Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5300795" data-attributes="member: 82106">I see no evidence that themes are restricted to pre-Essentials classes. In fact in DS at least that seems to be not true at all as it appears quite possible and even expected to use DS with Essentials. I don't really think Essentials classes are stronger either. I mean it isn't possible to say entirely for sure, but the addition of new Magic MIssile as a free power for Mages? Hardly going to be significant, it is a miserable power that is hardly as good as PHB1 at-wills, let alone the better new at-wills (which the PHB1 wizard can always use). I think theme's are just plain a little bit of extra power at level 1 for anyone that takes them. It doesn't look so amazing that it will really change balance in any significant way. I was only annoyed about it from the standpoint that it pushes players to slap a theme on the character for purely mechanical reasons, regardless of how appropriate it is or if it is even sensible for them to HAVE a theme at all. It is the same issue that came up with the Windrise Ports background except more so. It was (for some character builds) so tempting to use that half of LFR characters seem to hail mysteriously from Windrise Ports. Now, how many people want to bet that there will be 1-2 themes that are like that as well? So mysteriously we'll have parties chock full of pirates or gladiators or whatever. This is why I'd have preferred these things either require a resource to acquire or else were not giving mechanical benefits.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 5300795, member: 82106"] I see no evidence that themes are restricted to pre-Essentials classes. In fact in DS at least that seems to be not true at all as it appears quite possible and even expected to use DS with Essentials. I don't really think Essentials classes are stronger either. I mean it isn't possible to say entirely for sure, but the addition of new Magic MIssile as a free power for Mages? Hardly going to be significant, it is a miserable power that is hardly as good as PHB1 at-wills, let alone the better new at-wills (which the PHB1 wizard can always use). I think theme's are just plain a little bit of extra power at level 1 for anyone that takes them. It doesn't look so amazing that it will really change balance in any significant way. I was only annoyed about it from the standpoint that it pushes players to slap a theme on the character for purely mechanical reasons, regardless of how appropriate it is or if it is even sensible for them to HAVE a theme at all. It is the same issue that came up with the Windrise Ports background except more so. It was (for some character builds) so tempting to use that half of LFR characters seem to hail mysteriously from Windrise Ports. Now, how many people want to bet that there will be 1-2 themes that are like that as well? So mysteriously we'll have parties chock full of pirates or gladiators or whatever. This is why I'd have preferred these things either require a resource to acquire or else were not giving mechanical benefits. [/QUOTE]

Verification