A little out of the loop...

[Droogie128]

One other thing to add: If you hate the Vancian casting mechanic, Essentials is a breath of fresh air, since it allows you to play characters who aren't Vancian casters. (It still doesn't let you play casters who aren't Vancian casters, but maybe someday...)

Umm... that's the entirety of 4e. Not just essentials. The OP's question is regarding the older AEDU 4e stuff to the newer essentials model.

 

[BobTheNob]

Huh?

A "Vancian" casting system is one where the spells are memorized and lost when used, requiring re-memorization. It comes from Jack Vance, who was the guy who first invented it for D&D.

A little trivia. Vecna is an anagram of Vance.

 

[Dausuul]

Umm... that's the entirety of 4e. Not just essentials. The OP's question is regarding the older AEDU 4e stuff to the newer essentials model.

In AEDU, ED and most of U follow the Vancian casting mechanic. You have a bunch of spells (powers) prepared. You can use each of these prepared spells once, and then you don't get to use it again until you have a chance to rest.

Standard 4E locks everyone, caster and non-caster alike, into that mechanic. This was something of a bitter irony for those of us who disliked Vancian magic in previous editions, and were very happy with the designers' announcement that it was to be eliminated in 4E. Essentials gives you the option to play non-Vancian characters--the casters are still stuck with it, but at least fighters and rogues have broken out.

 

[shadzar]

In AEDU, ED and most of U follow the Vancian casting mechanic. You have a bunch of spells (powers) prepared. You can use each of these prepared spells once, and then you don't get to use it again until you have a chance to rest.

Standard 4E locks everyone, caster and non-caster alike, into that mechanic. This was something of a bitter irony for those of us who disliked Vancian magic in previous editions, and were very happy with the designers' announcement that it was to be eliminated in 4E. Essentials gives you the option to play non-Vancian characters--the casters are still stuck with it, but at least fighters and rogues have broken out.

Thanks, even though you didnt reply to my question, you answered it here, rather than trying to tell me something I already knew.

So essentials pretty much goes back to pre-4th, Vancian for casters only, so what happens with other classes in regards to the "powers" ssytem?