What to use and what not to use... that is my question.

[VileSin]

One of my friends and I - we'll call him A - have been going to the Encounters game at a local comic shop for the last 3 weeks. We've gotten used to the new rules and like them a bit more than the bloated beast that is 3.5. As chance would have it, there was a raffle at the comic shop and I won a Starter Set, Rules Compendium, and a few other things for 4e. We have talked to our 3.5 group and convinced them to give 4e a shot.

We keep hearing though from our group and other sources that the game rules and certain mechanics, feats, abilities, etc have been revised multiple times since release even though it's comparatively recent.

Is there a suggested list of core material that be used or certain materials that are suggested for exclusion? We're going to start with the same things Encounters is restricted too but look to quickly expand once people get used to the changes.

[Q-man]

They have put out a ton of errata that has modified the rules. In doing so they have not removed any feat, powers, or anything else from the game. Which means everything in those rulebooks you won still applies. If you happen to have their new red box with the essentials stuff in it, you're in luck since those include most of the changes already.

Assuming you have their older books then you still aren't missing much. The overwhelming majority of their changes have been tweaks to various powers. Nothing too game changing really. All of the groups I've played in thus far have largely ignored those changes and just went by what the books say. The most reliable place to see up to date rules is their online compendium, that requires a D&DI subscription. You can also get a look at their changes on the official D&D updates page.

Aside from that use whatever materials you like. All of the books they've put out for D&D 4E work together, so you can mix and match them in any way you like. The biggest change from their original books (Player's Handbook 1, 2, and 3) and the essentials line is a philosophy in how the classes should work. The core rules and mechanics are all still the same. This makes the books a little more cohesive than all the 3.5 stuff, but there's still a distinct difference in style between some of them.


The bottom line, treat it like 3.5: If you like the book use it; if you don't like the book or its not covered in a book make it up.

[Sascha]

We keep hearing though from our group and other sources that the game rules and certain mechanics, feats, abilities, etc have been revised multiple times since release even though it's comparatively recent.

Changes, yep. Multiple times? Possible, but I can't think of anything offhand. The books you have should have everything more or less up to date, in the Rules Compendium alone. Unless something becomes a problem in-play (and that line is very much different for each group), I wouldn't be too concerned with errata and just run out of the books.

Is there a suggested list of core material that be used or certain materials that are suggested for exclusion? We're going to start with the same things Encounters is restricted too but look to quickly expand once people get used to the changes.

Q-man's summary is good stuff; it's largely a matter of taste. Restricting options is more flavor than game balance, compared to 3E.

[VileSin]

Alright, thanks for the info. I'll browse the errata and see if anything's big enough for me to care about. We're going to give it a spin this weekend.

[LadyPhoenix]

Unless your players are super munchkins, gaming for brokenness, you shouldn't have any problems if you pretend that the errata doesn't exist. Nothing is too game-breaking aside from very specialized edge-cases and builds. The great thing about 4e is that the core mechanics are very mathematically based and things are generally quite even. Mind you, the errata does make some nice improvements to some powers and feats and clarifies some things, but it is by no means a necessity.