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Post by kesher on Feb 22, 2011 21:59:49 GMT -6
Wow, thanks for that thoughtful response!
I think you've a strong insight with the idea that they almost could've pared classes down to the four combat roles and then you mess with them through Powers or Feats. I do like that, in Essentials, anyhow, skills are VASTLY simplified from 3e, which is the part of 3e that always felt the least "D&D" to me, and seemed to fight for space with Feats, which I found much more interesting anyhow.
Thanks again---you've given me some good food for thought!
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Post by Finarvyn on Feb 22, 2011 22:27:27 GMT -6
I like Essentials but am still troubled by the fact that each book is 350+ pages in size. I set them side by side with the OD&D LBB and think "what the heck did they put in there?" I'd enjoy an "Essentials lite" version where they would trim out the wordiness and stick to the key charts and rules. That would be even better! 
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Post by kesher on Feb 23, 2011 14:13:21 GMT -6
I get that, Fin, and that's been my feeling for quite awhile, too, until I realized it just isn't a fair comparison. Those 3LBB swiftly became 6LBB, swiftly became 3BHCB (big hardcover books!), and so on and so on.
I'm not a big fan of the Essentials layout----I think the fonts are too large and the margins too spread out, but if you took the ADD Player's Handbook of Dungeon Master's guide, and put in a similar size and layout, I don't think the page-count'd be too different.
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Post by rabindranath72 on Feb 24, 2011 3:44:21 GMT -6
I like Essentials but am still troubled by the fact that each book is 350+ pages in size. I set them side by side with the OD&D LBB and think "what the heck did they put in there?" I'd enjoy an "Essentials lite" version where they would trim out the wordiness and stick to the key charts and rules. That would be even better!  I experimented with using the NPC rules in the DMG (can't recall the page) as PCs. This made for a very sleek experience, since PCs have only one or two powers. This works well for non-spellcasting characters, though, so you might want to transform the usual cleric and wizard powers into rituals. Or if you want to run a more Sword & Sorcery scenario with no spellcasting PCs at all. I have heard there are rules for "companion" NPCs in the DMG2, which might work for PCs, too, but I haven't seen them.
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