So what's up with this "Essential" stuff?

[Ashrem Bayle]

I go away from D&D for a little while and Wizards apparently goes and changes their entire marketing strategy. So what's the scoop on this Essential stuff? Are the two new classes and races books going to have all new stuff, or is the stuff from the 4e PHB in addition to new stuff?

 

[MerricB]

I'm not reliably informed on this, but I would say that the essentials line will provide mostly new stuff. I think there are certain feats that are so core to the experience (Weapon Focus) that they'd have trouble not putting them in, but for the most part we should see new powers and the like.

"the builds for the classes would be all new, and most of the feats except for some of the very essentials would be new as well, so they are still introducing new elements to the game through these products. " - D&D XP 2010: Dungeons & Dragons Essentials : Critical Hits

Cheers!

 

[Dice4Hire]

Yes, I think the consensus is that there will be largely new stuff in the books, and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

 

[fanboy2000]

It depends on the product, WotC is releasing a lot of stuff under the Essentials banner. The unifying idea behind each product seems to be "if you buy this, you will have what you need to use it for it's intended purposed." Something, that, if you think about it, hasn't been true for a lot of 4e products.

Take the tiles sets. They're reprints of two previous tile sets that come in a box. Lots of people have said that to use a tile set effectively, you really need two of them. So now WotC is selling two in a box to carry them. And supposedly their supposed to stay in print.

Generally the books are smaller, 6” x 9”, and cheeper. The amount of reprint material depends on what you're buying.

Rules Compendium: obviously reprint material. (Unless you don't consider errata reprinting.)

DM's Kit: Most likely a mixture of both. The kit contains a "256-page book of rules and advice," which could be brand new, reprints from the DMGs and Dragon, or both. Again, the rules are likely reprinted and consolidate.

However, the DM's Kit also contains two 32 page adventures. It seems highly unlikely that those are reprints.

Monster Vault: Iconic D&D monsters. Sounds like this will be a high reprint book. However, it has tokens and a 32 page adventure using monsters from the book. Intriguing. What's more intriguing is that the adventure from the Red Box, DM's Kit, Monster Vault are interconnected.

Heroes of the Fallen Lands and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms: The solicitation for these products specifically say that they contains new builds and powers for the classes inside. This includes new paragon paths and new epic destinies. Given that books are 6” x 9”, 352 pages, and that powers take up a lot of space, I'm thinking that these books will be mostly new material.

 

[jasonbostwick]

Having just got my PHB3, the races section makes me wonder about how much will be different in the Essential books. It seems like a fair assumption that there will be new and different builds for the classes presented in the Essentials line - but what about races?

All of the races in the PHB3 follow the precedent set by the Eberron PG Changeling - they get a fixed +2 bonus to one ability score, and have the option of applying a +2 bonus to one of two other scores (so the Minotaur is +2 STR, +2 WIS or CON.)

As this seems to be the new pattern going forward, will the Essentials line see this being applied to the already published races, rewriting them to be more in line with some changed design assumptions about how the game works? Or will the Essentials shy away from changing anything already set in stone by the previous PHBs for fear of seeming like errata that you have to pay for?

 

[WalterKovacs]

Part of the goal for the essentials is making a good jumping on point for new players. The question is whether the new "type" of race is better for new players or not? In some ways, it's added complexity (as you don't just pick race, but basically a 'sub' race as well). On the other hand, it makes more races that "fit" a given class, and more classes that "fit" a given race. Part of the goal was likely to make a book with only 4 new races effectively have "8" races in the book, cutting down on page count in terms of fluff and feats, but still giving a variety of useful stat modifiers, which are a big part of a races usefullness.

In terms of classes, PH3 was a high mark for complexity, with 3 power point based classes, the move + standard combos for the monk, the dual natured runic powers for the runepriest, and then the seeker, which as a controller is going to have complexity anyway. It was likely with the essentials in mind that they made a whole book of complex classes since the essentials by its very name would be more simple/streamlined.

The books seem to serve a combined purpose of (1) attracting new players by making a streamlined and cheaper entry point to the product (2) providing for existing players by making it not only compatible with the existing system, but as the "new content" for the system by taking a break from the normal numbered system and X Power releases during the Essential push and, as an added benefit (3) They can release errata to the rules, monster stat blocks, feats, etc ... in print form for those that play at the table with books instead of computers.

 

[samursus]

Yeah... for as much as I wish my PHB's weren't errata-ridden, I understand that any game will have its revisions, and one as complex as D&D and tactically rich as 4e will have a lot. I am pleased that errata has made available, and that this errata'd information will be compiled in a less expensive format, yet still having my PHB's and Character Builder be a sources of many more varied options than will be available from the Core Essentials. As well as give me even more builds and options as an incentive....

And not to mention providing a more gradual learning curve (hopefully) for new players. I have recently experienced this curve vicariously myself with 3, completely new to PNP RPG's, players in my group. After at least a dozen sessions, they are still having trouble grasping everything.


I really think Wizards may have a winner on their hands here... enough new stuff at a reasonable price so as to not piss off the current customers, with an excellent (again hopefully) restructuring of the rules as to make the learning curve gentler. AND they are supposed to be evergreen products.

Oh yes! Don't let me forget the Master Tiles sets that may actually garner my money as I have a chance to get some basic building block tiles that won't go out of print and become black-market priced on ebay

 

[Windjammer]

There are plenty of speculations going round as to what the 'Essentials' line will be. Will it be a new (half-)edition, a re-packaging of extant material without significant rules changes, or something else?

It's hard to say because WotC' own product announcements at D&D Experience have not been overly precise, even when you factor in the additional information they put up on their webpage (under product description).

Personally, to me the most helpful clue comes from a post in 2009 by Scot Rouse, WotC' PR and Brand manager for D&D 4E until late 2009:

Overall our strategy for 2009 will be to continue to market to the existing D&D fans. Lapsed players, current players of other editions, and fans of the brand who participate in other ways like novels and video games. Our hope is that as D&D becomes a multi-generational brand with players now becoming moms & dads, the next generation starts being recruited with in existing playing families. we also will get some halo effect acquistion through our efforts focused on core fans. In 2010 we'll start to focus more on pure acquisition on non-players.

Rouse later clarified his post:

Q: You're saying that "existing D&D fans" = lapsed players, players of other editions, and fans of the brand.
Yes, typed in haste. D&D Fans: lapsed players (played but stopped typically due to a file change like starting a career), current players of older editions (e.g. OD&D *cough* Dialgo *cough*), novels readers (FR, Dragonlance etc), and people who have interacted in other ways like video games. Basically people who we don't need to explain what D&D is.


Q:Who are the core fans? Does this mean current 4e players?
People who play D&D or read D&D novels


Q: Am I understanding correctly that lapsed/prior edition fans aren't currently considered core?
No, I would say a core fan is someone who is actively engaged with the brand in some way. Reading books, playing games, etc.

If the Rouse quote is still accurate for WotC' plans in 2010, then DMG 2 and 'Village of Hommlet' were WotC' 2009 efforts to regain people actively playing D&D but older editions (as you can see, it wasn't planned that Hommlet was to be available to RPGA-reward people only), and the 'Essentials' line is addressed to people who've never played D&D or a pen & paper RPG before and aren't even familiars with the FR novels. If anything, the upcoming D&D novels line are meant to create a new generatio of D&D novel readers, instead of pleasing extant ones.

If the Rouse quote is still accurate, then the 'Essentials' line will hold only very limited appeal to people who already regularly buy and play 4E now. Which is fine by me, and would explain why WotC haven't been terribly explicit on what extant players can hope to gain from the 'Essentials' line.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

There are plenty of speculations going round as to what the 'Essentials' line will be. Will it be a new (half-)edition, a re-packaging of extant material without significant rules changes, or something else?

It's hard to say because WotC' own product announcements at D&D Experience have not been overly precise, even when you factor in the additional information they put up on their webpage (under product description).

Personally, to me the most helpful clue comes from a post in 2009 by Scot Rouse, WotC' PR and Brand manager for D&D 4E until late 2009:



Rouse later clarified his post:



If the Rouse quote is still accurate for WotC' plans in 2010, then DMG 2 and 'Village of Hommlet' were WotC' 2009 efforts to regain people actively playing D&D but older editions (as you can see, it wasn't planned that Hommlet was to be available to RPGA-reward people only), and the 'Essentials' line is addressed to people who've never played D&D or a pen & paper RPG before and aren't even familiars with the FR novels. If anything, the upcoming D&D novels line are meant to create a new generatio of D&D novel readers, instead of pleasing extant ones.

If the Rouse quote is still accurate, then the 'Essentials' line will hold only very limited appeal to people who already regularly buy and play 4E now. Which is fine by me, and would explain why WotC haven't been terribly explicit on what extant players can hope to gain from the 'Essentials' line.

Good find. I remembered heaving read something like this, but I didn't know where. So it doesn't seem much of a marketing strategy change - we are just reaching the next phase.

 

[Rechan]

Good find. I remembered heaving read something like this, but I didn't know where. So it doesn't seem much of a marketing strategy change - we are just reaching the next phase.

A good breakdown of it:

Year 1: Putting the game out there.
Year 2: Adding lots of new options for current players.
Year 3: Setting up new players.

We're just in year 3.