"new" essentials class builds?

[Quickleaf]

So has there been talk of essential-izing any of the other classes?

I'm thinking bard, sorcerer, monk, and barbarian in particular.

 

[Klaus]

So has there been talk of essential-izing any of the other classes?

I'm thinking bard, sorcerer, monk, and barbarian in particular.

We have heard nothing yet, but if enough people ask for it, I think WotC would consider...

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

So has there been talk of essential-izing any of the other classes?

I'm thinking bard, sorcerer, monk, and barbarian in particular.

I think that in particular, Sorcerer and Barbarian would make good choices to have Essentials versions.

Sorcerer is an ideal paint-by-numbers arcane blaster for a less experienced player wanting to give the arcane power source a go.

Barbarians, in my experience, are one of the more common "go-to" classes for new players or players new to 4e, and the existing Barb can be tricky to get the most out of. A full-steam-ahead Essential version would be ideal.

Then again, you can already pretty much do this with a Slayer - just take Berserker's Charge and either Battle Wrath or Unfettered Fury, and you're done!

 

[buddhafrog]

I think that in particular, Sorcerer and Barbarian would make good choices to have Essentials versions....

Barbarians, in my experience, are one of the more common "go-to" classes for new players or players new to 4e, and the existing Barb can be tricky to get the most out of. A full-steam-ahead Essential version would be ideal.

Then again, you can already pretty much do this with a Slayer - just take Berserker's Charge and either Battle Wrath or Unfettered Fury, and you're done!

I agree - sorcerer and barbarian would be nice to see. I made an Essentials barbarian for one of my students by using the slayer w/ battle wrath and berserker's charge, and then by swapping out Power Strike for a basic Daily Rage (+2 speed, +2 atk, +2 dam), but if something happens that I think might set him off and he's trying to control his anger, on occasion I might roll vs. his will to see if he can resist his raging impulses.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

I agree - sorcerer and barbarian would be nice to see. I made an Essentials barbarian for one of my students by using the slayer w/ battle wrath and berserker's charge, and then by swapping out Power Strike for a basic Daily Rage (+2 speed, +2 atk, +2 dam), but if something happens that I think might set him off and he's trying to control his anger, on occasion I might roll vs. his will to see if he can resist his raging impulses.

That's a decent solution too. I like it.

I am also considering something similar for a first-time Sorcerer in an upcoming game of mine (I still have to run it by the player to see what he wants to do).

The gist of it is that he will get his normal Sorcerer At-wills and Class Features (possibly with a slight boost to Sorcerous Power), and still gets Daily powers, but his Encounter powers would all be replaced by Arcane Surge (or something) whereby, like Power Strike, he can apply bonus damage after the attack hits. As he levels he gets more uses of Arcane Surge, and more damage.

 

[Quickleaf]

The gist of it is that he will get his normal Sorcerer At-wills and Class Features (possibly with a slight boost to Sorcerous Power), and still gets Daily powers, but his Encounter powers would all be replaced by Arcane Surge (or something) whereby, like Power Strike, he can apply bonus damage after the attack hits. As he levels he gets more uses of Arcane Surge, and more damage.

I'm assuming the bonus damage could only be applied to at-wills?

See I would do away with the daily powers instead, since a common complaint is how to handle PCs going nova in combat-lighter games. I like the idea of a sorcerer who can cast all day long but still fit into a non-dungeon crawl essentials game without bringing up the nova issue.

Actually I took a stab at this for a new player, but I went with a real elementalist feel, eliminated encounter/daily powers, and instead gave them 3 at-wills (ranged, blast, burst). They got 2 elemental auras (stances) which determined the damage type and defense targeted. Under certain circumstances their aura could be triggered unleashing a close burst effect on everyone around them. It was pretty fun but we only tried it for one game.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

I'm assuming the bonus damage could only be applied to at-wills?

See I would do away with the daily powers instead, since a common complaint is how to handle PCs going nova in combat-lighter games. I like the idea of a sorcerer who can cast all day long but still fit into a non-dungeon crawl essentials game without bringing up the nova issue.

Actually I took a stab at this for a new player, but I went with a real elementalist feel, eliminated encounter/daily powers, and instead gave them 3 at-wills (ranged, blast, burst). They got 2 elemental auras (stances) which determined the damage type and defense targeted. Under certain circumstances their aura could be triggered unleashing a close burst effect on everyone around them. It was pretty fun but we only tried it for one game.

I like that. I may give that idea a try sometime!

I kept the dailies because I was kind of looking at the Hexblade as a guide for how to build it.

 

[Tony Vargas]

So has there been talk of essential-izing any of the other classes?

I'm thinking bard, sorcerer, monk, and barbarian in particular.

In the stripped-of-dailies, basic attack ghetto way, no. That's to differentiate Martial classes from casters, so non-Martial classes are unlikely to get the treatment. Of course, a Barbarian could be made munged martial-primal, like the E-Ranger, and something similar could concievably be done with the monk.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Yep I did Apparently English isn't too different between Lower Saxony and Hawaii...

So by my counting that brings the essentials classes (technically defined or practically implemented) extant or soon to be released to:

Assassin - Executioner
Cleric - Warpriest
Druid - Sentinel
Fighter - Knight
Fighter - Slayer
Paladin - Blackguard
Paladin - Cavalier
Ranger - Hunter
Ranger - Scout
Rogue - Thief
Warlock - Binder
Warlock - Hexblade
Wizard - Mage
[strikethrough]Wizard - Necromancer[/strikethrough]


Do I have that right ?

Necromancer isn't a class.

Necromancy and Nethermancy are two additional schools for the Wizard-Mage, available alongside Evoker, Enchanter and Illusionist.

 

[Quickleaf]

In the stripped-of-dailies, basic attack ghetto way, no. That's to differentiate Martial classes from casters, so non-Martial classes are unlikely to get the treatment. Of course, a Barbarian could be made munged martial-primal, like the E-Ranger, and something similar could concievably be done with the monk.

Of course as it's being done now you're correct. I do see room for a basic attack "ghetto" caster as a class for beginners who want to blow stuff up without much to keep track of, but maybe that's just me.

But with my question about essentials style bards, sorcerers, monks, and barbarians I wasn't restricting it to modeling the essentials martial classes. More generally the essentials classes have less to track (condition and complex effects-wise), are easier to build effectively, and have more flavor that helps with understanding the mechanics. That was the thrust of my question.

Necromancer isn't a class.

Necromancy and Nethermancy are two additional schools for the Wizard-Mage, available alongside Evoker, Enchanter and Illusionist.

Ah so they're like Pyromancy. Thanks Plane Sailing