Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Essentials: Its not 4.5, its BECMI 2.0!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 5315826" data-attributes="member: 7635"><p>So I've done a lot of thinking, and reading, about Essentials. While a lot of people have screamed "4.5" around here and elsewhere, I finally realized why it wasn't. </p><p></p><p>Its Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortal sets, redux; BECMI 2.0.</p><p></p><p>BECMI was its own sub-game of D&D built on the same premise but easier to use and less complex. It was a complete game in-and-of itself; using just the box-sets you had all the spells, magic items, and monsters to go from levels 1 to 36. It focused on the classics (fighter, magic-user, cleric, thief, elf, dwarf, halfling, human) but as it developed added its own unique twists (many of the odd monsters of D&D get their birth in Basic). The game was even cross compatible with AD&D to a degree; modules spells or magic items worked from one system to the other (monsters needed a bit more work, and PCs needed a lot of converting). </p><p></p><p>Essentials recaptures a lot of that. Its self-contained (you don't need the PHB/DMG/MM to play), it focuses on the classics and its less complex than the "Core". The core difference between BECMI and Essentials is that the latter was built with compatibility in mind (it runs on the same chasis as regular 4e) and thus there is a lot less converting than BD&D -> AD&D. </p><p></p><p>Now, the core 4e experience will change at bit to reflect the Essentials "errata" (like melee weapon training or magic missile), the price of the inter-compatibility. However, Essentials could literally be the next "Basic" D&D set for those not interested in the complexities of regular 4e and eventually supported like BECMI was, with the added benefit of being compatible with regular 4e games if people so chose.</p><p></p><p>Best of both worlds.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Remathilis, post: 5315826, member: 7635"] So I've done a lot of thinking, and reading, about Essentials. While a lot of people have screamed "4.5" around here and elsewhere, I finally realized why it wasn't. Its Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortal sets, redux; BECMI 2.0. BECMI was its own sub-game of D&D built on the same premise but easier to use and less complex. It was a complete game in-and-of itself; using just the box-sets you had all the spells, magic items, and monsters to go from levels 1 to 36. It focused on the classics (fighter, magic-user, cleric, thief, elf, dwarf, halfling, human) but as it developed added its own unique twists (many of the odd monsters of D&D get their birth in Basic). The game was even cross compatible with AD&D to a degree; modules spells or magic items worked from one system to the other (monsters needed a bit more work, and PCs needed a lot of converting). Essentials recaptures a lot of that. Its self-contained (you don't need the PHB/DMG/MM to play), it focuses on the classics and its less complex than the "Core". The core difference between BECMI and Essentials is that the latter was built with compatibility in mind (it runs on the same chasis as regular 4e) and thus there is a lot less converting than BD&D -> AD&D. Now, the core 4e experience will change at bit to reflect the Essentials "errata" (like melee weapon training or magic missile), the price of the inter-compatibility. However, Essentials could literally be the next "Basic" D&D set for those not interested in the complexities of regular 4e and eventually supported like BECMI was, with the added benefit of being compatible with regular 4e games if people so chose. Best of both worlds. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Essentials: Its not 4.5, its BECMI 2.0!
Top