Essentials doing what it was supposed to do?

[Odhanan]

In my experience genuine newbies are absolutely fine with the idea of daily powers for fighters. The people who aren't are experienced D&D players who've never played any type of narrative RPG.

I was not fine with Daily powers for fighters. I am an experienced D&D player, but I also ran a Paris by Night Chronicle for close to 10 years, and still run a New World of Darkness reboot of that Chronicle. I don't think my problems with dailies had anything to do with a lack of experience with narrative RPGs, but rather with different tastes relating to different games and experiences.

 

[UHF]

Yeah, a bunch of my friends(including my brother) who used to play D&D when we played 3e have resisted every attempt to get them to play 4e. They've claimed that they got together and played a test session amongst themselves(none of whom were optimistic about 4e, even the DM) and that the entire concept of a Fighter with daily powers was so stupid that they all spent their test session making fun of it and making jokes like "I'd like to hit really hard again...oops, seems I've forgotten how to do that!"

I have a feeling that if we played an Essentials ONLY game with them, they might come around. But I'd have to point out how different it was from normal 4e before I'd have any hope of getting them to try it.

I think Essentials would make a good fit for them.

You know... when I was young (8) and playing AD&D, I was always unhappy with daily spells, and how magic worked. Re-memorizing spells every morning... bah! It was one of many reasons why I looked at other game systems.

It made no sense to me. So... adding more of it (Martial Dailies) wasn't a leap for me.

I prefer to think of the powers, in kind of a retro coolness fashion. i.e. I attacked, and THIS happened. Cool! There is no doubt that the fights 4e are cinematic and oozing with fun.

I do feel that there are other issues with 4e that players of previous editions will have problems with, and are simply being side stepped for now. For instance, combat is re-calibrated for 5 on 5, there is less 'realism' in 4e, etc. The expectation of magic augmentation. All of that stuff is still a leap... for them.

But you are right... if it was Essentials first they would probably have had better market penetration.

 

[cthulhudarren]

You know... when I was young (8) and playing AD&D, I was always unhappy with daily spells, and how magic worked. Re-memorizing spells every morning... bah! It was one of many reasons why I looked at other game systems.

It made no sense to me. So... adding more of it (Martial Dailies) wasn't a leap for me.

I prefer to think of the powers, in kind of a retro coolness fashion. i.e. I attacked, and THIS happened. Cool! There is no doubt that the fights 4e are cinematic and oozing with fun.

I do feel that there are other issues with 4e that players of previous editions will have problems with, and are simply being side stepped for now. For instance, combat is re-calibrated for 5 on 5, there is less 'realism' in 4e, etc. The expectation of magic augmentation. All of that stuff is still a leap... for them.

But you are right... if it was Essentials first they would probably have had better market penetration.

For me it's 1st level goblins with 30 hps. Does. not. compute. in my lizard brain.

 

[CovertOps]

For me it's 1st level goblins with 30 hps. Does. not. compute. in my lizard brain.

They took the 3e "sweet spot" of level 4-?? (12 maybe?) and expanded it to 1-30. Nobody dies in the first hit anymore and it's not a bad thing. I'm assuming that the 30HP 1st level PCs don't computer either.

 

[samursus]

Keep an eye on the new threads that appear. Regardless of the Essentials question I see 2 or 3 new accounts per day (re: 4e). Don't remember seeing that many new people on here for awhile.

 

[badmojojojo]

I don't know if it is just me, but I have noticed quite a few posts from new 4e players in the last month or so. Not just here but on the WotC forums as well (granted I rarely go there).

I know this is only an anecdotal experience, but looking at the forums as a sample of the larger non-forum using RPG players/newbies, it would seem like Essentials is doing what it is supposed to be doing: bringing in a lot of new players.

I know its a bit of a leap, but I honestly can't remember seeing this many new accounts/newbie threads in such a short period of time.

Some of these new users have even specifically stated they were brought into 4e by the "old-school" aesthetics of Essentials and the Red Box.

Anyone else seeing what I am? Or am I seeing more than is there?

Well, I can claim to be one of these Essential noobs. Go ahead and give me a hug

 

[Saint&Sinner]

Well, I can claim to be one of these Essential noobs. Go ahead and give me a hug

Me too. I haven't run D&D since AD&D. I'm seriously considering a short run with the new Essential books. That said Ravenloft and Gamma World are more likely a better fit.

 

[fanboy2000]

In my experience genuine newbies are absolutely fine with the idea of daily powers for fighters. The people who aren't are experienced D&D players who've never played any type of narrative RPG.

Why would a narrative RPG help with understanding fighter daily powers?

 

[Mercurius]

I'm happy that Essentials seems to be reeling in at least a few new/old players, but as I said in the "I Miss 4E" thread I just don't get it. The differences between Essentials and "classic" 4E boils down to three things:

1) New formatting, including the return of box sets, including the fabled Red Box, and digest-sized books.
2) Martial characters without daily (and encounter?) powers.
3) Various minor adjustments, errata, etc.

What I don't get is why some people wouldn't play 4E but will play Essentials. I am assuming that the third point above was not much of a factor; I wonder how the second point could be big enough; which makes me think that the main reason some lapsed players are coming back is because of a cardboard red-colored box with a Larry Elmore painting on it, which has given them the erroneous impression that Essentials is anything other than re-packaged, and only very slightly tweaked, 4E.

To put it another way, if Essentials is really drawing back lapsed players that didn't want to play 4E then WotC has successfully pulled the wool over said peoples' eyes.

 

[Korgoth]

This may sound strange, but one thing I really like about Essentials is the humility.

A lot of the puffery surrounding 4.0, including (indeed, especially) things that were said on this very board, made one feel like they were being dressed down by Alec Baldwin's character in Glengarry Glen Ross. I'm a grognard, I admit it. But I don't want to be told "Hit the bricks, a-hole, this game is better than you." Probably that's not how it was intended, but that's sometimes how it came off. And of course the cheer squad with all their "butcher the sacred cows!" rhetoric that was usually devoid of any substance or reason. You'd have thought it was the dang French Revolution.

Now, they're actually marketing to me. Elmore on the Red Box. Warduke on the website. Fiend Folio art in the little Youtube/Hulu commercial. And the tone of the puffery in the articles is "Here, try this! We think it's good and we love D&D from the old days." I have been with D&D since I was 8 years old. So yes, WOTC, I frakking deserve it. Thank you. As as reward, I will actually buy the stuff.