Best way to run a Redbox & Beyond Campaign?

[nnms]

In a few days I'll be starting a new campaign with the redbox and going on from there to Heroes of the Fallen Lands. The campaign is going to start with Essentials only.

My main concern is the transition between Redbox and Heroes of the Fallen Lands.

What do I do when they hit level 3?

The wizard:
- rebuilds as a school of magic wizard from Heroes of?
- downgrades his magic missile from two targets to one?
- starts with a magic missile that only effects one?

The rogue:
- Loses his attack powers in favour of all utility move tricks?
- Starts with only utility move tricks?
- Keeps all his starting at-wills?

The fighter:
- Gets the dex damage rider?

I was hoping for a smooth transition from level 2 to 3, but redbox doesn't seem to have the same stuff as Heroes of the Fallen lands.

I'm half tempted to make levels 1 & 2 redbox as is and then have a rebuilding sesssion for level 3 where everyone uses Heroes of the Fallen Lands. At the same time, I'm tempted to make the redbox align with the previews so there's less of a jarring transition.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Reaper Steve]

Rebuild when HotFL comes out. It'll be available on the 10th at premier stores.

As I get older, I've embraced the fact that D&D is a game. Why not rebuild your character when new options become available?

 

[DonAdam]

I'm facing the same problem, and have decided to just wait for Heroes of the bippity boppity whatever it's called.

To that extent (it's inconsistency with future Essentials stuff) I am disappointed in the Red Box, though it's still a good buy at $20.

 

[nnms]

Rebuild when HotFL comes out. It'll be available on the 10th at premier stores.

As I get older, I've embraced the fact that D&D is a game. Why not rebuild your character when new options become available?

I'm mostly leaning this way. There will only be one, maybe two sessions before HotFL comes out. The down side is that this campaign is largely the result of the red box's release. There's sort of a "let's start with the red box" vibe to the group involved.

The other down side is magic missile getting worse. Rogues may end up with less at-will powers.

I'm not 100% sold on "you level up... and get worse." I'm going to reread the ampersand articles and see what changes would need to be made so that there isn't the jarring transition.

I'm facing the same problem, and have decided to just wait for Heroes of the bippity boppity whatever it's called.

To that extent (it's inconsistency with future Essentials stuff) I am disappointed in the Red Box, though it's still a good buy at $20.

I'm going to get use from the tokens and the poster map. The box itself should also hold things nicely. The new character sheets rock and the "choose your own adventure" is pretty fabulous as well. And the DM booklet is really all you need for a few levels of play. I don't plan on using any other monsters until the group has defeated everything in the DM booklet.

Overall, I'm glad I bought it. I just wish they nailed the transition to Heroes of the Fallen lands a little more cleanly.

 

[Scribble]

I'm also not convinced that we're not just missing something, and all will be apparent once the regular essentials line is out...

 

[Plaguedguy]

I'm also not convinced that we're not just missing something, and all will be apparent once the regular essentials line is out...

At this point I think it could go either way. There may be an elegant transition element that we're missing because we don't know about it, but there might also be a statement in HFL telling you that if you started with the red box you'll need to make some changes.

I'm also inclined to believe most players might at least want to experiment with the various builds and powers available in HFL rather than sticking with what they were assigned in the solo adventure.

 

[SupremeBadgerLord]

I'm also not convinced that we're not just missing something, and all will be apparent once the regular essentials line is out...

Honestly waiting 10 days for Heroes of the Fallen Lands would be the best bet, that or change up the characters once you get it.

I wouldn't wait till 3rd level to switch over, you'll be missing out on lots of feats, and the players are bound to get attached to 2 target MM & Thief at will attacks that are Red Box only.

 

[nnms]

I'm about half way through creating a document that takes what the Ampersand articles say about the various classes, updates the red box stuff and summarized character creation (so you don't have to go through the solo-adventure) to produce sort of a "red box update" article.

Basically for every instance that the Ampersand articles and the Red Box differ, I'm going with the Ampersand articles. So Magic Missile is a single target, for example.

I'm also thinking I'm going to print off the various fighter stances and rogue tricks onto index cards to give the rogue and fighter more choices. I haven't decided about that yet.