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
*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
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Just how compatible is Essentials?
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="Jhaelen" data-source="post: 5597145" data-attributes="member: 46713"><p>Here's why it matters:</p><p>Let's imagine one of the few D&D players left in Germany visits her favorite FLRPGS and notices a new supplement like, say 'Heroes of Shadow'. Having ignored the ten new introductory Essentials product, since she already has all of the 'classic' core books (and in German to boot), she's happy to see something that is apparently not an Essentials product.</p><p></p><p>However, when looking at the back cover she notices something that worries her:</p><p>So, is it an Essentials product after all? Apparently so.</p><p>Since there's no mention about the book being useable without the listed Essentials books she asks the shop owner who tells her, that yes, the old books are no longer compatible and she will have to get the Essentials books to get any use out of 'Heroes of Shadow'.</p><p></p><p>Disappointed she puts the book back in the rack. Looking for something else to buy she notices something called Pathfinder. Curious she picks up one book and, wo and behold, it's German and it's apparently something like the successor of D&D.</p><p></p><p><strong>That's</strong> the reality of where D&D 4e is today (in Germany).</p><p></p><p>In my opinion WotCs course of action actively discourages D&D players from continuing to support D&D 4e. Essentials hasn't helped to bring back players to D&D. It has made matters worse than ever by seeding confusion and uncertainty, initiating D&D's path back into obscurity.</p><p></p><p>To find out that 'Heroes of Shadow' is actually <em>mostly</em> compatible with the original core books you have to either research the issue on the internet or you have to buy it and see for yourself despite what the back cover tells you. And that's just plain bad.</p><p></p><p>If 'classic' 4e and Essentials are as compatible as so many here claim, why isn't it acknowledged on the new products?! My opinion: It's not acknowledged for the same reason why it wasn't acknowledged after the switch from 3.0 to 3.5 happened: Some of the contained material might be difficult to use and/or require adaptation for someone who only has the old books (and it doesn't matter one bit if that is because it's a new edition or not).</p><p></p><p>Wasn't there in the 3e days some sales promotion where you could exchange your old books for the new ones? Something like this would have to happen for 4e, too, to (re)gain acceptance. And of course: The books must, must, must be translated into German again!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jhaelen, post: 5597145, member: 46713"] Here's why it matters: Let's imagine one of the few D&D players left in Germany visits her favorite FLRPGS and notices a new supplement like, say 'Heroes of Shadow'. Having ignored the ten new introductory Essentials product, since she already has all of the 'classic' core books (and in German to boot), she's happy to see something that is apparently not an Essentials product. However, when looking at the back cover she notices something that worries her: So, is it an Essentials product after all? Apparently so. Since there's no mention about the book being useable without the listed Essentials books she asks the shop owner who tells her, that yes, the old books are no longer compatible and she will have to get the Essentials books to get any use out of 'Heroes of Shadow'. Disappointed she puts the book back in the rack. Looking for something else to buy she notices something called Pathfinder. Curious she picks up one book and, wo and behold, it's German and it's apparently something like the successor of D&D. [b]That's[/b] the reality of where D&D 4e is today (in Germany). In my opinion WotCs course of action actively discourages D&D players from continuing to support D&D 4e. Essentials hasn't helped to bring back players to D&D. It has made matters worse than ever by seeding confusion and uncertainty, initiating D&D's path back into obscurity. To find out that 'Heroes of Shadow' is actually [i]mostly[/i] compatible with the original core books you have to either research the issue on the internet or you have to buy it and see for yourself despite what the back cover tells you. And that's just plain bad. If 'classic' 4e and Essentials are as compatible as so many here claim, why isn't it acknowledged on the new products?! My opinion: It's not acknowledged for the same reason why it wasn't acknowledged after the switch from 3.0 to 3.5 happened: Some of the contained material might be difficult to use and/or require adaptation for someone who only has the old books (and it doesn't matter one bit if that is because it's a new edition or not). Wasn't there in the 3e days some sales promotion where you could exchange your old books for the new ones? Something like this would have to happen for 4e, too, to (re)gain acceptance. And of course: The books must, must, must be translated into German again! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Just how compatible is Essentials?
Top