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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5378265" data-attributes="member: 82106">Well, I think the majority of the rules updates that we see in Essentials are things we'd have seen anyway, yes. The rehashing of existing class concepts with somewhat reworked mechanics? I doubt they would have done that in a PHB4. Honestly I think what they had left in the existing design space for new classes was pretty niche anyway. They may well have been planning something like a Heroes of Shadow type supplement to introduce the obvious ones, but it is hard to see it all amounting to a book so core and so extensive that it required being a PHB. Especially when the classes would be such niche concepts for D&amp;D. Basically I think half the reason we HAVE Essentials is they just didn't have that much more material that would have really wide appeal in the existing format. Notice too that at least for some of the Essentials classes they DID kind of slant things in the direction of what holes there still are in 4e generally, like with the hexblade style eWarlock. On the whole I don't think you can speculate much on what 4e would have done without Essentials. All we'd have been likely to see going forward would have been 'options' type stuff and the basic rules updates. There are only so many PHBs etc you can churn out before there's nobody that needs more classes built to the same design. Heck, 1e got by on 8 classes for most of its entire run and that was plenty.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 5378265, member: 82106"] Well, I think the majority of the rules updates that we see in Essentials are things we'd have seen anyway, yes. The rehashing of existing class concepts with somewhat reworked mechanics? I doubt they would have done that in a PHB4. Honestly I think what they had left in the existing design space for new classes was pretty niche anyway. They may well have been planning something like a Heroes of Shadow type supplement to introduce the obvious ones, but it is hard to see it all amounting to a book so core and so extensive that it required being a PHB. Especially when the classes would be such niche concepts for D&D. Basically I think half the reason we HAVE Essentials is they just didn't have that much more material that would have really wide appeal in the existing format. Notice too that at least for some of the Essentials classes they DID kind of slant things in the direction of what holes there still are in 4e generally, like with the hexblade style eWarlock. On the whole I don't think you can speculate much on what 4e would have done without Essentials. All we'd have been likely to see going forward would have been 'options' type stuff and the basic rules updates. There are only so many PHBs etc you can churn out before there's nobody that needs more classes built to the same design. Heck, 1e got by on 8 classes for most of its entire run and that was plenty. [/QUOTE]

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