New "Red Box" Starter Set hands-on preview

YRUSirius · Aug 8, 2010

thalmin said:
Only the Wizard and Cleric have Daily Powers.

Rogue Powers:

Bump and Run; At-Will 1, melee, regular attack and damage plus move target 1 square; move up to half speed.

Deft Strike; At-Will 1, melee, move up to 2 squares before your attack, regular attack and damge

Defensive Strike; At-Will 1, melee, normal attack and damage, +1 to all defenses

Acrobatic Maneuver; Utility At-Will Move Action, move 1+STR mod, gain +4 to all defenses on this move, can move through enemy-occupied spaces.

Backstab; Utility Encounter, Free action, +3 bonus to attack, used only on combat advantage

Sudden Leap; Utility 2, Minor Encounter, Leap through the air, landing up to 1/2 movement away. Athletics trained req.

Tumble; Utility 2, Move Encounter, Shift half speed. Acrobatics trained req.

So no Rogue Tricks for the starter set rogue. Furthermore he looks like an amalgam of PHB at-will attacks and Essential-like utility powers?

-YRUSirius

bagger245 · Aug 8, 2010

Whats the ability bonus for the non human races?

thalmin · Aug 8, 2010

bagger245 said:
Whats the ability bonus for the non human races?

Following has been added to first post:

This took a bit of digging.

Dwarf: CON and (STR or WIS)
Elf: DEX and (INT or WIS)
Halfling: DEX and (CHA or CON)
Human: one choice

thalmin · Aug 8, 2010

fjw70 said:
When I saw MM targeting one or two creatures on the Gen Con pregens I thought it was a misprint or an early version of the update. But if the Red Box has it that way then I am not so sure.

Later today at Gen Con I will try to get clarification around the issue.

MM targets 1 or 2 creatures, does 2+INT damage, ranged 20, auto-hit.

nnms · Aug 8, 2010

I WAS WRONG

I went back to the game store and took a look through the player booklet again.

There are:

at-wills you choose, for example, the wizard chooses between Stone Blood and Freezing Burst
You don't choose your primary attack stat or your Con, but you do get to assign a 14, 13, 11, 10
There's a skill section where you pick your skills
Feats - a small list of them. Things like toughness, defensive mobility and the like.
Races that you pick your +2

Dwarf +2 Con and either +2 Str or +2 Wis
Halfling +2 Dex and either +2 Cha or +2 Con
Elf +2 Dex +2 Int, no choice.
Human +2 to one of your choice, Heroic Versatility (the +3 encounter power), extra feat, extra skill, no third at-will

Sorry about any posts I made earlier where I thought the red box basically produced 16 different pregens (4 classes, 4 races). It doesn't. as you can see, it's far more complete.

TirionAnthion · Aug 8, 2010

Preview Question

I have a quick question for Thalmin and other store owners that acquired a preview copy.

How did you acquire your preview copy? Was it sent to your store as a demo or is it a review copy? I ask because I work at a store that is a WotC premiere store and we did not hear about a preview copy.

Was this offered to you or did you need to ask about it? My store manager deals with the WotC rep and while he was not offered a preview copy, he also did not ask for one. Our rep is currently out of the office so I can't get a good answer. I'm just curious. My store features 4e products prominently and I would love to be able to demo this product for customers.

I know that select stores get promotional items from WotC that other stores are not offered, but we are a premiere store. We got a huge cardboard display and cool promotional items, but no demo copy.

Any insight you could provide would be great.

thalmin · Aug 9, 2010

TirionAnthion said:
I have a quick question for Thalmin and other store owners that acquired a preview copy.

How did you acquire your preview copy? Was it sent to your store as a demo or is it a review copy? I ask because I work at a store that is a WotC premiere store and we did not hear about a preview copy.

Was this offered to you or did you need to ask about it? My store manager deals with the WotC rep and while he was not offered a preview copy, he also did not ask for one. Our rep is currently out of the office so I can't get a good answer. I'm just curious. My store features 4e products prominently and I would love to be able to demo this product for customers.

I know that select stores get promotional items from WotC that other stores are not offered, but we are a premiere store. We got a huge cardboard display and cool promotional items, but no demo copy.

Any insight you could provide would be great.

It was sent as a preview copy. WotC picked us, I don't know on what basis. We received a call several days earlier, telling me we were selected. With the game was a cover letter

Dear Retailer,

You have been selected to participate in an exciting preview of the new Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game, scheduled for release on September 7, 2010. We would like you to show and run demos with this copy to the customers, players and fans in your store and online. Please share your opinions about this set with them and use it to help drive preorders in your own store.
(skip)
Open the box, take it for a spin, and tell us what you think ... Please remember this copy is for your store's use only and is not for resale, gift or as a prize...
(emphasis mine)

We are a Premiere Store, run all the Game Days and Encounters, and carry a very full line of D&D and other rpgs. We also attend the Gama Trade Show.

Argyle King · Aug 9, 2010

What is the price?

I still think humans should get something to bump them up since every other race got a second choice.

YRUSirius · Aug 9, 2010

Humans still get the most flexible choice of them all; a +2 to any attribute.

-YRUSirius

WhatGravitas · Aug 9, 2010

YRUSirius said:
Humans still get the most flexible choice of them all; a +2 to any attribute.

-YRUSirius

In addition to that, the new encounter ability (seemingly an alternative to the 3rd at-will) isn't too shabby! +4 on a missed attack/saving throw? That's one of the better racial powers. Since many classes only have 2-3 really good at-wills and don't really need to have three, it seems to be a slight upgrade.

Cheers, LT.