Hi. This is another of our special free-to-all editions of my regular column. I’m talking about our Dungeons & Dragons Essentials products throughout this month and next. In case you haven’t checked out any of the previous columns, or even if you have, let me repeat myself for clarity’s sake:
The Essentials consist of 10 key products that will form the baseline experience for the roleplaying game moving forward.
</B>The Essentials are NOT a new game or a new edition.
The Essentials are NOT replacing the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, or Monster Manual.</B>
The Essentials are providing a better framework and starting point for new players while also providing new options for existing players to add to their games.
The Essentials products work with all other Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game products, from Player’s Handbook to new products releasing in 2011 and beyond—just like all other D&D products we release.
Imagine that the Dungeons & Dragons game is a highway. Prior to the Essentials products, you entered the highway at 10th Avenue. With the Essentials products, we’ve constructed a new entry point, and you can now zip onto the roleplaying game highway at 1st Avenue. This provides a better experience for players new to the game, as well as giving existing players new class builds and options to play with.