D&D (2024) What's In D&D's New Starter Set?

There's a new Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set, titled Heroes of the Borderlands, coming in September. WotC has given us a quick peek at what's inside! The set is designed to be replayable, and comes with maps and cards, which are presumably part of the tile-based character creation system WotC has hinted at recently. The video doesn't reveal much else, but we should have more information over the coming months.

 

[MerricB]

I think a good starter set is appealing to long-time players, because they are the ones most likely to buy it and run it for newbies.

With that said, while I'm not crazy about either the cover art or the promo art they've shown off (the piece recreating the B2 cover), the components and especially the maps look fantastic. I'll be preordering this one. So at the very least, they've hooked and caught this grognard.

EDIT: To add another point, I really like how they lay out the adventure as featuring the Keep, the wilderness, and a dungeon crawl. I think that approach gets at the structure that makes B2 work.

Well, it's the structure that makes B2 work in the hands of a good DM. Since I remember me as a novice DM being completely confused by how to run the Keep or Wilderness, while having a lot of fun with the Caves.

If they can give a good structure for each (and I have no doubt that they're capable), it should far exceed the original product. (I remember the 4E version of the Village of Hommlet, which I far preferred to the original).

Cheers!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I remember the 4E version of the Village of Hommlet, which I far preferred to the original

Oh, wow. As a 4E-skipper, this is intriguing. It looks like, as an RPGA exclusive, it'll take some hunting down, though.

 

[MerricB]

Oh, wow. As a 4E-skipper, this is intriguing. It looks like, as an RPG exclusive, it'll take some hunting down, though.

I think you can find it here:

Dungeon #212 (4e) - Wizards of the Coast | Dungeons & Dragons 4e | Dungeons & Dragons 4e | Dungeon Masters Guild

Dungeon #212 (4e) - Table of contents: 1 Classic Connections by Christopher PerkinsThis month's adventures are brought to you by the letters

www.dmsguild.com

But I haven't double-checked to see if it is identical with the promotional version I have.

There are things it doesn't do as well, but it does a good job of getting to the heart of interesting interactions. (Honestly, I'd end up using the original enhanced with the 4E version).

 

[darjr]

Oh, wow. As a 4E-skipper, this is intriguing. It looks like, as an RPG exclusive, it'll take some hunting down, though.

hmm... I have it around here somewhere. The Inn map is amazing, the keep one not so much. The content is good.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think you can find it here:

Dungeon #212 (4e) - Wizards of the Coast | Dungeons & Dragons 4e | Dungeons & Dragons 4e | Dungeon Masters Guild

Dungeon #212 (4e) - Table of contents: 1 Classic Connections by Christopher PerkinsThis month's adventures are brought to you by the letters

www.dmsguild.com

But I haven't double-checked to see if it is identical with the promotional version I have.

There are things it doesn't do as well, but it does a good job of getting to the heart of interesting interactions. (Honestly, I'd end up using the original enhanced with the 4E version).

It looks like it's a different level than the one you have, based on the Noble Knight description.

 

[darjr]

I think you can find it here:

Dungeon #212 (4e) - Wizards of the Coast | Dungeons & Dragons 4e | Dungeons & Dragons 4e | Dungeon Masters Guild

Dungeon #212 (4e) - Table of contents: 1 Classic Connections by Christopher PerkinsThis month's adventures are brought to you by the letters

www.dmsguild.com

But I haven't double-checked to see if it is identical with the promotional version I have.

There are things it doesn't do as well, but it does a good job of getting to the heart of interesting interactions. (Honestly, I'd end up using the original enhanced with the 4E version).

I don't think it is. It doesn't have the poster maps, for one.

 

[darjr]

It looks like it's a different level than the one you have, based on the Noble Knight description.

Actually I think it's really close now that I look at it. I'd have to dig out the gifted one.

 

[Birmy]

On top of THAT, there's a huge difference between what kids actually enjoy and can handle, and what their parents are comfortable with. I see this all the time at my Comic Store - where a kid will want Batman, Punisher, and Carnage, and their mom wants them to have Lilo & Stitch.

As silly as it might seem, it's actually important for publishers to try and thread the gap between the two of them, if they want to succeed.

I ran a comic book store myself for a number of years, and this jibes with my experience, as well. On Free Comic Book Day, we would separate out the kid-oriented stuff and put it to one side; this was for the parents' benefit, since FCBD releases are confusing enough as it is without parents having to parse what they're looking at too closely. However, I was careful not to call it the "kids section" or anything similar, since this would inevitably turn the kids off and they would WANT to see what all the grown-up comics were about. This same dichotomy led to numerous cases of having to steer kids away from John Constatine, Hellblazer or talk parents out of letting their kids get Punisher MAX (Marvel's most popular serial killer anti-hero) because "the cover looked cool" or "Aren't comics for kids?!" In contrast, I've had numerous tween kids tell me the plots of Five Nights at Freddy's media, much of which involves stuffing corpses into animatronic animal suits, all apparently with little parental oversight. It's a weird thing, trying to serve those audiences. I think you're right that navigating that gap is both tricky and essential, the expectation of comfort and suitability vs. the reality of what each party wants.

It’s Justice and the Keep. Yea I’m hooked.

Justice and The Keep sounds like it could be a module unto itself.

 

[MNblockhead]

I'm hopeful and even a bit excited about this. I don't think they need to do much to make it replayable. When I got my box set in the 80s, I kept running games through the Caves of Chaos, thinking that was the game. Then I started making my own dungeons on graph paper. Then I discovered modules in Walden Books, attracted by I6 (Ravenloft) cover and my mind was blown.

I feel that none of the starter sets for 5e came anywhere near to capturing the magic of the first starter set for younger players. Something a non-gaming parent, aunt, uncle, or grandparent can buy at target and you can replay with your friends instead of a one and done adventure. Phandelver was great for existing players looking to ease into the new rules and maybe older kids. But it had little stand alone, replayability potential. It wasn't great for getting younger players into the game unless they had parents or older siblings already into the game.

When I was looking into getting my kids in gaming, the best product by far was No Thank You, Evil! The production quality was good. The rules were accessible enough that non-gamer parents could play it with their kids. And it had younger player friendly components but still was fun to play if you were older.

It looks like WotC has learned some of these lessons. My main concern is how accessible the rules are going to be for younger players and non-gaming parents. 5e rules, while not terribly crunchy, can still be intimidating if they just throw a rules booklet at you. Presentation of the rules can make a huge difference in making them accessible. Put spell, power, and item rules on cards, have an intro scenario that takes you through social, exploration, and combat scenes, stepping you through the most common rules.

I don't want this to appeal to an old grognard like me. If my non-gaming sister could buy this at target and play the game with my niece and nephew, and replay it, then that would make it a good intro starter set.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I've had numerous tween kids tell me the plots of Five Nights at Freddy's media, much of which involves stuffing corpses into animatronic animal suits, all apparently with little parental oversight.

Five Nights at Freddy's lore is crazy, like Saw combined with a ghost story, with a gameplay loop that basically replicates the Marines under siege from the xenomorphs in the control room in Aliens. And it's hugely popular with elementary schoolers.