Essentials - First Impressions of the product line - I feel claustrophobic!

[Mercurius]

I know, there have been a ton of such threads, but I want to focus on the product itself - the physical presentation, the format, and the overall direction. This thread is not about, or at least not focused on, the rules themselves, what adjustments have been made, and whether or not it is 4.x edition.

I just got Heroes of the Fallen Lands and The Rules Compendium yesterday. My very first impression was slight disappointment, as for whatever reason I was under the impression that Heroes was a box set. No matter.

Backing up for a second, I got The Starter Kit a couple weeks ago when it came out and was also a bit disappointed, although again because of my own misunderstanding: I didn't realize that it was for complete newbies; I thought it was more of a basic set ala Moldvay and Holmes, with rules for levels 1-3, tables of contents, indexes, etc. I quickly realized that it was (almost?) completely useless for anyone other than a new player or DM. On a purely physical level, it is a nice product, but I found the flimsiness of the booklets a bit off-putting; I mean they could have used some form of cardstock. For most new players I would imagine that they will barely last long enough to read through them once.

Back to the newer books. The Rules Compendium is a very handy reference and will be quite useful at the game table. I can't tell yet, but I wonder if it will save me from having to lug a bunch of hardcovers to one of my friends' house where we play. I just skimmed through it, but it seems like a solid product.

Heroes, however, is not so much to my liking. I just don't like the one-column, digest format - it feels claustrophobic. It is not nearly as "browse-friendly" and I dislike the fact that you can't look at, say, a chart of all three tiers of a class; the tiers are broken up by powers, of all things, which makes it an awkward reference work.

I have barely gotten into the meat of either book, but I can't say I'm all that fond of this direction. The Rules Compendium is an excellent idea, but as a reference work, and because it doesn't seem to replace anything. Heroes, however, has me worried. Is it meant to replace the Player's Handbook? Will we not see what I hope to see, an expanded, revised and edited PHB, maybe with non-common magic items taken out and more classes, builds, and themes put in?

To put it another way, I like those aspects of Essentials that accent and support the 4E line as a whole--so far that would be The Rules Compendium--but I hope that WotC doesn't decide to replace the hardcover format with the new digest books, at least not for core rulebooks. It works for a quick reference book, but not so much a Player's Handbook or a Dungeon Master's Guide. Maybe it would work fine for monsters, I don't know. I'm wondering how well the Nentir Vale Gazetteer will work as a digest, although the old Volo's guides were fine.

I am also trying to look at it from the perspective of one of my players. While the classes are seemingly arranged rather linearly so that you can just build your character, page by page, they are not so browser-friendly and I imagine it would be difficult to get a sense of what class you'd want to play merely by thumbing through the book.

So again, the feeling of claustrophobia--due to the one column, digest-sized format--is my main issue. I am open to the possibility that I might get used to it and like it, but as of this moment I far prefer browsing through a PHB than Heroes of the Fallen Lands.

 

[the Jester]

My very first impression was slight disappointment, as for whatever reason I was under the impression that Heroes was a box set. No matter.

Me too! I have no idea why I had this idea, but I sure did. I even went to my FLGS today, looked for "the other new boxed set" and left when he didn't have it. I finally found the actual books at a different collectibles shop. Prolly gave my gaming dollar to my not-preferred guys by accident this time. Whoops!

 

[caudor]

Interesting. My impression of the digest book format was very positive. It is easy to read (text larger) and easier to hold. The format feels cleaner to me...hard to describe. Perhaps less focus on pretty decorations and more focus on readable content.

Another benefit of this format is that it will probably be much easier to read on e-readers, tablets, or ipad-like devices provided an electronic version is ever offered.

 

[Obryn]

Heroes, [/I]however, is not so much to my liking. I just don't like the one-column, digest format - it feels claustrophobic. It is not nearly as "browse-friendly" and I dislike the fact that you can't look at, say, a chart of all three tiers of a class; the tiers are broken up by powers, of all things, which makes it an awkward reference work.

On the one hand, I don't like the organization or layout of the classes themselves. They make sense when I'm working through building a character with one of my players - which I've done twice for this new Dark Sun game, now - but they hinder my efforts to understand the workings of the class holistically.

On the other hand, I love the digest-sized books, and hope WotC makes many, many more of them in the future. They are super-portable, plenty durable enough for me, and a damn sight easier to manhandle than a full-size hardback. I was skeptical at first, and disappointed in their non-lay-flatness, but it's quickly grown on me to the point where I'd rather spend $20 on one of these than $30 on a hardback.

Heroes, however, has me worried. Is it meant to replace the Player's Handbook? Will we not see what I hope to see, an expanded, revised and edited PHB, maybe with non-common magic items taken out and more classes, builds, and themes put in?

While I'm loving HotFL, and have suggested a lot of stuff from it to my players, it could never replace my PHB in a million years. I mean, I might never make a PHB Wizard again, but you would have to pry my A/E/D Martial classes and my implement-using clerics out of my cold, dead hands.

-O

 

[JoeGKushner]

I like it for the Rules compendium, don't like it for the Heroes book. I would to see a coffee table sized Monster Manual one day.

 

[Baumi]

Since I don't have the the books, I can only comment on the Assassin Preview.

I find the new Class Layout extremely confusing and really hard to get a feel for the class. Before, I just read two or three pages and know what makes a Class special and how it "works". Now I have to read through every page of the class to understand it and the automatic mix with the Paragon Path is much more complicated then the old format.

So I love the digest size (I have other games like that, like Savage Worlds and I greatly prefer that to the Letter-Size Books) and I do like the new classes itself, but I find the presentation of the classes was much better before.

 

[Jhaelen]

Heroes, however, has me worried. Is it meant to replace the Player's Handbook? Will we not see what I hope to see, an expanded, revised and edited PHB, maybe with non-common magic items taken out and more classes, builds, and themes put in?

Rest assured, it's _not_ meant to replace the PHB. Actually, a WotC representative mentioned, they'd reprint an errataed PHB come time and sufficient demand.

I hope that WotC doesn't decide to replace the hardcover format with the new digest books, at least not for core rulebooks.

Again, don't worry. It was already mentioned, they'd return back to hardcover after Essentials.

You should really give the GenCon podcast a listen (the one about new product releases). In it they give additional details about all of the forthcoming products and at the end of the podcasts answer the exact kind of questions you have.

One of the more recent podcasts also detailed what's in the Red Box and what isn't, and who's the target audience.

 

[Klaus]

I like it for the Rules compendium, don't like it for the Heroes book. I would to see a coffee table sized Monster Manual one day.

This is actually an interesting idea. It'd be part art book, part RPG reference. Probably less monsters in the book, but with kickass art...

Hmmm...

 

[MrMyth]

Heroes, however, is not so much to my liking. I just don't like the one-column, digest format - it feels claustrophobic.

Yeah, I had a similar reaction. It felt cramped compared to the big open PHB format. On the one hand, I see the appeal of having it as a cheaper and more portable resource, but it did make browsing it a bit more difficult. Of course, I recall people upset with WotC for having too much 'white space' in the PHB, so maybe they simply can't win.

Heroes, however, has me worried. Is it meant to replace the Player's Handbook? Will we not see what I hope to see, an expanded, revised and edited PHB, maybe with non-common magic items taken out and more classes, builds, and themes put in?

Heroes isn't replacing the Player's Handbook, but is providing an alternate entry point for the game. I don't forsee any revised PHB coming along any time soon, but that would be the case with or without Essentials.

 

[Festivus]

Rules compendium is now the only book I carry with my to gamedays. Before, I would take my PHB and a binder with the errata.

I have never felt the need to bring all the power books, monster books, etc, because I have everything I need with DDI on thin sheets of paper.

So I save a few pounds and inches in my backpack for gamedays, and the smaller format book is easier to keep at hand at the game table.

For the essentials class books, they really aren't my cup of tea either, but for some it's just what they wanted. I like my rogue with a bazillion power cards (okay, slight exaggeration) and choices of how to get to sneak around the battle field. The essentials rogue to me is a little too much like older edition rogues, get into a flank and backstab. Yawn.