D&D 5E Street date for D&D Next Starter Game is July 15

[thalmin]

For what it is worth, Alliance Game Distributors is also now taking preorders from retailers for the Starter Set, same street date of July 15.

 

[PinkRose]

Also suddenly $150 richer! Woo!

Great! You can buy me a drink at GenCon then.

 

[variant]

I also think this is the case; I am guessing the MM and PH will be released at the same time.

I really hope so. It's almost impossible to run a game without a MM while I can cope without the DMG.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I'm no longer anticipating that the "all-access pass" will net its buyers two books; now I suspect that it will be an autographed PHB.

Last year they got an autographed adventure for $30 more than the cost of the slots. This year you are paying $100 dollars more than the slots. I would hope it is more than just a signed PHB. The WOTC staff is fairly happy to sign books if you run into them at the con and the book is only $50. I doubt they'd charge that much extra simply because it's a PHB and not an adventure. You'll get SOMETHING else. Maybe not a book.

 

[Nemio]

Nice, looking forward to it.
Living in Europe, where will I need to order this from most likely?

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I really hope so. It's almost impossible to run a game without a MM while I can cope without the DMG.

We've heard rumors that the PHB is coming out in Aug twice now and twice we're heard about the starter set. We've even heard rumors about the DMG coming in November...not a single rumor about the MM, however. At this point, I think if it was coming out at the same time we would have heard a rumor of some sort.

Mind you we've heard rumors of the Tyranny of Dragons a couple of times now. I just think it's much more likely that we'll see an adventure at the con. That way they can also convince people who aren't planning on using the adventure to buy it and mine it for some monsters to use while waiting for the MM. It's kind of brilliant on their part.

 

[Li Shenron]

We've heard rumors that the PHB is coming out in Aug twice now and twice we're heard about the starter set. We've even heard rumors about the DMG coming in November...not a single rumor about the MM, however. At this point, I think if it was coming out at the same time we would have heard a rumor of some sort.

Lots of different possibilities... The MM is more needed to play than the DMG, however it's possible they will tell gamers to rely on published adventures for monsters until the MM is out (relying on playtest rules isn't a good idea since monsters numbers were reportedly far from ready). The schedule might be 3 months: PHB in August, DMG in November, MM in February? Or they might release the MM between the PHB and DMG.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

Lots of different possibilities... The MM is more needed to play than the DMG, however it's possible they will tell gamers to rely on published adventures for monsters until the MM is out (relying on playtest rules isn't a good idea since monsters numbers were reportedly far from ready). The schedule might be 3 months: PHB in August, DMG in November, MM in February? Or they might release the MM between the PHB and DMG.

I agree. I just really doubt the MM is coming out at the same time as the PHB, which was my point.

 

[an_idol_mind]

I'll offer a dissenting opinion regarding character creation in a starter set:
I don't think it belongs.

Character creation is one of the more intensive parts of the game. I think people should learn to play the game first and become comfortable with the rules. Then they can learn to make a character, and be able to make more informed decisions in the process.

Speaking only for myself, character creation was one of the reasons I got into D&D instead of continuing to play games like the Milton Bradley board game HeroQuest.

It's also one of the key appeals I've seen in introducing younger players to the game - a lot of kids hear what the game is, describe their characters, and are eager to play their creations right from the get-go.

I think it would be a mistake to have a starter set that doesn't include one of the most appealing parts of the game.

 

[an_idol_mind]

I wanted to mention the black box as well. This is how I learned D&D. The box was great and had both an introductory learning experience as well as a more traditional reference rulebook. This made for a great starter set because you got a tailor-made learning tool as well as the actual game rules which you could take the Rules Cyclopedia and move on to the "full" game very easily and with no "delearning" or "relearning" of rules that weren't compatible between the intro set and the full game. The Dragon Cards learning/teaching method of that box is to this day the most clear, easy to follow, quick to learn method of introducing someone to D&D.

I'm very biased, since the black box is the set that introduced me to D&D, but I think it's pretty much the perfect starter set. The only thing I'd do differently is condense the size of it a little bit so it fits into a smaller box (which TSR did to an extent when they released "The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game" in 1994).