Quote Originally Posted by nedz View Post
Yes, but a high level Fighter would take down a Wizard should they close to combat.
That's not really balance though.

First, the ability of Fighters to kill Wizards is just one data point in terms of Fighter/Wizard balance. Because Fighters don't fight Wizards, they fight monsters. And yes, some of those monsters are Wizards. But the vast majority aren't.

Second, "should they close to combat" is glossing over huge swaths of what high level Wizards could achieve even then in terms of summons and defensive preparations.

Third, as levels go up combat is an increasingly small part of what you actually do. A 1st level party might be called upon to go to the town graveyard and kill some zombies, a task which is wholly dependent on personal combat ability. A 10th level party might be called upon to conquer and administer an enemy nation, a task for which simply "being good at fighting" is woefully inadequate.

That's a good jumping off point to a much deeper issue, actually. As long as the Fighter is defined by "fighting" he is going to be ineffective in the face of higher level challenges which can be bypassed, negotiated with, bribed, investigated, tricked, built, or any verb other than "fought".