[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by Gnome

This is the starting cost for templates in DF, Action, low-end Supers, and probably a few other sourcebooks I can't think of right now. It's not like I just pulled 250 out of a hat

I didn't think you did. I'm pointing out that that 250 points is over the top in the same way that Broadsword-40 is over the top.

--most people playing rpgs are used to playing heroes, and 4e responded by giving us lots of heroic templates, which I appreciate!

Not everyone plays at 250 points or thereabouts. I don't even know that "most people" do so. Certainly, since the publication of Dungeon Fantasy there has been more incentive to do so.

But none of those templates jack up weapon skills that high. Which makes it relatively easy to make a 250 character that bests a DF Swashbuckler or Knight in a toe-to-toe fight pretty much every time, even though those templates are purportedly designed to help you make optimized melee fighters.

They are designed to make you optimized melee fighters that can do melee fighting things beyond just swinging a sword. The knight gives you lots of Strategy, Tactics, Enhanced Block or Parry, Hard to Kill or Subdue, Luck, healing, Shield, Brawling, and multiple melee weapons. Mr. Broadsword may have some of that, but not as much as the knight, and in any given situation that isn't about swinging a broadsword, the knight will be on top. Broadsword got yanked out of your grip by a spell? Oops! The knight can pull out another weapon, but Mr. Broadsword is in trouble. Got hit for a lot of damage by something you couldn't Parry? Ouch! The knight has a very good chance of remaining upright, conscious, and alive, but Mr. Broadsword has probably been knocked out and may be dead already.

Make no mistake: if you sink all those points into Broadsword skill, you will be sacrificing important abilities elsewhere. You will be extremely specialized, which will work well until you find yourself in a situation you aren't specialized for.

On the other hand, if all the GM ever does is throw monsters at you that you can just hack down, then sure, having Broadsword-40 is a no-brainer.

I've tried this. If you limit skill to 20, everyone buys skill 20. Limit it to 25, everyone buys 25. Which just goes to show primary skills are underpriced, and of course leads to less diversity among PCs.

Or maybe you're giving too many starting character points. If everyone can afford as much skill as you let them have, reduce their character points until they find themselves having to make decisions.