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Pre-Release Review of Heroes of Shadow by Wizards of the Coast
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<blockquote data-quote="Neuroglyph" data-source="post: 5522895" data-attributes="member: 85633"><p>I thought that was obvious - the on-ramp was supposed to lead players to buy the Traditional 4E products, because the Essentials line was proclaimed to only be series of ten products. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>No, I never implied that at all. They are statements I made about being angry at WotC for marketing the book as a "Core" product, and then presenting a book with Essentials-exclusive content (Classes/Domain/Schools) on over half its pages, and with no content that one can label as exclusively Traditional 4E. You can still use content from this Essentials book in your 4E game - as you can with all Essentials products - but that does not make the book a Traditional 4E product. Using your logic, one could argue that because you can use feats and powers from HotF*, that it is not an Essentials book but is really a Traditional 4E book.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Alright, I have a counter question: Why is it so difficult for you to admit that this book, which contains copious amounts of exclusive Essential material is really an Essentials book? I have already admitted that Essentials material can be used in Traditional 4E characters, so calling <em><strong>Heroes of Shadow</strong></em> an Essentials book makes no difference, correct?</p><p></p><p>In reality, making that admission makes a BIG difference - because the moment you admit that this book is an Essentials product, and not a Core product, then you would have to accept that WotC mislead the D&D community about the nature of the book. And WotC even went so far as to mislead the D&D community about the Essentials line being an "on ramp" or "gateway" to the game - it has become the replacement design paradigm for all future releases.</p><p></p><p><strong>Is the fact that Essentials is the new paradigm for future releases a bad thing?</strong> Not necessarily - the poll shows that there are more people enjoying pure Essentials and Essentials/Traditional mixed content than those just enjoying Traditional content. </p><p></p><p><strong>Is it a bad thing that WotC misinformed their customer base about the true purpose of Essentials to become the new design paradigm?</strong> Yes - honesty is always preferred - the gaming community should have been told about the impending change, rather than be misinformed and lead to believe that Essentials was designed to merely assist new players. </p><p></p><p><strong>Does this make Heroes of Shadow a bad book?</strong> Nope, it's a great book, but players and DMs wanting a non-Essentials play experience will need to consider purchasing this book carefully, given the amount of exclusive Essentials material it contains.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Neuroglyph, post: 5522895, member: 85633"] I thought that was obvious - the on-ramp was supposed to lead players to buy the Traditional 4E products, because the Essentials line was proclaimed to only be series of ten products. No, I never implied that at all. They are statements I made about being angry at WotC for marketing the book as a "Core" product, and then presenting a book with Essentials-exclusive content (Classes/Domain/Schools) on over half its pages, and with no content that one can label as exclusively Traditional 4E. You can still use content from this Essentials book in your 4E game - as you can with all Essentials products - but that does not make the book a Traditional 4E product. Using your logic, one could argue that because you can use feats and powers from HotF*, that it is not an Essentials book but is really a Traditional 4E book. Alright, I have a counter question: Why is it so difficult for you to admit that this book, which contains copious amounts of exclusive Essential material is really an Essentials book? I have already admitted that Essentials material can be used in Traditional 4E characters, so calling [I][B]Heroes of Shadow[/B][/I] an Essentials book makes no difference, correct? In reality, making that admission makes a BIG difference - because the moment you admit that this book is an Essentials product, and not a Core product, then you would have to accept that WotC mislead the D&D community about the nature of the book. And WotC even went so far as to mislead the D&D community about the Essentials line being an "on ramp" or "gateway" to the game - it has become the replacement design paradigm for all future releases. [B]Is the fact that Essentials is the new paradigm for future releases a bad thing?[/B] Not necessarily - the poll shows that there are more people enjoying pure Essentials and Essentials/Traditional mixed content than those just enjoying Traditional content. [B]Is it a bad thing that WotC misinformed their customer base about the true purpose of Essentials to become the new design paradigm?[/B] Yes - honesty is always preferred - the gaming community should have been told about the impending change, rather than be misinformed and lead to believe that Essentials was designed to merely assist new players. [B]Does this make Heroes of Shadow a bad book?[/B] Nope, it's a great book, but players and DMs wanting a non-Essentials play experience will need to consider purchasing this book carefully, given the amount of exclusive Essentials material it contains. [/QUOTE]
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