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...and Lance of Faith is a ranged power, which might be awkward or dangerous to use once the targets notice who is giving them blistering sunburns in locations that will be hard to explain to the spouse back home...

The higher numbers quoted for the Thief may include the bonus from Backstab, which is completely inappropriate, of course. Alternatively, they may simply reflect Thief Weapon Talent (+1), Nimble Blade (+1 with CA), and the standard CA bonus (+2). It may also assume that the Thief will start...

Just to be clear -- would each phase still go by the initiative order, or would it be a chaotic scramble wherein each creature chooses its target square or creature and then the DM yells "MOVE!" Please tell me you meant the former.

You are never alone -- there is always Harvey.

Within the strict confines of Essentials, i.e. no feats or powers outside of the HotF* books, the Thief is easier to optimise than the Knight, Cavalier or Mage. (Shamans are just under-supported, period.) If the latter three were not allowed to go outside Essentials, that could be part of the...

That's a pretty good summary of the article, but I think there is another facet which is either overlooked or just assumed to be understood: explicit rules remove a source of tension and contention between DM and players.

I don't believe any Str clerics have been spotted in the wild since the Warpriest came out.

Actually, I think this is a case of "form follows function". I believe that the Essentials builds are a more natural outgrowth of 3e, and therefore an Essentials-style 4e would have looked more familiar to 3e players.

The single biggest winners from Melee Training are Avengers -- they don't have an at-will power that can be used as a basic attack, they don't use Strength, they focus on melee, they do good average damage, and they can get some nice bonuses from hitting. It would, however, be an unorthodox...

Are you talking about the art that had me paging through the magic items section looking for the "Buckle" slot? I prefer 1e style. The cover of the AD&D Players Manual is to me the most evocative image of all.

To borrow the term used by one of those commenters at the linked article, the effect was indeed "jarring". But it was jarring as in "I was jarred when all of a sudden the people around me suddenly stopped speaking gibberish and started speaking well-enunciated, grammatical sentences."

I don't think many Daggermasters are there for the powers... If I had to guess, I would say that most PPs are chosen for the sake of the features. For example, I know of an Avenger who definitely took Favored Soul for the wings and fly speed.

The Slayer and Hunter occupy the same design spaces that the Essentialsized Barbarian and Seeker would fit into. I suspect it was intentional.

Retraining doesn't work -- the option doesn't come up. I agree that it's probably just CB, as usual. But I still think Trap Master should be a skill power -- does anyone have any comments about that?

Okay, I'm a big fan of the Essentials builds, but this is irritating. I really want to take Trap Master (MP2, Rogue Utility 16, at-will minor action to make a Thievery check). But there doesn't seem to be a way for a Thief to take it. Both of the high-level Thief utilities (16 and 22) are...

That makes sense. Party composition and tactics can turn a good choice into a bad one.

Maybe some of us want a character that's mechanically easier, so that we can focus more on roleplaying or tactics. I write computer software for a living. I've used assembly language extensively throughout the years, but I avoid it when I can. Abstracting away needless complexity is a large...

I just had a flash from long long ago -- does anyone remember Keith Laumer's Retief series?

Wait -- you want to maximize your out-of-turn attacks to get more SA damage, but you aren't using Riposte Strike? Heroic Effort is nice, but I'm not sure it's that good.

Agile Opportunist might buy you an extra OA now and then. Stonefoot Reprisal, for Dwarves. And you can always try to find a ranged opponent who happens to be prone, or maybe convince an ally to set that up for you - that might occasionally get you a free shot. Also, if you haven't already...