D&D 4E Have you ever run 4e using just Essentials?

[GamerforHire]

Not exactly on topic, but I have a long-simmering desire to use the Essentials books as the basis for a deeper miniatures skirmish game. I own a TON of miniatures and Dwarven Forge terrain, and one of my gaming groups is far more about minis than straight tabletop rpgs. I never liked 4e as a pure tabletop rpg, but was also always attracted to it at the same time. I have played many different fantasy miniatures skirimish rulesets, and found them all too simplistic or else not enough depth in their options. D&D 4e, especially in this cleaner Essentials format of the two Heroes books, the Monster Vault, and the Rules Compendium, hits a real sweet spot of being both deep and precise for wargamers.

 

[cavalier973]

@Neonchameleon Thanks for the input. Having been looking these over more closely for some time now, I imagine that the martial classes were built deliberately as they were to maintain "easy mode" for certain players. Thus what some perceive as a shortcoming, it might be a feature to others.

I should note that I have since included themes and racial utility powers as a standard feature for my personal house set of Essential games. Theoretically speaking, that should provide some opportunities for players to fill in a few of the weak spots mentioned if so inclined.

Do you have any insights to give regarding Sentinel, Cavalier, Hexblade, Berserker, and Skald?

Cavalier’s a cool guy!
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Oh, you meant the class. Nevermind.

I would like to add that one can build a slayer to, at level 1, hit an AC 15 on a roll of 3 2 or better, when charging.

(Some of these bonuses might not stack) Human Slayer, STR 20 (+5), slayer weapon talent (+1 with a weapon), using a great sword (+3 proficiency bonus), heavy blade expertise (+1 feat bonus), berserker’s charge stance (+2 power bonus), (+1 bonus for charging)

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Not exactly on topic, but I have a long-simmering desire to use the Essentials books as the basis for a deeper miniatures skirmish game. I own a TON of miniatures and Dwarven Forge terrain, and one of my gaming groups is far more about minis than straight tabletop rpgs. I never liked 4e as a pure tabletop rpg, but was also always attracted to it at the same time. I have played many different fantasy miniatures skirimish rulesets, and found them all too simplistic or else not enough depth in their options. D&D 4e, especially in this cleaner Essentials format of the two Heroes books, the Monster Vault, and the Rules Compendium, hits a real sweet spot of being both deep and precise for wargamers.

I think it is quite relevant to the topic. The entire premise of my endeavor rests on the basis that an Essentials-only game is sufficiently succinct to be played on it's own as a simpler, cleaner, and completely enjoyable rendition of the game that once was. Eschewing the contamination of predisposed designs and attitudes once fostered by the mother game, I contend that we have an excellent and manageable system ripe for newcomers unjaded and unbiased by a trialed history of predecessors.

In other words, it plays well as a tactical game that focuses more on play at the board with room for as little or as much of exploration, socialization, and roleplaying as a group cares to indulge. To me, Essentials is to 4e as the OSR is to D&D.

 

[Zeromaru X]

Is this information available in pdf format? Or is just for the Fantasy Ground? I would really like to have a curated version of Essentials for playing on the table...

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Is this information available in pdf format? Or is just for the Fantasy Ground? I would really like to have a curated version of Essentials for playing on the table...

I created it specifically for FG with the intent of using it to run 4e games on that platform.

But if you stick with the Heroes of the Fallen Lands/Forgotten Kingdoms, Rules Compendium, DM Kit, and Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium, you already have the most curated version of Essentials in existence. After that, it's a matter of cherry-picking elements from other sources and deciding which are "Essentials" and which are "Core".

Honestly, I'm not sure how I'd go about making a pdf that isn't just a cut-and-paste of sorted information compiled into a single source, or a giant index of individual components that simply direct you where to find the relevant information you need. But I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Zeromaru X]

Well, a list of curated feats would suffice for the moment.

I have to be honest, at first I didn't liked Essentials, and I'm still unsure about it. I felt it was a regression to 3e in terms of mechanics, but I got that impression only after reading the mage, lol, so perhaps I was biased.

As of lately, I'm searching for a simpler system. I tried 13th Age, but it's actually a bit more complicated than vanilla 4e, so I've been thinking of giving Essentials a chance.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Well, a list of curated feats would suffice for the moment.

Lucky for you, I have one ready:

Armor Training Feats	Combat Insight Feats	Divine Devotion Feats	Enduring Stamina Feats
[Armor Finesse] [Armor Proficiency: Chainmail] [Armor Proficiency: Hide] [Armor Proficiency: Leather] [Armor Proficiency: Plate] [Armor Proficiency: Scale] [Armor Proficiency: Splint Mail] [Heavy Armor Agility] [Shield Finesse] [Shield Proficiency: Heavy] [Shield Proficiency: Light]	[Battlewise] [Distant Advantage] [Terrain Advantage]	[Armor of Bahamut] [Avandra’s Rescue] [Corellon’s Grace] [Disciple of Death] [Disciple of Freedom] [Disciple of Inspiration] [Disciple of Justice] [Disciple of Law] [Disciple of Light] [Disciple of Lore] [Disciple of Shadow] [Disciple of Stone] [Disciple of Strength] [Disciple of the Wild] [Harmony of Erathis] [Ioun’s Poise] [Kord’s Favor] [Melora’s Tide] [Moradin’s Resolve] [Pelor’s Radiance] [Raven Queen’s Blessing] [Sehanine’s Reversal]	[Cold Adaptation] [Durable] [Great Fortitude] [Heat Adaptation] [Improved Defenses] [Resilient Focus] [Superior Fortitude] [Swift Recovery] [Tenacious Resolve] [Toughness]
Implement Training Feats	Learning and Lore Feats	Primal Soul Feats	Quick Reaction Feats
[Holy Symbol Expertise] [Implement Focus] [Orb Expertise] [Rod Expertise] [Staff Expertise] [Tome Expertise] [Totem Expertise] [Wand Expertise]	[Alchemist] [Combat Medic] [Disciple of Lore] [Jack of All Trades] [Linguist] [Skill Focus] [Skill Training]	[Stoneroot's Endurance] [Stormhawk's Vengeance] [World Serpent's Grasp]	[Aggressive Advantage] [Alertness] [Eager Advance] [Improved Initiative] [Superior Reflexes]
Ritual Feats	Steadfast Willpower Feats	Strike Specialization Feats	Two-Weapon Training Feats
[Binding Mastery] [Creation Mastery] [Deception Mastery] [Divination Mastery] [Exploration Mastery] [Restoration Mastery] [Ritual Caster] [Scrying Mastery] [Travel Mastery] [Warding Mastery]	[Improved Defenses] [Iron Will] [Resilient Focus] [Superior Will]	[Axe Strike] [Flail Strike] [Hammer Strike] [Heavy Blade Strike] [Light Blade Strike] [Mace Strike] [Pick Strike] [Spear Strike] [Staff Strike]	[Two-Weapon Defense] [Two-Weapon Fighting]
Underdark Lore Feats	Vigilant Reflexes Feats	Weapon Training Feats	Wilderness Lore Feats
[Blindfighting Sentinel] [Blindfighting Warrior] [Low-Light Adaptation]	[Defensive Mobility] [Improved Defenses] [Lightning Reflexes] [Resilient Focus] [Superior Reflexes]	[Axe Expertise] [Bludgeon Expertise] [Bow Expertise] [Crossbow Expertise] [Flail Expertise] [Heavy Blade Expertise] [Light Blade Expertise] [Master at Arms] [Melee Training] [Pick Expertise] [Polearm Expertise] [Sling Expertise] [Spear Expertise] [Speed Loader] [Staff Expertise] [Two-Handed Weapon Expertise] [Weapon Focus] [Weapon Proficiency]	[Cunning Stalker] [Hidden Sniper] [Wasteland Wanderer] [Wilderness Skirmisher]

I have to be honest, at first I didn't liked Essentials, and I'm still unsure about it. I felt it was a regression to 3e in terms of mechanics, but I got that impression only after reading the mage, lol, so perhaps I was biased.

I completely understand. I was not happy about it when it came out, even though I recognized a lot of things it had that I actually approved and adopted for my (then) current games. What irked me the most at the time was the driving sense that WotC was deliberately turning its back on the 4e fans at the time in order to bring in more people. But I felt enough time has passed for me to have looked at it more clearly with an open mind and find possibilities where I once only saw disdain.

As of lately, I'm searching for a simpler system. I tried 13th Age, but it's actually a bit more complicated than vanilla 4e, so I've been thinking of giving Essentials a chance.

I strongly feel that Essentials plays very well as a self-contained edition. One just needs to let go of the baggage from the "core" (pre-Essentials) conceits and options. Just believe there is still a lot of playability and a lot of vesatility even in a streamlined system. If the idea is to simplify the details to make things more manageable and accessible to everyone, then the first (and arguably hardest) step is to let some things go.

 

[Voadam]

At the end of 4e I was playing in a game where we adopted a lot of essentials aspects into ongoing stuff, so stuff like adjusting defender marks into auras, house rules to allow an option to choose lower level dailies as encounters instead of current level dailies, and the same for encounters to at wills.

This allowed stuff like monks to be a bit more essentialized and allow a huge range of options.

It fit our preferences a lot and worked great.

 

[Joshua Randall]

house rules to allow an option to choose lower level dailies as encounters instead of current level dailies

How did that work out? I’ve contemplated a similar house rule, but been scared that daily-as-encounter would be too powerful, even though it’s a lower-level power compared to character’s current level.

 

[Voadam]

How did that work out? I’ve contemplated a similar house rule, but been scared that daily-as-encounter would be too powerful, even though it’s a lower-level power compared to character’s current level.

For us fantastic.

This was in a high paragon campaign, I was playing a swordmage.

Mostly it meant I could regularly do a lower level daily that lasted for the encounter every fight, so in fighting frost giants I could make my sword flaming every fight but not for as much damage as if it was a full level daily.

In effect this smoothed out novas and provided a more stable baseline of party power each fight that the DM could gauge and base opposition off of for planning purposes. Also since the dailies could be used more often both the DM and the players got more familiar with them and their effects.

The DM had thought that prior to that with a large party of high level characters it was very swingy depending on how many people used how many dailies which was very variable for our group and made it tough to judge pacing of combats. For a group of six PCs with three dailies each that could be potentially zero to 18 dailies in any given fight which is a decent power swing variable.

Since resource management styles were different in the group (one guy used every daily first chance he got no matter what and had trouble remembering they were not at wills, another regularly forgot he had dailies and encounters) this houserule also led to better combat balance in the group too.