From MerricB on ENWorld:

I've seen some confusion recently about the role of D&D Essentials. What is it? Who is it for?

Well, here's my take on it, based on the information I've read about it. Thanks go to Dave Chalker (DavetheGame) for writing posts that I've drawn some insight from, and Bill Slavicsek for information posted in his Ampersand columns.

What are D&D Essentials?
D&D Essentials is a parallel line of 10 products for D&D 4th Edition. It provides a new way for players to enter the game rather than the traditional Player's Handbook, Monster Manual & Dungeon Master's Guide. The books will be soft-cover, and cheaper than the regular books.

D&D Essentials doesn't change the rules. It's still D&D 4th edition. It just splits them up in a different way - and possibly in a more approachable manner for new players. And, in total, they'll cover levels 1-30.

The products in the D&D Essentials line are intended to always be in print, much like the core three D&D books (PHB, MM, DMG). You should always be able to get them, providing a way into the game. In the case of the tile sets, this is very pleasing indeed.

Who are D&D Essentials for?
Mostly new players. D&D Essentials is primarily a new path for players to enter D&D by. That said, the books have a lot of new feats, powers and options that established players may find useful. You might also find the formatting useful.

The Rules Compendium will also have all the core rules errata so far (Stealth, Aid Another, Flying, Mounts, etc.) incorporated in it, which will make it quite attractive for established DMs and players.

What products should new players get?
Interesting question. The D&D Starter Set will introduce everyone to the game. From there...

Everyone: Dice + D&D Rules Compendium.
Players: One of the two "Heroes" books - or both.
DMs: DM's Kit and Monster Vault - and possibly some of the tile sets.

Do D&D Essentials replace the Core books?
At this time, it's been indicated (several times) that they won't replace the core books, they'll just give a separate pathway into the game. So, you'll still be able to buy the various Monster Manuals, DMGs and Player's Handbook - or the Essentials books.

Are there only ten products in the Essentials line?
Yes. Come 2011, we'll be back to more regular support of D&D. Including, I hope, DMG3 and its Epic level play advice.

What about the Character Builder?
Yes, from what I've read, it'll support all the new material in the Essentials line.

What levels do the D&D Essentials cover?
With the exception of the Starter/Basic set, all of them cover levels 1-30. The Starter/Basic set only covers levels 1-3.

What products are in the D&D Essentials line?
* D&D Fantasy Roleplaying Game - Starter Set - $20. dice, 2 books (32 pages, 64 pages), tokens, map, character sheets. (Sep 7, 2010)

Covering levels 1-3 and for 1-5 players, this is the new introductory product for D&D. "Several different character races (dwarf, elf, halfling, and human) and classes (cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard) are presented, along with powers for each race and class."

* D&D Rules Compendium - $20, 320 pages, softcover (Sep 21, 2010)

Contains the full core rules of D&D. "In addition to providing an overview of the game and how it's played, this book presents the core rules in a format that is easily referenced during a game. It includes information on level advancement, combat, experience points, treasure, skills, equipment, and more." So, much of what is in the Player's Handbook in terms of rules, plus material from the DMG, I'd imagine.

* D&D Player Essentials - Heroes of the Fallen Lands - $20, 352 pages, softcover (Sep 21, 2010)

Covers Fighter, Cleric, Rogue and Wizard from levels 1-30. New builds and powers, paragon and epic paths. Also has Dwarf, Eladrin, Elf, Halfling and Human. This is the basic player book for standard classes. (I expect a player needs the Rules Compendium and one of the Heroes books to play).

* D&D Player Essentials - Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms - $20, 352 pages, softcover (Nov 16, 2010)

Covers Druid, Paladin, Ranger and Warlock from levels 1-30. Also Dragonborn, Drow, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs and Tieflings. The second of the player books, this one goes into the more "advanced" classes and races, and comes out two months after the first one.

Both of the Player Essentials books have builds and powers we haven't seen before, and will likely be bought by current players wanting new toys to play with.

* Dungeon Master's Kit - $40, 256 page book, two 32-page adventures, 2 sheets of tokens, 2 doublesided maps, DM Screen (Oct 19, 2010)

"This deluxe box contains rules and advice to help Dungeon Masters run games for adventurers of levels 1–30. It also includes useful DM tools such as a Dungeon Master's screen (with tables and rules printed on the inside), die-cut terrain tiles and monster tokens, and fold-out battle maps."

* Monster Vault - $30, 256 page book, 32 page adventure, 10 sheets of tokens. (Nov 16, 2010)

A lot of monsters, along with tokens for them and advice on using them. Effectively the Monster Manual in a deluxe form, but I'd dare say it has a lot of variants in it.

* Dungeon Tiles Master Set: The Dungeon - $20, 10 sheets of tiles. (Jul 20, 2010)

Ten sheets of "core" dungeon tiles.

* Dungeon Tiles Master Set: The City - $20, 10 sheets of tiles. (Oct 19, 2010)

The basic "city" tiles from the D&D Tile range.

* Dungeon Tiles Master Set: The Wilderness - $20, 10 sheets of tiles. (Dec 21, 2010)

Guess what?

Oh, and the tenth product?

* D&D Roleplaying Dice Set - $13, dice bag and one of each main polyhedral die: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 (August 17, 2010)

I find it interesting that you basically got a starter boxed set with tiles and shit for $20, level 1-3, and after 300+ pages books. That's not exactly what I call a smooth introduction to the game, personally. It's more like hooking on an introductory product and selling the same heavy-loaded crap again with a different packaging. That's supposed to hook more than people who already are gamers, know the Mentzer basic boxed set, and did not buy 4e the first time around?
 
What do you guys think?

If it's just a plain repackaging of older stuff with corrections + nerfs, etc ..., it would seem kinda superfluous at first.

Some comrades' understanding of the tenets of Marxism seems to be, at best, rudimentary. Surely no one can deny that it is a basic principle of...

Oops. For some reason I thought I was on a different forum.

Quote from: Benoist;380262I find it interesting that you basically got a starter boxed set with tiles and shit for $20, level 1-3, and after 300+ pages books. That's not exactly what I call a smooth introduction to the game, personally. It's more like hooking on an introductory product and selling the same heavy-loaded crap again with a different packaging. That's supposed to hook more than people who already are gamers, know the Mentzer basic boxed set, and did not buy 4e the first time around?
 
What do you guys think?

Ask me again when I start seeing previews. The pricing is OK; the transition might well be funky. It would almost seem more natural to break the hero books up into one slim volume per class, but there are economies of scale for bigger books? I dunno.

Quote from: Thanlis;380276Ask me again when I start seeing previews.

I'm of somewhat the same opinion. Mine is: Ask me again when I have it.

Seanchai

Quote from: Benoist;380262What do you guys think?

I have little interest, but I guess I'll put my oar in the water, anyway.

If it were me, I'd release a boxed "essentials" set that functions as a complete game.  Somebody could buy the boxed set and play the game for years without every buying another D&D product.  That's not to say you couldn't buy supplementary products and use them with your Essentials boxed set, it's just that you wouldn't need to in order to have a complete and satisfying game.

That means I'd include more than just a few levels.  I'd probably include ten or twelve levels.  Or doesn't 4e have different level tiers, or something?  I'd probably use that breakdown.

The standard (i.e. non-essentials) line would be the typical hardbacks and attendant products, aimed at the dedicated player who buys a continuous stream of new product for his game.  Of course, my aim would be to entice "essentials" players into this arrangement, but I'd need to do it by offering them something additional and cool, rather than forcing them into it by not offering any other model.  The essentials boxed set would retain its ability to be used (and sold) as a stand-alone game.  I'd try to get it into typical game channels (toy stores, Wal-Mart, et cetera) just like any other boxed game.

Holmes Basic would be considered a rip-off by today's standards. It cost the equivalent of about $45 in today's dollars, supported play only for levels 1-3, and if you wanted to play higher you had to wait a couple years for the AD&D books (each of which cost about $50 in today's dollars) to come out.

And then, only three years after Holmes Basic was released, Moldvay Basic came out and it also only supported levels 1-3 (and cost a lot of money). If you wanted to play above 3rd level you had to buy another expensive boxed set.

So let's not pretend that what WotC is doing with their new boxed set is anything different from what Gygax and TSR did 30 years ago.

Quote from: Haffrung;380373So let's not pretend that what WotC is doing with their new boxed set is anything different from what Gygax and TSR did 30 years ago.

Who's pretending that?

Quote from: Haffrung;380373Holmes Basic would be considered a rip-off by today's standards. It cost the equivalent of about $45 in today's dollars, supported play only for levels 1-3, and if you wanted to play higher you had to wait a couple years for the AD&D books (each of which cost about $50 in today's dollars) to come out.

Expert went to 14th level.

Quote from: Haffrung;380373And then, only three years after Holmes Basic was released, Moldvay Basic came out and it also only supported levels 1-3 (and cost a lot of money). If you wanted to play above 3rd level you had to buy another expensive boxed set.

'A lot of money'?  'Expensive'?  Come on, now.  That is just outright hyperbole.  Two boxed sets (that included dice and a module apiece) for about $90 or three books for $150 (by your unsubstantiated estimates).  Which is comparable to the cost of 4e books, by the way.

You may want to try 'math' before spouting off in the future.  I hear it works pretty well for this kind of thing.

FWIW, I think the basic sets TSR released should have included more levels, too.  A standalone boxed set that went from 1-12 would've been a great thing.  And I bet most of us would've still bought the Advanced hardbacks, anyway.

Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;380389FWIW, I think the basic sets TSR released should have included more levels, too.  A standalone boxed set that went from 1-12 would've been a great thing.  And I bet most of us would've still bought the Advanced hardbacks, anyway.

I'm not entirely disagreeing that Basic should have been maybe 1-6, or 1-10 and Expert covering the rest up to maybe 12th or 20th level or whatever.  The level breakdowns didn't make a lot of sense.  But saying the boxed sets cost a lot of money, especially in comparison to the hardbacks at the time, or the hardbacks now, is fairly ridiculous.  

How many people around these parts have said they rarely had a campaign go all the way to 20th level?  I have usually heard 12th-14th (at the latest) was about where they fizzled out for a variety of reasons, so in effect, the B/X sets together constituted a full game that could be played for years on their own, without ever needing the AD&D books.  Continue spell progression, and you could easily play to 20th level anyway.  The whole argument about expense is just a non-starter.

Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;380389FWIW, I think the basic sets TSR released should have included more levels, too.  A standalone boxed set that went from 1-12 would've been a great thing.  And I bet most of us would've still bought the Advanced hardbacks, anyway.

I too think that Holmes could have used a few more levels by design.