D&D 4E [4e] List of Classes and Races in the Essentials product line

[Obryn]

I still think it's up for grabs how many of the powers will be reprints, as opposed to new material. I'm inclined to expect new "builds" - but not all new powers. Some new, certainly, but not all. I mean, Tide of Iron, Magic Missile, and Twin Strike are simply iconic by this point, and I find it hard to imagine Fighters, Wizards, and Rangers without those options.

The Essentials product I'm most interested in - and the only one I've pre-ordered - is the Monster Vault. Getting new versions of older monsters sounds like a good deal to me, and the counters will probably make it well worth the cost.

I might grab the Rules Compendium, but only after looking through it.

At this point, the Heroes Of... series are basically off the list. Everything I'd want from them, I expect I'll be able to get through DDI.

-O

 

[Herschel]

And from the list, there's really nothing I want from them as there's almost nothing in there I play (except for a Human, but it's a Seeker).

 

[Insight]

I'm not sure any of this aside from the Rules Compendium is targeted at current DDI subscribers. We will get all of this, eventually, through DDI, with the exception of rule changes (that don't affect character creation).

 

[YourSwordIsMine]

Pretty much all new stuff apart from some essential feats; that's what's been said by the team.

The point of the essentials is to broaden the audience, get some new gamers into the fold.

I'd not seen this. Where do they talk about it being all new stuff?

I must be going blind. Where did you find "levels 1-5" in the quoted blurb?

Sorry, thats my fault, I typed it wrong. Corrected now. It's still L1-3 in the starter set as far as I am aware.

 

[doctorhook]

What? I didn't see anything in his post about how slow the game is. He's just asking if the essentials will have complete and final errata in it.

(It's not just here, it's his whole posting history that Jack's commenting on.)

 

[TerraDave]

I'm not sure any of this aside from the Rules Compendium is targeted at current DDI subscribers. We will get all of this, eventually, through DDI, with the exception of rule changes (that don't affect character creation).

as discussed in other threads...the red box for its novelty and nostalgia value (a lot of us, at least here at ENWorld, are real old), the master tiles set for those who want good "defualt" tiles, monster vault for a single core book of critters with counters...

But the problem is, by your logic, what would be targetted at them? They/We pretty much get all the stuff from PHBs, AVs, and power books.

 

[YourSwordIsMine]

One of my purposes for starting this thread was my curiosity in the Essentials product line; intent, direction, target and necessity.
Target I get. Its target is to new players to the D&D game. That's something I can get behind completely as I've felt they've needed said product line since 3.x. It's about time WoTC is finally putting one out. I guess where I find my confusion is with Intent and necessity. Intent seems pretty straight forward and ties in with targeting but then it kind of rolls into necessity as well... How much of the line is new material, how much of it is going to be needed by existing players and is this the new face of 4e's (i.e. 4.5 in a non-4.5 skin) life cycle?
The Rules Compendium product is what really has me the most confused. If the Essentials line is meant to be a gateway into 4e that will tie seamlessly into the existing rules then why reprint the entirety of the rules again? Will this contain all the up to date errata? Is this going to become mandatory for all players of 4e, new and existing alike? Is this a sign that 4e is at the end of its life expectancy like when they released the 3.5 Rules Compendium before the 4e launch?
I know the Essentials release is still a few months off so we wont know more until closer/after launch...


(not trying to start a flame/edition war, I'm just very confused/curious)

 

[DEFCON 1]

How much of the line is new material, how much of it is going to be needed by existing players and is this the new face of 4e's (i.e. 4.5 in a non-4.5 skin) life cycle?

As far as I've been able to tell from what they've said, much of the feat and power material will be new. However, none of it will be needed by existing players. The hardcover book rules will suit them still just fine. That being said, I belief the info from the Essentials line will appear in the Character Builder, so players old and new can use it all if they so choose.

The Rules Compendium product is what really has me the most confused. If the Essentials line is meant to be a gateway into 4e that will tie seamlessly into the existing rules then why reprint the entirety of the rules again? Will this contain all the up to date errata? Is this going to become mandatory for all players of 4e, new and existing alike?

I think they are reprinting the rules because currently all the rules of 4E are spread out amongst 3 Player's Handbooks and 2 DMGs. This includes rules which have been rewritten over time (like Stealth) and new rules that hadn't appeared in earlier books (like Backgrounds and Hybrids). By writing the Compendium, they are putting them all into a single volume, and making it softcover to cut down on cost so that existing players who might already own the hardcovers might decide to pick up the book as well for ease-of-use. Rather than feeling the need to carry five books, they can carry one.

Is this a sign that 4e is at the end of its life expectancy like when they released the 3.5 Rules Compendium before the 4e launch?

On the contrary... if 4E was at the end of its life expectancy, they wouldn't be producing all this new material to get new players into the game. What good would it do to go through all this effort of the Essentials line if they were just going to announce the released of 5E at GenCon or something?

I think basically their thought is to have a single, complete, erratad, and reorganized rulebook so that the new players coming in to the game can pick it up and have everything at their fingertips. The two two Heroes books will give them the character generation material, the Rules Compendium will show them how to play. And by making it a smaller, cheaper softcover, existing players might decide to pick it up too. Simple as that.

 

[pemerton]

I'm certainly planning on picking up the Compendium, for all the reasons DEFCON 1 gives. And Obryn is starting to sell me on the Monster Vault, which I'd initially planned on ignoring.

 

[Istar]

Have you considered playing something else besides 4e? Because all you seem to do is whine about how slow you think the game is, whine about rules that you do not understand and whine about errata that ruins your über leet builds.

Do not get me wrong, its very entertaining (much like watching a train-wreck) to read your posts, but since you are obviously quite displeased with the game, why not just play something else? After all, D&D is about having fun with friends - if you aren't having fun, why bother playing?

Admin here. This is both off topic and insulting; we encourage the use of the Ignore feature if you aren't enjoying someone's posts, but calling them out in-thread isn't appropriate. PM me if this is in any way unclear. ~ PCat

I dont know whats up with you, my post has some valid quesitons, unlike yours.
They have been answered.
Wasnt so hard was it.
Dont take yourself too seriously, its supposed to be a fun game right ?