New "Red Box" Starter Set hands-on preview

[CasvalRemDeikun]

I am sure, just double-checked. Why the confusion?

There have been posts on other major D&D(RPG.net, WotC) that have stated the Elf is only Dex and Int, no choice. It is good to know that is not the case. That is the only discrepancy I have noted.

BTW, do any of the races have any new abilities besides the human?

 

[Klaus]

Yeah, I've been thinking about this. So far, I haven't shared the concerns of the people shouting about how Essentials characters with "classic" feats are going to be broken. But the dwarf may change that. A lot of the dwarven fighter feats made them fighters on par with the +Str races; now added on top of a +2 Str, dwarves may become the no-brainer choice for Strength-based melee characters.

But I trust the designers to take something like that into account. I'm interested in seeing the specifics of what they've done.

Unless you want Str/Dex, in which case you go half-orc.

I wonder what the Goliath (Str/Con) would get to make them on-par with dwarves now.

 

[thalmin]

BTW, do any of the races have any new abilities besides the human?

I found none.

 

[drothgery]

See, I wouldn't go that far at all. It's still a perfectly good feat. It's not as good, but honestly, even before Essentials, it was a borderline no-brainer for certain builds.

Don't get me wrong, I do wish there was a way around the massive feat-nerf that's probably coming, if only because I know it's going to upset a bunch of people. But I don't think Melee Training is "practically worthless" at all. I'm far more concerned about the possible impact of the many race-specific feats than I am the change to MT.

Well, assuming it doesn't get hit with the same nerf-bat (which it shouldn't be; restricting it to Int and requiring you to be a swordmage makes Essentials class manipulation a lot more difficult), Intelligent Blademaster is no longer redundant with Melee Training (Int).

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Actually dwarves are only slightly better fighters with +2 Str.

Before:

18 Str, 13 Wis, 13 Con --> 18,15,15
or 18 Str, 14 Wis, 11 Con --> 18, 13, 16


Now: 16 Str, 13 Con, 16 Wis, 11 dex -> 18, 15, 16 which is only slightly better... I had been concerned about Wis, choice of Str or Con...

Making 20 Str, 16 Con Dwarves seems not so favourable to be honest...

 

[TirionAnthion]

Red Box Changes

From what I have seen, the Essentials products clearly represent some house cleaning and refocusing of the rules for 4e D&D. Ultimately I think the changes mentioned so far seem interesting. I think they keep the format fresh and interesting.

As to the effect on existing characters, for me, it does not make much difference. Sure, a build might not be optimal, but that does not make it bad. For example, I enjoy playing Starcraft 2. I am not very good at it. Many other people are much better. That doesn't mean that I can't play the game anymore. I still play and enjoy the game.

The same logic applies to character builds. Someone may have a more optimal build for a fighter but that does not mean I can no longer play my fighter build. For me, at least, character choice is as much about interesting story elements as it is about interesting game mechanics. A dwarf might be a better choice for a certain fighter build, but that is meaningless to me if I don't want to play a dwarf.

All in all, I like the changes that are being introduced in the Essentials. I am eager to get my hands on the books. Once again, thank you to everyone who has posted previews of the Red Box and offered insights on the material therein.

And to thalmin, I have a lot of small dragon minis, but I always make all of my dragons at least Large sized. I just don't like the idea of small and tiny dragons (except psuedo dragons).

 

[SSquirrel]

Does the Solo Adventure feature Bargle? Cuz that would be cool.

This was my absolute first thought when I saw the mention of the solo adventure download.

 

[Korgoth]

I'm really looking forward to this boxed set.

 

[Festivus]

This was my absolute first thought when I saw the mention of the solo adventure download.

FYI, the link for the free adventure doesn't work yet... hope it's working by the time this launches. They still haven't put up the Slaying Stone map :/

 

[Wormwood]

[*]Slimy Transmutation: range 10, vs FORT, Target turns into tiny toad (save ends), Miss: target is toad 1 turn, Effect: target dazed can only move or shift, damage ends.
[/LIST]

Okay, this is quite literally the coolest thing I've seen in 4e. If Essentials can bring this level of awesome with nothing more than a couple of keywords and a badass description?

SOLD.