D&D beyond drops, pact seeker

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

Quote from MaedraDawnkeeper >>

The fire & poison resistances are powerful, but, again, not everything has to be "balanced" to the least combat-centric option:Crafter in particular gets a bad rap because, from my experience, crafting is usually handwaved, made into an RP-only moment, or left to artificers, rather than played RAW.

"Not everything has to be 'balanced'" shows disregard for fellow players.

As for Crafter, as a crafter spanning many editions, Crafter is a terrible feat; it doesn't help with crafting. It helps you jury-rig junk that falls apart and haggle for a discount on items. Whether you handwave crafting or not, Crafter doesn't help. The rap is deserved. Three artisan's tool proficiencies are not sufficient to be considered helping you craft.

But regardless, even the best of the Origin Feats would not be a great comparison as these are not Origin Feats, but normal feats that can be gained through a Background. For 5.24e, we only have the Dragonmark feat chain which is often described as powerful but offset by being tied to a specific setting. I would argue that these are significantly stronger than the Dragonmarks with no such "balancer". Between Devil's Flesh and Infernal Pact, a Warlock can skip Devil's Sight and Armor of Shadows, taking different Invocations without really sacrificing anything, instead also picking up two of the best damage resistances and a skill proficiency.

Quote from MaedraDawnkeeper >>

Also:Talk of "balance" reminds me of the worst of post-Street Fighter II "tier" arguments spilling into every form of media's culture.

"Balance" keeps the game fun by reducing the chance that you will come to the table feeling like you made the wrong choices when creating or advancing your character. It helps reduce the chances, as a DM, that an encounter is harder or easier than expected. Though, I rarely worry about easier encounters as long as it carries enough tension.

D&D is a game that defaults to combat resolutions. Published adventures tend to have less support for social resolutions. If attempting social resolutions fail, often combat is a backup option or sometimes a consequence. Infernal Pact makes you better in combat and in (specific) social situations.

Yes, as a DM, I can counter it, but to evaluate the experience across tables, published adventures and adventurer's league are the best measure. Everything cannot be perfectly balanced, but that is a far cry from ignoring it.

 The idea of balance requires something to be balanced to.

But here's my question:

What does the above-table, out-of-universe meta concept of "balance" have anything to do with settings like the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Greyhawk, Krynn, Ravenloft, or other settings a character lives in? Do people pick what type of Cleric they are based on what will increase their XP? Do sorcerers get to pick their innate power based on what will get them to their next milestone?

This is why I explicitly ban metagamey reasons for making nonsensical characters in a realm I run, & emphasize backstories that make sense.

Or else you end up with Mizzmages.

Quote from MaedraDawnkeeper >>

The idea of balance requires something to be balanced to.

But here's my question:

What does the above-table, out-of-universe meta concept of "balance" have anything to do with settings like the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Greyhawk, Krynn, Ravenloft, or other settings a character lives in? Do people pick what type of Cleric they are based on what will increase their XP? Do sorcerers get to pick their innate power based on what will get them to their next milestone?

This is a false premise. The fluff underlying the mechanics has no bearing on the efficacy of the mechanics and those mechanics must stand on their own, whether they are used within an official setting or a homebrew. The true tests of balance are: Is this option objectively better than others of its kind? Infernal Pact and Devil's Flesh are definitely better than their peers.

I just finished Season 1 of Rising of the Shield Hero. It's an Isekai setting where the world inhabitants are aware of mechanics of the world and make upgrade choices based on those mechanics and their own synergies. Does that change the standard of balance? No, because the mechanics should be relatively balanced in their own right. Even within the core cosmology, the notion of option being restricted by setting is rather silly since Sigil links them all and thus crossover is not only reasonable, but already canon (at least in terms of other settings entering a Planescape setting).

Even in modern life, there are parallels. Are you likely to pursue a bachelor's degree in math if you've historically struggled with math? When you are selecting your major and minor as well as the classes that make up the degree, you will choose based on your own strengths and their internal synergy. When looking for a career, you will do something similar. The mechanics of you and your life are not laid out in a rulebook and on a character sheet (wouldn't that be nice?), but people will generally make decisions based on what they can infer about the mechanics of the game of life.

So, yeah, in the US, with poor pay and conditions, few people pursue teaching and instead take up another profession. Even those that do get certified for it will sometimes take a second job or just work in a different field altogether. In the mechanics of the real world, it is a weak path. It is a necessary and undervalued path, but it doesn't give you solid pay, social standing, or anything like that. Their lives will be hard without a partner providing a substantial second income. Even if the residents of Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Sigil, the Rock of Bral, Hombrewopolis 1942, or countless other settings are not directly aware of the mechanics of the game, they will be aware to degree and capable of making "metagamey" decisions, just like you probably have done with your career/life and I have.

However, just like D&D is not a physics simulator, it's not a socioeconomic simulator. It's not a game where we are playing out the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. We are not creating a historical simulation of the feudal era where the third child is given to the church regardless of their own inclinations. The worlds of D&D are very different, from both real world history and each other. The mechanics must stand on their own and be evaluated for balance independent of setting. The mechanics must strive to minimize "trap options" as well as options that are overwhelmingly good. D&D's base goal is to create a cooperative story where everyone shines equally. The game should not become "The Pact Seeker and their companions" or "The Pact Seeker Pack".

Quote from MaedraDawnkeeper >>

Or else you end up with Mizzmages.

You'll have Mizzmages regardless. They'll just have resistance to Fire and Poison, see in magical darkness, and have proficiency in Deception.