So... class balancing? Love for unused classes?

[Ankhani]

Proper balancing is, not surprisingly, a endless balancing act, not a single optimal layout. One that takes constant observation, testing, and correction. In an RP environment, I believe that the numbers on your character sheet are less important than the stories you are able to tell and contribute to. We needn't worry too much about perfecting our mechanics, as combat (or other conflict resolution) is not, in my mind, the main engagement the server seeks to deliver on: Engaging Narrative is. That being said, divorcing mechanics from narrative is rarely a good idea; conflict is the fundamental force that drives narrative. There is much benefit in enabling your mechanics to deliver and add to narrative in and of themselves. Most notable among them, providing incentive for players who have never considered designing a "better" build to think deeper about how the mechanics operate; and giving a powerbuilding build master a reason to stop and think about what these numbers actually *say* about his character, and how it could present a story to be told.

When it comes to how to actually balance a game, I generally support the idea of buffing underused and substandard classes to make them more attractive. This gives the players the feeling of adding new options, rather than taking them away. I do not, however, support the idea of "always buff, never nerf"; this leads inevitably to unsustainable power creep. In the process of adjusting the lower end classes, you may inadvertently create a new powerhouse, which would then necessitate buffing other classes, resulting in more unforeseen powerful combinations.

Instead (and this is where player metric reports that newer games support are invaluable), look at what classes and combinations are being used, what classes and combinations are being avoided, and try and find out what makes one better or worse. Many games, especially competitive PvP (which, I would stress, is NOT this server's intent), can benefit from "Perfect Imbalance" or a sort of elemental rochambeau, where every combination has its own strengths and weaknesses.

In the end, I believe classes should be designed to deliver on concept first (e.g. Archer, Blademaster, Man-at-arms, Gleeman, Battle-Channeler, Healer, etc.), and then adjusted to provide two (or more) ways to accomplish said concept. I say "two or more" to avoid the stagnation that comes with a "perfectly balanced" system; there is one and only one way to best deliver on the specific concept and everyone knows and uses it.

Additional information for game balancing, by the fantastic group "Extra Credits"
Power Creep:
Perfect Imbalance:

[Ankhani]

As an addendum, and this is veering slightly from the intended topic, but still relevant and more specific to a DM-PC RP experience: The DM can (and should) craft challenges suitable to the skills of the player.

In this way, they can make *any* character seem useful, without having to make any mechanics changes whatsoever. While it is important to avoid the "This Looks Like A Job For Aquaman!" trope - where a narrative deliberately and unnecessarily includes a challenge designed solely to pander to a specific character's ability - it is also important to be able to give everyone participating a chance to shine, and not allow any one character to master every skill and know every answer.