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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SteveC" data-source="post: 5266070" data-attributes="member: 9053">As much as I keep hearing it said that Essentials isn't a new edition of the rules, I have to respectfully disagree. Even if the people who are making the game claim otherwise.The thing is, I know why WotC would not want to market Essentials as a new edition of the game, largely due to the fiasco that 3.5 became and their reactions to how things would be different this time around.My point is both that the Essential's edition is a new edition for the game and also that things are different this time. The Essentials are the first in-print version of what 4E has become. Since launch there have been a lot of changes to the mechanics (skill challenges, actions, stealth to name just a few) to classes (almost all of the classes have had major changes to their powers) and monsters (again, major changes to design philosophy here). In fact, I'd say that the 4E of today is as least as different from 3.0 to 3.5.The difference is, and why I'd say "don't have kittens!" over this, is that we've been in the loop for each of these changes. Imagine 3.5 and how it would have been received if each step along the way the changes were made available in small chunks online. The difference, and why 3.5 made such a bad taste in (some) people's mouths, is because the changes were dropped in the form of revised rulebooks in everyone's lap. If the same changes were made, but we had a compendium available the whole time, there would be much less concern.So as much as we're seeing major changes to the written rules set, we've known about the changes to the stealth rules (for instance) all along the way. And as there have been multiple revisions, we have been kept in the loop each step of the way.So Essentials is the first time you can buy the revised 4E rules, but those rules are already available to you right now, just not in fully printed form. Is Essentials a new edition of the rules? I would definitely say yes, but it's also a new edition done right, where previous material isn't made irrelevant.If you disagree, and were around for the transition from 3.0 to 3.5, ask yourself if there were more or fewer changes between those two editions. I would say there have been more changes since launch of 4E. I'd also ask if you think that the transition from 3.0 to 3.5 would have been any big deal if the rules compendium had been available at the time.That's just my $.02 worth... coming from a 4X fan.--Steve</blockquote>

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