New "Red Box" Starter Set hands-on preview

[JohnSnow]

Just noticed 4 of the cards are Second Wind.

Fighter Cards:

• Poised Assault: At-Will Stance (+1 to melee weapon attack)
• Battle Fury: At-Will Stance (+2 to weapon damage)
• Power Strike: Encounter Free Action (extra 1W to damage triggered by successful hit)
• Minor Resurgence: Utility 2 Encounter Minor (gain 5 temp HP if bloodied) (Prereq Endurance trained)
• Sudden Sprint: Utility 2 Encounter Minor (move up to CON mod and end up adjacent to enemy) (Prereq Athletics trained)

Hmmm...only 2 at-will stances (although one we didn't know about before). But I don't think we should read too much into that.

Looks like both of the fighter's utility options are new Skill Powers similar to the ones in PHB 3. INT-eresting. I'm gonna guess we'll get more of those in the Heroes of... books. It's one of the more interesting options for new design space from Player's Handbook 3, and it fits with how martial classes ought to work. For instance, martial healing abilities make scads more sense if the character is trained in Heal.

 

[thalmin]

Racial features of the human?

-YRUSirius

(Thanks for your answers. )

Following has been added to first post:


All I have found so far is the Human Utility power Human Versatility, a Free Action Encounter power giving you a +4 to an attack roll, ability check, or a saving throw that you just failed.

 

[AngryMojo]

Hmmm...only 2 at-will stances (although one we didn't know about before). But I don't think we should read too much into that.

I don't really think we should read too much into the red box at all. If it's designed to be a beginners gateway into a very complicated game, I doubt it'll have full write-ups on anything. Something tells me that the Fighter in it isn't a Knight or a Slayer, but just a Fighter.

 

[JohnSnow]

I don't really think we should read too much into the red box at all. If it's designed to be a beginners gateway into a very complicated game, I doubt it'll have full write-ups on anything. Something tells me that the Fighter in it isn't a Knight or a Slayer, but just a Fighter.

Fair, but it's an Essentials Fighter, and seems to have more in common with the slayer.

The question is whether Heroes of the Fallen Lands lays out guidelines for how the 'subclasses' of 'knight' and 'slayer' are builds of the fighter class. Both get "weapon talent" & "power strike" and I would assume they choose from among the same stances. But the slayer gets "Heroic slayer" whereas the knight gets "Battle guardian," "Defender Aura," "Shield Finesse," and proficiency with plate armor & shields. And the knight gets diplomacy as a class skill while the slayer gets streetwise, but that's minor.

 

[AngryMojo]

Fair, but it's an Essentials Fighter, and seems to have more in common with the slayer.

The question is whether Heroes of the Fallen Lands lays out guidelines for how the 'subclasses' of 'knight' and 'slayer' are builds of the fighter class.

I really think that the Fallen Lands book is going to be the real unveiling of Essentials, and I'm reserving judgement until I see that book in it's entirety. What I really want to see is a game where an Essentials fighter and a PhB fighter are in the same party, to see how different they actually are. I'm guessing the Knight won't be that discernible a difference to people not playing a fighter, but the Slayer will be very, very different.

 

[josha]

PLEASE tell me more!

What about the adventures?
Are they any good?

 

[JohnSnow]

I really think that the Fallen Lands book is going to be the real unveiling of Essentials, and I'm reserving judgement until I see that book in it's entirety. What I really want to see is a game where an Essentials fighter and a PhB fighter are in the same party, to see how different they actually are. I'm guessing the Knight won't be that discernible a difference to people not playing a fighter, but the Slayer will be very, very different.

Yeah, that's my take as well. However, I have already ordered a Red Box of my very own. Two reasons. For one, I've had to introduce some new players (and fallen away veterans) to D&D, and this seems like a good way to re-boot with a new campaign and do it properly. Secondly, I just couldn't resist the "weapons-grade nostalgia" - to borrow a phrase.

I suspect that the slayer will fill a solid conceptual niche for those people who want to play "fighters that kill things." Frankly, it's almost "Conan-esque." I'm not sure how much actual drawing of attacks (like Defender aura) a class really has to do to fill a defender's role. It almost seems like you can do so simply by getting into melee and making yourself a threat, hence why many classes have a secondary role of "defender." You just have to possess enough hit points (or self-healing) to take a beating.

ALthough I guess we're getting off topic. Thalmin: more info please!

 

[hopeless]

The Red Box...

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

Now that would be GREAT!

 

[thalmin]

Racial features of the human?

-YRUSirius

(Thanks for your answers. )

Following has been added to first post:

OK, found it. It looks like Humans get the afore-mentioned Human Versatility, +2 to one Ability, one extra trained skill, and one extra Feat. No surprises.

 

[thalmin]

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

Not that I have found