"Not 4.5" is coming soon. Thoughts?

[DEFCON 1]

What I don't get is that if the Essential's Fighter powers cannot be used alongside the PHB1 Fighter...why use the same name?

If they are effectively different classes that accomplish the same goals, they should just use a different name to prevent confusion. Fighter in PHB1 = Soldier in Essentials for example.

I imagine WotC is putting their trust into two things here...

1) That established, current, 4E players are actually intelligent people who will be able to recognize the similarities and differences between the PHI Fighter and the Essentials Fighter, and be able to work with them both without getting their brains tied into knots.

2) That long-time, former, early '80s players of oldy-time Red Box Dungeons & Dragons might pick up the new Essentials Red Box on a whim or in a fit of nostalgia, open it up, and find it to have practically the exact same terminology they remember from their youth. Things like 'Human', 'Fighter', 'Dwarf', 'Cleric', 'Halfling', 'Wizard' and the like. They then recall the good times they had as kids, continue to read the info inside the box, and then maybe, just maybe, show the box to their sons and daughters and say 'You know, I played when I was a kid... what say we turn off the Wii and give this a try tonight?'

Changing the 'Fighter' to 'Warrior', 'Cleric' to 'Priest', 'Wizard' to 'Mage', and 'Rogue' to 'Swashbuckler' does not really gain you anything, other than four "new" classes to add to our current list of what, 24?

 

[MerricB]

Admittedly, this would work better if the classes were called...

Fighter
Cleric
Magic-User
Thief

...like they were in the original 1983 Red Box set!

And there were Elf, Dwarf and Halfling as "classes" as well!

Cheers!

 

[Squire James]

Obviously they will need some mechanic to keep someone from (1) choosing encounter powers that were rebalanced to account for the lack of daily powers AND (2) choosing daily powers too. I wonder how they will manage that?

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

Obviously they will need some mechanic to keep someone from (1) choosing encounter powers that were rebalanced to account for the lack of daily powers AND (2) choosing daily powers too. I wonder how they will manage that?

Really there's two options for this: They include information explaining that although they are named the same, they are considered a different class for purposes of their power list OR they build them in such a way that they look like a "build" and simply put at the bottom of every power something like "Essentials Fighter: Augment this power by using a minor action to make it do 2[w] more damage".

The later option allows them to introduce a number of more Fighter powers in the book so that people playing current Fighters will want the book as it has more options while players of the Essentials build get a cool new mechanic.

 

[mudbunny]

Obviously they will need some mechanic to keep someone from (1) choosing encounter powers that were rebalanced to account for the lack of daily powers AND (2) choosing daily powers too. I wonder how they will manage that?

They could have a line in the power statblock that says: This power cannot be chosen if a Daily power is also chosen.

 

[NMcCoy]

I think many people are jumping to unreasonable conclusions based on what's been said so far. That aside: [Edit: double-ninja'd. Disregard.]

 

[Gradine]

It strikes me that Essentials is something I might try to use to get new players (especially the youngin's) into the game, but I don't think the intention was for them to be mixed with 4e proper and I don't expect to do so myself.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

So...its D&D Portal?

 

[Runestar]

I think it is quite a bold move to break away from the standardized way classes are acquiring new powers now. I can also foresee some interesting balance conundrums, eg: Is getting more/better encounter powers worth giving up all your dailies?

Will it be like the warlock vs wizard problem in 3.5?

 

[Mouseferatu]

but I don't think the intention was for them to be mixed with 4e proper and I don't expect to do so myself.

Yeah, actually, that's exactly the intention. They've said in so many words that you should be able to play Essentials characters and normal characters--even members of the "same" class--in the same party.