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D&D Older Editions
Inquiry: How do 4E fans feel about 4E Essentials?
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<blockquote data-quote="FitzTheRuke" data-source="post: 8432899" data-attributes="member: 59816"><p>Retailer here. The trouble with Essentials is that they tried to do three things at once, which confused the audience:</p><p></p><p>1) Its main reason for existing (and the name) was because they were trying to create a product that could be stocked and ordered by stores that didn't understand D&D. They wanted to branch out from our FLGSs to Target, Walmart, etc. where they needed the staff to understand what they needed to have in-store in order to stock "Dungeons and Dragons". Hence, "D&D Essentials" (This is also why they made it cheaper softcovers and box-sets).</p><p></p><p>2) All 4e classes were equally complex to play, so they wanted to create some "beginner" subclasses that were a bit easier, AND at the same time answer the criticism that 4e classes played too "samey".</p><p></p><p>AND</p><p></p><p>3) They wanted to do a few math-fixes. Early 4e monsters were often a bit of a slog to fight. Too high defenses, too low damage output. I once played in a fight that took 20 rounds, in which the monsters barely damaged any of us, and yet we had a hard time killing them! (Booooring!) They implemented some MUCH better monster design (4e monster design was very good - it just needed some tweaking). Unfortunately, they also threw in some math-fixing feats, that were so good that pretty much everyone took them, making them the very worst of "feat-tax"es.</p><p></p><p>So they tried to do too much with one product, and confused the existing audience while not quite managing to build the new one it was looking for.</p><p></p><p>Personally, I really liked Essentials, but it drove a sword into an already bloodied edition and dropped it to zero HP.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FitzTheRuke, post: 8432899, member: 59816"] Retailer here. The trouble with Essentials is that they tried to do three things at once, which confused the audience: 1) Its main reason for existing (and the name) was because they were trying to create a product that could be stocked and ordered by stores that didn't understand D&D. They wanted to branch out from our FLGSs to Target, Walmart, etc. where they needed the staff to understand what they needed to have in-store in order to stock "Dungeons and Dragons". Hence, "D&D Essentials" (This is also why they made it cheaper softcovers and box-sets). 2) All 4e classes were equally complex to play, so they wanted to create some "beginner" subclasses that were a bit easier, AND at the same time answer the criticism that 4e classes played too "samey". AND 3) They wanted to do a few math-fixes. Early 4e monsters were often a bit of a slog to fight. Too high defenses, too low damage output. I once played in a fight that took 20 rounds, in which the monsters barely damaged any of us, and yet we had a hard time killing them! (Booooring!) They implemented some MUCH better monster design (4e monster design was very good - it just needed some tweaking). Unfortunately, they also threw in some math-fixing feats, that were so good that pretty much everyone took them, making them the very worst of "feat-tax"es. So they tried to do too much with one product, and confused the existing audience while not quite managing to build the new one it was looking for. Personally, I really liked Essentials, but it drove a sword into an already bloodied edition and dropped it to zero HP. [/QUOTE]
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Inquiry: How do 4E fans feel about 4E Essentials?
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