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I don't have DDI, but was it really the case that the article didn't update the Jester to 4E at all? That would strike me as positively bizarre, since Mearls helped update the jester class for 3.5 for Paizo's Dragon Compendium around 2005 (when he was already working for WotC). So he has been...

I totally agree. Apart from the way too short write up of skill challenges, that was the DM kit's other major failing. (And the unforgivable thing of failing to explain how to build dungeons! The word 'dungeon' doesn't even appear in the DM book's index. I still can't believe they left out the...

I'm playing a Barbarian right now and having a blast. It's easily one of my favourite 4E classes. Only problem is, before you hit level 5 you only got 1 daily, which means you only rage 1/day... but when you do, boy... the whole encounter goes very, very differently... for everyone. That apart...

As Obryn and others have pointed out upthread, there's several Essential classes which don't at all have the reduced tactical complexity of the thief or slayer. So just looking at the Hunter again earlier today, I saw its 1st level at-will "Clever Strike". Which lets you do a ranged basic attack...

I wouldn't agree that's part of their intention (btw it's too small an effort right now to read much into it) but I certainly see that as a side effect WotC might welcome. 3.x always struck me as a game that sits half way between the older (esp. more rules lite) versions and 4E, in that it...

You make a great point later on in your post - how combining Essentials with 4.0 gives players their own choice at just how complex they want things to be in combat. To the extent that having (too) many options during play causes analysis paralysis in some players, or for other reasons slows...

WotC' 4E modules seem to labour under the assumption that the best modules are those which the DM can pick up and start running after half an hour. That's explicitly how the intro adventure to the FR Campaign Guide is advertised - but if you look at it, it's not in the least "parred down"...

I've been perusing the Heroes of books in the past week, and was wondering if the Enworld community could help me to substantiate or devalidate a sneaking suspicion that I had upon browsing that material. Immediate Disclaimer: I haven't used Essentials in play, nor has any other person in my 4E...

Serious question - who at WotC would even be able to design a compelling 5E? Anyone there who even remotely touches the heights of Tweet and Heinsoo?

This is actually how Orcs function in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, where together with goblins and snotlings they form a common race, the 'greenskins'. The various subspecies of the greenskins kind of grow from one stage to the next, owing to their metabolism. E.g. here's a quote from the...

This article is interesting for all sorts of reasons, but to me these two statements stand out: Not only was 4.0 very solidly designed around a particular focus, that focus was also what Mearls here calls "not my favourite part of the game". I'd be interested in a follow up article where he...

When did WotC jump the shark? PHB 4, no question.

Pedestrian uninspired hum-ho article of the sort I've come to expect from the author over the years. Here's everything except better.

It's a statement by the publisher under the section: Intended to be used with the following products. As such the statement serves informational purposes. You're free to make of that statement what you want. Personally, if WotC wanted to communicate that the product is primarily intended for...

My 4E group (1 DM, 6 players) has sworn off Essentials. So we're in the same group as the reviewer, we don't mix and mash pre- and post-Essentials material. Why all the people who DO mix and mash feel they have to jump on his conclusions, deliberately stated for those who are LIKE him (and us)...

The article felt a bit hollow, to be honest. Generating a fighter in 4E is a lot quicker than in 3E, and Mearls' list of respectively 18 vs. 16 steps feels bogus. The real difference is writing down skill bonuses in 3E and 4E. In 3E that's a lot of work, especially at first level - lots of...

Mike Mearls is on record for belonging to the camp of "will (mostly) not play 3E again". It came up in an early 4E podcast, shortly after the announcement of 4E at Gencon. Andy (Collins) and him talk about running their own 3.x games alongside the (then) super secret 4E playtest games; Mearls...

I've stopped buying 4E when Essentials came up, but I plan on getting all the tile sets they produce in 2011. That's about it, though, as concerns the money WotC will see from me in 2011. I've never subscribed to DDI, and am happier about that decision than ever. I recently got into Warhammer...

Actually, you're not entirely correct here. While not worked out into full paragon path level, the Knights of Solmania made a reappearance as "The solemn order of the knights of Saint Vercesien the Gold" in Draconomicon 2. In the same book you'll also find Draconians, and several of the...

I must say, in light of recent events (the Ampersand column on Jan 13) this thread reads a lot different then when Merric posted it a month ago. The sentiments expressed in this OP, and its earlier companion, were a lot more indicative of what's going on than Merric got credit for. I'm not...