D&D 5E Opinions about Stromwreck Isle

[Nikosandros]

A friend of mine, who has zero experience with RPGs, has asked some advice about her 11-years-old daughter. The daughter also has no RPG experience, but she's a fan of Stranger Things and is intrigued by D&D.

The Phandelver Starter Set is apparently OOP in Italian (the girl doesn't read English); it can be purchased on the secondary market, but it seems to be more expensive. It is also available - for free - in PDF, but I think that having a physical product would be much better.

So, I'm asking for opinions abot the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set. How is it as an introductory product for a total newbie?

 

[darjr]

I think it’s pretty good. If she understands English there are a few tutorial videos WotC did that covers running it. I wonder if they have Spanish versions if those videos.

 

[aco175]

I have it but not run it yet. I found several things that I wanted to change to make it a bit longer for a campaign. This might be me having been a DM for so long and my players wanting a bit more. For a total newbie it is ok. I liked Lost Mines better since it has a town where you can get help. Stormwreck has a shrine with kobolds which may make for a poor introduction to the game.

 

[John R Davis]

I have run it to absolute noobs and they really grapsed it well. It is a very good and cheap box set

 

[darjr]

Here’s is the English playlist on YouTube from WotC. Looking for any translation.

 

[Velderan]

Not sure if the Essentials Kit is available in other languages, but imo that's the way to go for a new player. Besides the basic rules and adventure book, it comes with some handout cards for the magic items, initiative tracker cards, a poster map of the town, and a basic DM screen. Pretty good amount of content to help a new DM. I seem to recall it having cards for sidekicks too, so you can run it with just a DM and 1 player.

Edit: Can't vouch for the site, but it does seem to be available in Italian here.

 

[Clint_L]

It's good for what it is trying to be - a very simple introduction to D&D. The story is pretty railroaded but, again, that is by design. Phandelver is the gold standard but is also a more ambitious undertaking. For the situation that you are describing, Stormwreck Isle should work well.

 

[darjr]

It's good for what it is trying to be - a very simple introduction to D&D. The story is pretty railroaded but, again, that is by design. Phandelver is the gold standard but is also a more ambitious undertaking. For the situation that you are describing, Stormwreck Isle should work well.

I dint think it is. It’s short and there only a few locations on the isle however you can go to any of them. Or wander the isle.

I’ve run a it a few times now and not once did things follow the same path.

 

[M_Natas]

I think stormrweck Isle i sbetter for newbie DMs and Player than phandelver. Phandelver has to many structural problems (like high TPK probabilities with the first encounters).
Stormreweck Isle is easier to run as a DM and to survive as a player.

 

[Nikosandros]

Thanks for the advice. I'll go ahead and suggest to my friend that she buys the set for her daughter.