Playing Essentials-Only

[Kzach]

We started with a cleric, but the player only wanted to shoot crossbows -- god help me I don't understand his fixation on crossbows. But the only way to make his character worth having along was to set him up as an archer warlord -- which is not an essentials build.

Would be better as an artificer.

 

[Droogie128]

Essentials only would not work for me, but essentials, is a great addition to the game...

I like the new martial classes... but I also liked the old martial classes...

But both designs fail in a certain way, actually thats the case with most of the classes:
You have too many choices at first level!
It really would be sufficient to pick a race and a class and maybe a build and a few skills and be done with it. And only afterwards, hopefully at every level, you get a little choice:
a new at will, a new encounter, a new skill, a new weapon talent, upgrading an encounter to an at will...

Right now I have the feeling, old classes allow too much freedom, as former power choices are meaningless, and i really feel it is a problem, when you have to take a new power, and there is no way to upgrade a power...

Essential classes don´t have this problem, because you don´t chose powers...

I like the design philosophy of the skald (though i do not totally agree wit the execution):
You can pick different powers, but you can upgrade lesser ones.

I don't dislike the idea of Essentials. I dislike the idea that only the martial powers got stripped of almost all tactical options, while the wizard retains its complexity, if not mroe so. The Mage is no easier to play than the PHB1 wizard.

If the mage had been a simple blaster with spells that work as RBA's, and then had abilities to power those spells (like changing it to fire, making it push, etc.), I wouldn't have a problem. Instead, they returned to the old philosophy of "Wizards rule, and Fighters drool".

 

[UngeheuerLich]

No. That is just wrong...

Fighters still have a lot to decide... as their positioning is vital to anyone... their choice of stance too. When to burn the action point.
A simpler blaster would have been ok too... i would not mind. But the idea of having classes with different kind of necessary player experience seems ok.

I still believe the slayer and knight are designed wrong in that regard. It is level 1, where you should only get certain abilities and no choice about it, and later on you should be able to decide what you get.

The cavalier e.g. has it right:
you chose your stats, race and virtue, and you are done.
Afterwards, you chose your utilities and dailes...

 

[Jack99]

I have been running an Essentials-only campaign for a while now. It started as a Dark Sun campaign, but as they hit paragon, they escaped from Athas. The Essentials-only approach has almost worked flawlessly, except for the feats. Both the players and I feel that there are just too few feats, so I have been going over all the books and compiled a list of 250-300 additional feats that I allow. It gives some more choices, but without breaking anything, as I have worked on avoiding stuff that could be exploited much.

 

[Dice4Hire]

never mind.

 

[Gort]

I just wrapped up my normal-4e game (at level 30 - the fighter became Queen Arthur, the assassin became God of Death, all that jazz) in which I was DMing, and started playing in a game that uses Essentials. We didn't intend for all the characters to be Essentials characters, either, it just sorta worked out that way.

I'm playing a Slayer, and I'm absolutely loving the speed at which my turns roar past. I can get in, hack a dude to bits, quip and put my turn onto the next guy in like ten seconds.

And you know the best bit? If I get bored of that, I can always just re-design him as a barbarian and roll with it. There's no reason to enforce Essentials, I just like the Slayer.

 

[Gort]

Both the players and I feel that there are just too few feats, so I have been going over all the books and compiled a list of 250-300 additional feats that I allow. It gives some more choices, but without breaking anything, as I have worked on avoiding stuff that could be exploited much.

Oh, post this. I'd love to use it in the game I'm playing. (as the old DM I'm kinda the rules lawyer for people and help them choose feats and stuff)

 

[Jack99]

Oh, post this. I'd love to use it in the game I'm playing. (as the old DM I'm kinda the rules lawyer for people and help them choose feats and stuff)

Can't, the list includes description of all the feats, which would violate ENworlds posting rules. But toss me your email and I can mail it.


This short message was brought to you by Tapatalk and my iPad