Quote Originally Posted by Willie the Duck View Post

Also note that comparisons to fiction (like Eragon, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.) are inherently problematic because those narratives are not being played by players in a game. If Chewbacca doesn't play quite as much of a role in the overall story success as Han and Luke, there's no player behind it feeling short changed. And if entire chapters of LotR happen with only Sam, Frodo, and the NPC Gollum getting to do anything, Aragorn and Legollas' players are stuck playing with their dice and waiting to get to do anything again.
You are aware that Sam and Frodo are the weakest members of the party, along with Merry and Pippin ... are you?

This sort of thing could easily happen in a well-balanced party, or in one where Aragorn and Legolas are exactly as much more powerful than Frodo and Sam, if the DM likes the plot arch Sam and Frodo are in, and enjoys playing Gollum. It has nothing to do with balance.



Whether a party needs to be balanced depends on the DM and the players. If you have players who choose to let others shine, and who don't care that much about winning fights and being great at things, but are more interested in their characters' tragic backstory and exploring that, it can work.


Of course, if you assume that players all want to be great and awesome heroes, and the DM won't be able to let the weaker characters shine, too, then it is wiser to design the system in a way where a party would either consist of Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli, or of Sam, Frodo, Merry and Pippin, but never both.