classes: instead of the non-Dex stat that class feature says to add to their AC, offer to instead add their proficiency bonus to AC when the same conditions are met. A player can alternate between one or the other each level-up, but it is otherwise locked in.

• One-Handed Weapons: Any melee weapon wielded in one hand. A one-handed weapon with the versatile trait that is wielded in two hands to benefit from its increase in die size is also valid.

• Shield-bearer: A shield, which counts as a martial weapon that deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage for you alone, allowing you to use it as a weapon either in its own right, in tandem with a true weapon via dual-weapon fighting, or as a pair of shields; as normal, you can only reap an AC bonus from your shields once. When you wield any shield, add Weapon Preference's bonus to your attack rolls to your AC as well.
• GM Note: The addition of a buckler as a lighter shield granting less defense is also a possibility: These cost 5gp, weigh 3lb, only boost AC by +1, and require shield proficiency to avoid disadvantage on various rolls as normal for shields. If such an alternate shield is permitted, a Shield-bearer Fighter would treat it as a martial weapon that deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage and has the light and finesse properties.

• Thrower: Thrown melee weapons; you gain the attack roll bonus for both the melee and ranged uses. You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon.

• Twin Weapon Wielder: When wielding a melee weapon in both hands, this benefit apples to both weapons; while armed this way, add Weapon Preference's bonus to your attack rolls to your AC as well.

• Two-Handed Weapons: Any melee weapon wielded with two hands. This includes all weapons with the two-handed trait, and one-handed weapons with the versatile trait being wielded in two hands to benefit from; wielding it with one hand disqualifies you from gaining the accuracy bonus.

Justification:

Yeah, I took the Fighting Style feature and expanded it a ton. Yes, building a fighter sheet is more complex with this homebrew active. But these are all set-and-forget modifications! The goal of "now EVERY type of Fighter gets an accuracy boost, not just Archers" has been achieved, at the cost of a small amount of work during the character creation phase only. What I sought to avoid was adding in-combat complexity by adding abilities a fighter would need to choose on their turn, with each attack.

Those decisions are still as opt-in as they were before: Superior Technique is still a "Battlemaster Lite" Fighting Style option, Tunnel Fighter will have to consider when to and when not to enter their stance, and someone who takes Selfless Protector will have their own decision making tree to go through every time a nearby ally is threatened by an attack. All other Fighting Style options are mostly or totally passive, and the "just do more damage" options have been consolidated to the Dueling and Weapon Wounder Fighting Styles.

Flaws:

While I'm kinda proud of myself for splitting Unarmed Fighting into Agile Brawler and Brutish Brawler, the persisting trouble of Strength vs Dexterity remains unaddressed at its core. In addition, I'm sure that the Weapon Wounder Fighting Style's existence (and everything removed from other Styles as a result) is a can of worms I can't fully foresee the consequences of yet, especially when compounded with my prior tweak recommendation.

Dnd 5e tweak no1: Martial-Caster damage gap

When I fell out of love with DND5E during the pressure cooker of the pandemic shutdowns, I got frustrated with not just the system, but the whole of its player base. Eventually, I realized the simplicity I disliked was just my pessimistic view of straightforward gameplay convenience. Now, I'm returning to it with an optimistic attitude, and ironing out some of the system's major kinks at my own table.

I'm starting with the most talked-to-death and disruptive problems 5e has been wrestling with, and working my way down from there. I'd like to share this journey with others, especially aspiring GMs who might be new to the hobby as a whole; if experienced readers find I'm repeating stuff "everyone already knows", I refer you to XKCD comic number 2501. 

All these tweaks will be put in the three step format of: 

- Spelling out the problem
- My proposal to counter it
- Summing up the "why" behind my specific approach to the problem

I yap first, then playtest them later. Most of my proposals are probably overcorrections, but I can read your comments to find out how they worked when you tried them either as-is, or as tuned down versions of the suggestion.

Issue 1: Damage gap between Martials and Casters

Problem:

Community consensus is that by base, martials are usually less fun to play when alongside casters. Multiple other blogs, articles, and YouTube videos go into depth behind why, but I'm focusing on one primary reason among many: the martial/caster damage gap. Martials dedicated to using weapon attacks (or unarmed attacks, a natural weapon, etc) should be made more potent in terms of damage to keep up with a caster's options. Even taking leveled spells out of the equation, cantrip damage scales automatically as a caster levels; this kicks in at 5th level, and the Extra Attack feature most martials get around the same time doesn't close the gap very effectively. Adding more attacks per turn just means that each extra dice of damage is gated behind another attack roll, which may or may not hit - each individual attack has the same amount of punch behind it.

The detriments of being single-target attackers and dealing often resisted physical damage types are massive sore spots that compound this issue, and most martials lack appropriate counter-balance that makes them feel good, especially when doing their thing when alongside a caster doing better damage. Even if they get buffed to do exactly equal damage on average by the numbers... it's still up against creatures who have physical resistance, which grows to an almost-every-combat reality the higher in enemy CR you go.

Attack range is another issue: with damage between melee and ranged martials being equitable, why risk their neck to charge into melee? Is it worth it when you're a Dexterity build and have access to both?  Why not pick a race that has flight at level 1, grab a bow, and plink away from relative safety? The easiest way to not get hit is to be out of reach, AC and saving throws be damned.

Some (sub)class features address this nicely, but too many of the effective ones simply add casting capabilities onto martials for my tastes. As a result of this stance, I don't think introducing complexity a la Battlemaster techniques across the board for all is the right answer for this particular question of closing the damage gap; the damage is added via a finite resource (when applicable, usually it's that OR a non-damaging buff or debuff going on), and this complexity should be opt-in by way of specific class/subclass choice.

If you would like to see a video going over this issue at length (and an alternate solution I discovered was VERY similar to my own upon watching it myself), check out the Youtuber Bone Wizard and his video on the topic here:

Proposal: 

Buff martial damage directly and innately. The above mentioned video by Bone
Wizard suggests an adjustment on how magic weapons work, but my own proposal detailed below lets martials be powerful without relying on the GM actively doing more work with item distribution. Alongside all the other work of a campaign, I know I've forgotten to sprinkle in magic items on someone's wish list, be it in loot piles or as an item available for purchase in a shop.

Seasoned Weapon Striker (SWS) is a homebrew class feature for martials (defined any class that grants no spell slots by base, even if their subclass can grant them slots) which improves their damage output automatically as they level. This works by simply increasing the number of damage die on any weapons when they wield them. The math works similar to how cantrips do the same, but at an accelerated rate. 

A lesser version of this feature, with slower progression than SWS but at the same pace as cantrips, is called Intermediate Weapon Striker (IWS). It's given to half-casters, who are still expected to use weapons more often than full-casters given their smaller pool of available spell slots; a Warlock's Pact Magic is treated as them being a half-caster.

Full casters who wish to partake in this ability should multi-class, if their table allows. A DM tempted to give them to certain weapon using full-caster subclasses (Bard's College of Swords or Bladesinger Wizards, for example), but I would recommend against this. These casters often have access to cantrips like Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade already, and Bladesinger specifically has a version of Extra Attack that lets them swap a normal attack for a cantrip. If the DM is firm on it though, they should only grant these classes IWS.

Critically: This ability should not be "counterbalanced" by nerfing or removing Extra Attack from classes that have it in their chassis. If the decreased longevity of enemies on the field is an issue, GMs should consider the following:

• Increase enemy health across the board. First, try maximizing their hit points. For example, if their health entry says "Hit Points 7 (2d4 + 2)", instead of accepting the average d4 dice roll of 2.5 (which makes that formula result 7 HP), maximize the die result to the highest possible roll of 4 to equal 10. If that's still not enough, take that maximized result and multiply it by a factor of 1.5 (15 HP for our example) or a factor of 2 (20 HP), etc. Don't be afraid to walk back an adjustment step if you think you've overshot it.

• Add more small fry to your battlefield. Your now way more powerful martials will enjoy mowing them down en masse with their newfound potency, and can share the load alongside the casters hurling their precious and finite AoEs.

• Add waves of reinforcements! This is an extension of the above recommendation, but the additional small fry are spaced out between rounds, instead of rolling for initiative all at once at the start. It's slightly distinct in that it makes the players feel like the brand of badasses that need reinforcements deployed against them. Wow, they've got more butt to kick! They'll probably having fun cockily sweeping the floor with the mooks late to the party, as heroes should every now and again.

Alright, here are the features in detail to add to character sheets:

Seasoned Weapon Striker

Applicable base classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Rogue

Your class's primary method of attack is by way of weapon (or unarmed) strikes. Unlike others who use clubs and crossbows as backup plans, your armaments are your bread and butter - you are simply trained to use them better.

At 3rd level, you multiply the amount of damage dice rolled when attacking with a weapon you're proficient in by 2. For example, a dagger would deal 2d4 damage, and a greatsword would deal 4d6 damage.

If you have an ability that improves your weapon die or Unarmed Strike beyond its baseline (such as Monk's Martial Arts or the Unarmed Fighting feat), this ability compounds and benefits it as well. A natural weapon, permanent or temporary (such as one granted by the Barbarian subclass Path of Beast), also benifits - unless it has its own method of increasing the number of damage die as you gain levels.

You multiply your weapons' damage die again: x3 8th, x4 at 13th, and x5 at 18th level.

Intermediate Weapon Striker

Applicable base classes: Artificer, Paladin, Ranger (but see note), Warlock

As Seasoned Weapon Striker, but for half-casters. Make the following adjustments:

• The first paragraph of flavor text changes to: "Your class balances exotic abilities like magical spellcasting with weapon (or unarmed) strikes. Unlike others, who commit to one or the other, your approach to combat leans on both. While not as proficient as a martial specialist, you know how to use the tools for that half of the trade with solid efficiency."

• The damage die multiplication kicks in later and has slower progression: x2 5th level, then x3 at 11th and x4 at 17th. 

Note 1: A generous GM should probably throw their table's ranger a bone and grant them SWS instead of IWS. Base version or Tasha's, lord knows they probably need it. 

Note 2: Circle of the Moon druids should get something parallel to Intermediate Weapon Striker, but exclusively during their wildshaping and for their wildshape's natural weapons. I'll probably circle around to that later in its own post about the handful of full casters that can get something like IWS under certain conditions - to include Bladesinger wizard during their Bladesong, College of Swords bard when using Slashing Flourish, and Pact of the Blade warlocks who pick up the Improved/Superior/Ultimate Pact Weapon invocations.

Justification: 

Most (if not all) damage dealing cantrips scale their damage with the same formula as SWS (+dmg die at 5th, 11th, and 17th), with the ADDITIONAL bonus of dealing non-physical damage. The shift in damage type is important, because while physical damage types are often resisted against, spells deal damage types that are resisted less often (force, radiant, necrotic, etc). And when a resistance or immunity does kick in... they have more than one attack cantrip on deck, usually. Unless they're a Warlock, then Eldritch Blast is the only thing they really need.

The above proposal amps up the damage scaling for full martials to keep them ahead of the average cantrip-flinging caster, and half-casters on par with that same cantrip scaling when using their weapons or other physical attacks. I've done it this way because of the damage type situation in the previous paragraph. So while yes, they will be WILDLY more effective against creatures that lack resistances, that is the price to pay for them being able to be somewhat effective against more durable creatures that do have those resistances. Thus, my recommendation to up their health and numbers before trying more intense tweaks.

Cantrips also tend to have a debuff (ex: Chill Touch pauses healing, and for undead, additionally forces disadvantage for attacks). While the base chassis of most martials lack anything comparable to pair with the actual damaging parts of their attacks, specific subclasses almost always sort this out.

As a cherry on top, this homebrew is applicable to many homebrew/3rd party classes out the box. The GM evaluates whether the class should get SWS, IWS, or neither - depending on the class being a full martial, half caster, or full caster, then implements them accordingly. Use best judgement when a class has exotic abilities that aren't traditional casting.

Flaws:

A secret fourth category! Woah there!

Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. I'm not immune to being wrong, and I'll readily admit that while this helps buoy all weapon-swinging classes, it maintains the unfortunate imbalances amongst them. Specific class and subclass comparisons aside, Dexterity versus Strength builds are one of the things in this solution's blind spot I admit is still gonna exist. These will be their own blogposts down the line.

So, there we go. Please comment any feedback you have, and thank you for reading!

My TTRPG Credentials

If I'm gonna talk about tabletop games on this blog (mostly suggestions born of dissatisfaction with the usual approach and most popular homebrew advice), I may as well talk about my history with them. Hopefully this'll help readers get where I'm coming from, even if they disagree with the conclusions I draw from my observations. I'm a voice at an online table of discussion, suggesting how others dissatisfied with their own table experiences might work towards improving them. If my solutions don't work for your table experience, I understand; every group's specific circumstances are different. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you find the right tools to sort your situation out with.

At time of writing, I'm 26 years old, going on 27. I know I'm young in the grand scheme of things, and as a result of that and other factors, most of my game table experience (past and present) is via online virtual tabletops (VTTs) like Owlbear Rodeo and Foundry. My very first game, in DnD 3.5e, was in my early teens and on a physical table. I was at a summer camp, and some of my older peers had invited me in to play. I rolled up a simple monk concept that they helped me pen the sheet for, and we messed around for a single session of play fighting some monsters. I don't remember other specific details, but I do remember having a good time.

Only when COVID hit in 2020 did I return to the hobby. I was a 21 year old then, neither able to responsibly drink and mingle at bars, nor continue my in-person college education. A lot of people in my age range, to include younger high school students at the time, retreated online with similar frustrations in their heads. I got frustrated easily, and expressed it in ways I wasn't proud of. It got difficult to avoid the temptation to "feed the troll", especially when going outside for fresh air and in-person socialization wasn't really possible as it was before the pandemic. A consistent play group of mutually familiar people was hard to come by, and most of my gaming experience was from LFG forum posts and westmarches/living world giga-groups in Discord servers.

A positive side-effect of this frustration: it encouraged me to shop around to different systems. Like most Dungeons and Dragons players, I shifted my play from 3.5e to 5e when I returned to the hobby after the latter's release. But 5e's many issues drove many (myself included) to leave, as did certain aspects of the online community. Next stop was Pathfinder 2nd edition (PF2e), which surged in popularity after the OGL crisis Wizards of the Coast fumbled. I found a living world server in PF2e that let me play around with the system at large, experimenting with character builds galore and experiencing a lot of types of GM and fellow players. I even became a GM there, and refined multiple aspects of my GMing approach.

I learned a lot there, before the server unfortunately collapsed into an inactive husk. So it goes.

A small splinter group of players introduced me to Pathfinder's 1st edition, as well as the latest edition of a game system called GURPS - Generic Universal Roleplaying System, 4th edition. Both were far more complex than anything else I had played, and while said group helped me learn the ropes, I found both too complex to call them my system of choice. GURPS 4e at least had an inbuilt modular feel to it, full of first-party optional rules to both increase and reduce complexity on several fronts. There's even the (free!) GURPS 4e Lite available to give it a shot, and the built-for-DnD-feel Dungeon Fantasy RPG that ran on GURPS's game engine. I would recommend starting with GURPS Lite to feel it out, then Dungeon Fantasy RPG, then GURPS proper for anyone curious.

Honorable mention to Kids on Bikes, the parent system for Kids on Brooms - I played a brief campaign in that second system. Fun rules-lite system that's very story focused, and has a neat, communal worldbuilding approach at the start of play.

At the moment, I'm in a lot better place in my personal and work life, and can engage in the hobby in a manner more healthy than I did a few years ago. Pathfinder 2e is still my system of choice, but I'm curiously poking DnD5e again after all this time.

My goal with this blog is to propose tools that'd help a table in a tough spot - from system-neutral advice on roleplay pillars and setting construction, to trying my hand at tackling large issues with specific systems. At the end of the day, people want to have fun with the whole thing. A game system should enable fun with its ruleset, to include balancing balance tension and risk-reward in subsystems.

To quote former Nintendo president Reginald "Reggie" Fils-Aimé: "If it's not fun, why bother?"