(Game) Breaking Abilities,

     Or; No Special Snowflakes,

    Or; Wizards (Shouldn't) Break The Game

    You can probably skip this intro if you're not new to tabletop RPGs. This review is in reference to the d20 System.
    Over on the d20 SRD, there's a Wizard character class that can cast spells out of "spell slots". The wizard has a limited number of spell slots, and each spell slot can only be used once per day, and only up to a certain "power level" of spell. The Fighter character class, OTOH, pretty much is good at hitting things, and can do that "all day" (barring long-term fatigue rules).
    All well and good. Except the wizard has breaking abilities, and the fighter doesn't.


    What's a breaking ability? It's an ability that:

    1) Allows the character to use game mechanics that other classes don't have access to; or,
    2) Allows the character to use existing game mechanics in ways that other classes cannot; or,
    3) Allows the character to use abilities that, in action, are game-breakingly more powerful than those held by other classes.

    These aren't hard-and-fast rules. An ability could mildly bend or break one of those rules without being breaking. As usual, context is key. Let's look those over one-by-one.

    Allows the character to use game mechanics that other classes don't have access to

    Spell slots seem like a good candidate here; they are a game mechanic that other classes don't have access to. And they implicitly trade lower power over the long term for greater power over the short term. However, spell slots are not, themselves, something that a character can do something with. The only thing you can do with spell slots is stick spells in them. It's the spells available that determine game-mechanical breakage. There is one area where spell slots in d20 are breaking; see the bottom of the page for info.

    And here we have a few problems, and a few non-problems that, at first, look like problems.
    The Magic Missile spell: This spell allows the wizard to automatically damage any enemy within range, provided they can get the spell off (aren't interrupted during casting; etc). This spell allows the wizard to automatically hit and damage any enemy. It sounds very breaking, and outside the context of d20 or like games, it nearly always is. Very much so.
    However, its damage is reduced by an appropriate amount, and high-level characters in d20 have a correspondingly high hit-point total. This spell essentially trades lowered, single-target damage for an automatic hit, and fails to break anything in context.
    The Wall of Iron spell: This spell allows the wizard to create a large quantity of iron out of a few shavings; said iron is (by RAW) real, genuine iron. Ignore the implication that it's supposed to be used to control the battlefield; the real power of this spell is its ability to corner the iron market and sell for large quantities of gold, even if you sell it cheaper than anyone else.
    This spell initially looks harmless. Make a wall across a tunnel, stop an Ogre from chasing you. Make a wall on the battlefield, keep the angry barbarian away from you for several more seconds. It's only when the economic and game-world impact of this spell is included that its game-breaking ability is revealed.
    Fixing this is fairly easy; changing the spell so the iron is temporary and any damage (including mining) causes it to dissipate is a common fix.

    Allows the character to use existing game mechanics in ways that other classes cannot

    Here, we'll look at the iconic fireball spell, and the less iconic fabricate.
    The Fireball spell: This spell allows the wizard to do area of effect fire damage at range. Since this is done through a spell, it qualifies as being under this category. However, "area fire damage at range" is available to, for example, a fighter with a torch who's found the bandit's hide-out, and as the damage of fireball, while high in total, is not too large per target, and the wizard has a limited number of spell slots that fireball has to compete over with other spells.
    Nearly, the only times I've heard the fireball spell described as "overpowered", is in comparison with the "lightning bolt" spell. This sort of discussion nearly always labels the lightning bolt spell as underpowered.
    The Fabricate spell: A spell that lets a wizard skip the time needed to make an item. They still must pay raw material costs, and they still must make a craft check if the item is not simple. Given the limited number of spell slots, this does not seem game-breaking.
    Until the wizard starts casting divination spells regarding this strange red ore that causes sickness... The wizard is often referred to as the party's "nuke": Quite a bit of power, but a rather short duration. An ability that lets the party's wizard have a (fictitious) nuke is definitely game-breaking for reasons I shouldn't have to explain, unless you think "Meteor Swarm" summons actual meteors, in which case I suggest you check the description of the spell and, more importantly, its damage versus a 10-ft cubed stone wall.
    This spell may allow the wizard to skip any and all danger in making a large number of dangerous items.


    Allows the character to use abilities that, in action, are game-breakingly more powerful than those held by other classes


    "In action" is key. The ability to summon an Ancient Red Dragon under your control for 10 rounds once every century is, on the face of it, not that powerful. Most of the time you'll be running around escaping people who want to kill/contain/use you. For a very short time, you can control awesome power. Mathematically, it evens out. In a story, it can work, and be a great source of dramatic tension.
    In a game, being far too powerful or easily not powerful enough are both breaking. Either the questlines and plots of the other PCs are put on hold so that your character can be kept safe (and meanwhile, your character could almost be replaced by a placard that says "MacGuffin"), or the questlines and plots of the other PCs are put on hold so that your character can rain terrible destruction. Or whatever. There's not much other than "terrible destruction" you can do with 10 rounds of Ancient Red Dragon control. Granted, you might be destroying a large cliff-face so a road can be built, but that's still destroying something.
    So, past a certain point, trading low long-term power for high short-term power breaks the game. While trading a moderate decrease in long-term power for a moderate increase in short-term power doesn't break the game, that depends strongly on what you're trading for, as demonstrated.

    And that brings us to how d20 spell slots are unbalanced. Theoretically, with the wizard, you trade low long-term power for high short-term power. However, as you gain more and more spell slots over the levels, you gain more and more long-term power - Undoing and, to a certain extent, rendering moot the trade you made when you chose to be a wizard.

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