Is the red box all it's cracked up to be?

[Summer-Knight925]

The group I currently play with are diehard 3.5ers, but im looking to start another group who, most of them, have never played before

the roster ranges anywhere from 3-8 people and, as stated, most of them have never played a game like D&D

is it good?

 

[Echohawk]

I think I need more information to be able to answer this.

If the group of newbies has no experiencing role-playing at all, then the Red Box might be a good thing for them to start with, especially if one of them is going to be running the game. But it will only be useful for the intro game, after that you'll need some other products to keep playing.

If, on the other hand, you are planning to DM the game for the new players, I'd say that the Red Box is less useful. You clearly have experience with 3.5, so you know how RPGs work in general, and you just need to kit yourself out to be able to handle 4e. In that case, I'd recommend getting a copy of the Rules Compendium, and either Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms or Heroes of the Fallen Lands or both. Depending on your budget, and whether or not you already own other 4e books, you might also want to get the Monster Vault.

If your budget is limited, then the Dungeon Master's Kit might be worthwhile looking at. It's a mediocre product if you already have the Rules Compendium, and even moreso if you already have the 4e Dungeon Master's Guide. But if you have neither of those, the Kit isn't a bad way to get most of the rules, some good DMing advice, a bunch of encounters, a two-part adventure, two poster maps and a DM screen.

 

[OnlineDM]

Skip the Red Box. I just taught two family members (who had zero RPG experience) to play D&D, and I considered using the Red Box (which I own a copy of). In the end, I helped them roll up Essentials characters using the Character Builder and then started running them through adventures. We've played together three of the past four days (and all four days for one of them).

If you know how to DM, skip the Red Box. If you're new to 4th Edition, then I'd suggest educating yourself as a DM first (most likely with the DM Kit) and then move on to Heroes of the Fallen Lands / Forgotten Kingdoms.

Incidentally, the recent episode 164 of the Tome Show featured an interview with JOhn Schindehette, the Senior Creative Art Director for D&D, in which John mentioned that Wizards of the Coast specifically intended the Red Box to appeal to players who had experience with the original Red Box from the 80s but who had not played D&D in years, not for brand-new RPG players (and not, presumably, for 3.5 players who wanted to change to the new edition). It's a marketing gimmick to get those who fondly remember the game from their youth to see it on a shelf in Target and pick up a copy, and hopefully start playing again. It's not really a great intro to 4th Edition for people who have a DM who can teach them how it all works.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

I do not own any 4e products and due to my slim budget cannot afford anything to be honest

I started one of them as 3.5 already
and I have "pre-made" characters already made for them, an adventure (which if I might add seems well done, I'll have to see how it works out tho, it always looks good on paper right?) and all that

so it would be cheaper and easier on me

I just felt like updating would be nice, my other group is to cheap (as in we dont want to buy all new books) to get 4e

 

[Danzauker]

I think the New Red Box to be the only 4 ed product I'd label with "mostly wasted money".

It's good just if you stumble on it on a toy department shelf, pick it up, read it alone in your home and get hooked and buy other "real" books. The Red Box is something you read once and don't read ever again.

If you already know what RPG or D&D is, just go straight to the Heroes of the Fallen Lands book. You get the full rules and the basic classes.

Then you need the Essential monster book, well, for monsters. If you have some experience as a DM I think you can wait for the DM book and compendium book.

 

[OnlineDM]

I do not own any 4e products and due to my slim budget cannot afford anything to be honest

I started one of them as 3.5 already
and I have "pre-made" characters already made for them, an adventure (which if I might add seems well done, I'll have to see how it works out tho, it always looks good on paper right?) and all that

so it would be cheaper and easier on me

I just felt like updating would be nice, my other group is to cheap (as in we dont want to buy all new books) to get 4e

Oh. Well, if you want to start a 4e game but have no budget for any 4e materials, why not just stick with 3.5? I mean, I love 4e but if you don't already know the game it will be tough to run it on a zero budget.

Once you have a little money to spend, I would suggest starting with the Dungeon Master's Kit (a boxed set). Someone in the group will need to get either one of the Heroes books (Fallen Lands or Forgotten Kingdoms) or a subscription to Dungeons and Dragons Insider in order to get access to the Character Builder.

There are some quick-start D&D 4e rules available on the Wizards of the Coast web site along with a published adventure called the Keep on the Shadowfell, which you could POSSIBLY use to start running a 4e game. But the drawbacks there are that those are only a subset of the rules, and they're the original 4e rules rather than the cleaned-up (and improved, in my opinion) Essentials versions.

I'd suggest waiting on 4e until you have the $40 for the Dungeon Master's Kit (currently $26.39 on Amazion) and the $20 for Heroes of the Fallen Lands (currently $12.62 on Amazon). Those can get you going for a good long while.

 

[MrMyth]

I do not own any 4e products and due to my slim budget cannot afford anything to be honest

I started one of them as 3.5 already
and I have "pre-made" characters already made for them, an adventure (which if I might add seems well done, I'll have to see how it works out tho, it always looks good on paper right?) and all that

so it would be cheaper and easier on me

I just felt like updating would be nice, my other group is to cheap (as in we dont want to buy all new books) to get 4e

The Red Box is good for introducing people to roleplaying in general, but might not be a good buy for you guys. It does have a good solo adventure (effectively) that walks them through character creation. On the other hand, the content in it really only goes to level 2 or 3 - if you are already familiar with D&D, and are looking for a buy that will let you guys play for a while, you may want to start elsewhere, and teach them how the game works on your own.

I'd say the best buy would be the Rules Compendium and one of the Hero books (Heroes of the Fallen Lands or Forgotten Kingdoms). Make pre-gens or pass around the book to help people make characters. If you've already got an adventure, then run with it!

 

[UnknownAtThisTime]

The group I currently play with are diehard 3.5ers, but im looking to start another group who, most of them, have never played before

the roster ranges anywhere from 3-8 people and, as stated, most of them have never played a game like D&D

is it good?

I just relayed my red box experience in another thread. For very low price, and one convenient 'package' you can try the game out for the new folks.

However ...... if there is more than a decent chance you will continue to play the game, you might as well start with aquiring the DM Kit, Rules Compendium, Monster Vault, and DDi/Heroes books. The red box is quite stripped down, and there is little value in it if you know you have a long arc ahead of you.

This should not diminish my opinion that the red box serves a wonderful purpose. It should be clear from my linked post that I think it is a product with a clear and definite utility.

 

[mudbunny]

I do not own any 4e products and due to my slim budget cannot afford anything to be honest

I started one of them as 3.5 already
and I have "pre-made" characters already made for them, an adventure (which if I might add seems well done, I'll have to see how it works out tho, it always looks good on paper right?) and all that

so it would be cheaper and easier on me

I just felt like updating would be nice, my other group is to cheap (as in we dont want to buy all new books) to get 4e

You might try the stuff at Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Try DnD

Quickstart rules and two adventures.

 

[Plaguedguy]

For a group completely new to 4e, the bare minimum budget 'buy-in' would probably be the Red Box + Heroes of (Fallen Lands/Forgotten Kingdoms). This gives the DM and Players enough material to get to about level 4 or 5.

However, while this is a budget buy-in of about $30 USD (Amazon) shipped, if you and your group want to continue playing past that point you're going to be looking at the very least buying the Monster Vault, which is another ~$20 on Amazon. The Dungeon Master's Kit is another good choice, but that's an additional ~$30.

(Edit: The Monster Vault has monsters for levels 1-30, the DM Kit has guidelines for encounters and treasure 1-30. You should be able to wing the basic rules with these and the red box booklets, so the Rules Compendium can optionally come later.)

So your choice is really whether to spend less on a more restricted game experience or spend more on the full thing.