Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set Price Point Revealed

The new Heroes of the Borderlands D&D boxed set will be significantly more expensive than past Starter Sets. Pre-order pages up on D&D Beyond and Amazon confirm that the new Starter Set, made to introduce the new version of 5th Edition rules to newcomers, will cost $49.99. Previous starter sets, such as the Essentials Kit or the Dragons at Stormwreck Isle, had much lower price points ranging from $19.99 to $24.99.

One reason for the price increase is that the new Starter Set will contain many more components than previous Starter Sets. A trailer (seen below) shows off many of the cards, tokens, and handouts that are included in the boxed set in addition to the standard quickstart guide and character sheets. Per Amazon, the new Starter Set will contain 3 adventure booklets, 8 character class boards featuring iconic D&D classes, 1 quick-start guide, a reference booklet, 5 in-world immersive handouts (including a tavern menu and shop catalogs), 9 double-sided poster maps, a combat tracker, 11 dice, 210 game cards (including spells, magic items, and equipment), and 273 tokens (including monsters, terrain, and resources).

One twist for this new boxed set is that it will include tiles that will add a modularity to character creation. Players will choose their background and class and then build a character sheet using corresponding tiles.

Hasbro also previously stated that the Starter Set was produced in China, so the increased price could be impacted by the current tariffs imposed by the US on foreign-made goods.


The new Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set will be released on September 16th, 2025.

 

[Zaukrie]

I mean, I have no idea how boardgamey it is or is not.....but if they can find a way to compete for the gloomhaven crowd (which may have too much overlap to matter, actually), more power to them. Frankly, I have players that I think would benefit from cards, even with DnD Beyond at their fingertips....

 

[Parmandur]

Re: Dungeon!, Heroquest, Descent, Gloomhaven and others.

Yup. Exactly, not a new approach.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

The '99 (Basic) D&D starter set did this, also the 2E AD&D starter set, the 3.5E starter sets and I think the 4E "Red Box" did as well - battlemats/tiles for the included adventures as well as minis - even actual plastic minis for all but the '99 and 4E set (the 2E one had minis for just the PCs, plastic resculpts from the Dungeon boardgame the others were standees).

So, that's not exactly something new, more par for the course. Actually, looking back it's a bit surprising the 2014 5E starter didn't have pogs and a battlemat or two.

I mean, I sold all of those, so I remember, but I don't think they ever had EVERYTHING - just some set-pieces. Like, not all the maps for all the locations, or all the monsters. You're right that there were some with PC minis, etc.

I would hardly call it "par for the course", though! And it's certainly been a long time since they contained any of that stuff, far or less all of it.

 

[Parmandur]

I mean, I sold all of those, so I remember, but I don't think they ever had EVERYTHING - just some set-pieces. Like, not all the maps for all the locations, or all the monsters. You're right that there were some with PC minis, etc.

I would hardly call it "par for the course", though! And it's certainly been a long time since they contained any of that stuff, far or less all of it.

Yeah, not par for the course...but neither unprecedented.

 

[JusticeArman]

Hey folks! Long time listener, occasional caller. I'm thrilled to see so much discussion on the upcoming starter set! The whole team worked very hard on it; I'm eager to share it with you.

It is, in fact, a starter set powered by the D&D rules. Tabletop RPGs are a difficult concept for wholly new players to grasp, but "board game" is a familiar term they can wrap their heads around, especially in a format where many of the rules are expressed through game components like cards, tokens, and poster maps. In addition to years of feedback on past starter sets, we playtested Heroes of the Borderlands extensively with groups of all experience levels, including longtime fans and board gamers who had never rolled a D20 before! It was a hoot. Those insights directly informed how we approached this set.

Keep on the Borderlands is a favorite of mine. Back when we were selecting modules for an update in Quests from the Infinite Staircase, we kept B2 behind our screen for an introductory experience like this one. Seeing as that module debuted in a boxed set not unlike this one, it was the perfect candidate for the new starter set, uniting fans across generations. We also got to support it with plenty of boxed-set goodies.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Re: Dungeon!, Heroquest, Descent, Gloomhaven and others.

Talisman if you go back to the 80s. I remember playing that at school with friends who would never go full D&D.

 

[Weiley31]

Im interested to see what the Class Boards look like.

As an aside on that: you can get some REALLY NICE looking woodcrafted ones on Etsy. Got one for my first ever DND character (Fighter Battlemaster) and I've been spoiled/tempted to get some for other classes.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Im interested to see what the Class Boards look like.

As an aside on that: you can get some REALLY NICE look woodcrafts ones on Etsy. Got one for my first ever DND character (Fighter Battlemaster) and I've been spoiled/tempted to get some for other classes.

I bet we see a lot of these for other classes on DMs Guild pretty quickly as well, along with cards for more races, backgrounds, character options, etc. It should be an easy way to expand the game.

 

[Stormonu]

I mean, I sold all of those, so I remember, but I don't think they ever had EVERYTHING - just some set-pieces. Like, not all the maps for all the locations, or all the monsters. You're right that there were some with PC minis, etc.

I would hardly call it "par for the course", though! And it's certainly been a long time since they contained any of that stuff, far or less all of it.

I know the '91 D&D starter did (I mistakenly called it the '99 set earlier), it was a big theme for it (and Dragon's Den, Goblin Lair, Haunted Tower & the Thunder Rift adventures). Not too long ago, I pulled out the 2E starter set and it had poster-sized battlemaps and standees for all the adventures. My 3.5E starter sets are in storage (except the Blue Dragon one), but I seem to recall that was during the Dungeon Tiles era and I think that all the adventures in those boxed sets used them for the adventures within, and I think there were pogs for the monsters that didn't have actual miniatures. Can't remember for 4E as I ditched that set, but I think I'm sure it had pogs and I think all the locations had battlemaps. So, WotC/TSR since late 2E era was doing its best to have game mats and some sort of minis in it for its starter line and farther along ensuring it covered all the pre-made content - looking back, it's unusual that the 2014 5E set didn't include that as distancing itself from 4E's mini/battlemat centric "focus" (I guess that sort of stuff was moved to the later Essentials?).

(not directed at you, but more general)

Beyond that, there's been quite a few adventure modules that battlemats, standees and the like that go back to 2E, if not further - a lot of it being in the "Basic" D&D line. While those might not have covered everything, they certainly were "board game" elements that took the game beyond Theater of the Mind. That's not even including the likes of Battlesystem, the miniature wargame that went back to the wargaming roots of D&D and certainly was played with minis and the like.

As an aside, a list of what "board game" elements I could find across old products

Spoiler

2E
Castles Boxed Set - paper fold-up models of 3 castles (for Battlesystem), battlemats, standees
2E Complete AD&D Starter set - battlemats for all adventures, standees
Dragon Mountain - couple of battlemats, standees
City of Mystery - battlemats & fold-up models
G1 - Strongholds - paper fold-up models from Castles, City of Mystery, & the Falcon module series
G2 - Dungeons of Mystery - battlemats, paper fold-up models for dungeons

3E
D&D Starter Set - monster pogs
D&D Starter Set (w/ black dragon) - battlemats? & minis & monster pogs?
D&D Starter Set (w/ blue dragon) - dungeon tiles & minis & monster pogs
Fantastic Locations: Dragondown Grotto - battlemats
Fantastic Locations: Fane of the Drow - battlemats
Fantastic Locations: Fields of Ruin - battlemats
Fantastic Locations: Hellspike Prison - battlemats
Fantastic Locations: The Frostfell Rift - battlemats
Various Dungeon Tile supplements

Greyhawk
WGA1 - Falcon's Revenge - battlemats and paper fold-up models (for use with minis)
WGA2 - Falconmaster - battlemats and paper fold-up models (for use with minis)
WGA3 - Flames of the Falcon - battlemats and paper fold-up models (for use with minis)

Forgotten Realms
City of Splendors - battlemat (Adventurer's Quarter) and paper fold-up models (for use with minis)

Basic D&D
91' D&D Challenger Set - battlemats for all adventures ("Zanzer's Dungeon"), standees)
Classic D&D Boxed set (1994) - same content as above, just reboxed and edited
Mystra First Quest - battlemats and standees
Dragon's Den - battlemats and standees
Goblin's Lair - battlemats and standees
The Haunted Tower - battlemats and standees
Hail the Heroes - room "handouts" for use with minis
AC3 - Kidnapping of Princess Arelina - battlemats and standees
AC8 - Revenge of Ruak - battlemats and standees
O1- The Gem and the Staff - battlemats and standees
Knight of Newts - battlemat and standees
Quest for the Silver Sword - battlemat and standees
Rage of the Rakasta - battlemat and standees
Sword and Shield - battlemat and standees
Assault on Raven's Ruin - battlemat and standees
In the Phantom's Wake - battlemat and standees


Other
DL08 - Dragons of War - battlemat (Tower of the High Clerist) & counters (Battlesystem)
DL11 - Dragons of Glory - War of the Lance wargame/board game
DL12 - Dragons of Faith - counters (Battlesystem)
DL14 - Dragons of Triumph - rosters for Battlesystem
X10 - Red Arrow, Black Shield - mat & counters for wargame/board game
Cardmaster - cards depicting rooms on them for random dungeon creation & minigame

 

[Clint_L]

Hey folks! Long time listener, occasional caller. I'm thrilled to see so much discussion on the upcoming starter set! The whole team worked very hard on it; I'm eager to share it with you.

It is, in fact, a starter set powered by the D&D rules. Tabletop RPGs are a difficult concept for wholly new players to grasp, but "board game" is a familiar term they can wrap their heads around, especially in a format where many of the rules are expressed through game components like cards, tokens, and poster maps. In addition to years of feedback on past starter sets, we playtested Heroes of the Borderlands extensively with groups of all experience levels, including longtime fans and board gamers who had never rolled a D20 before! It was a hoot. Those insights directly informed how we approached this set.

Keep on the Borderlands is a favorite of mine. Back when we were selecting modules for an update in Quests from the Infinite Staircase, we kept B2 behind our screen for an introductory experience like this one. Seeing as that module debuted in a boxed set not unlike this one, it was the perfect candidate for the new starter set, uniting fans across generations. We also got to support it with plenty of boxed-set goodies.

Thank you for this insider information and clarification!

When you state that it is "powered by the D&D rules," could you expand on that a little bit? The recent starter sets have been simplified versions of the 2014 5e rules system. Does this new set incorporate aspects of the 2024 rules updates? Similarly, will the monsters be based on the most recent Monster Manual, and so on? One thing I noticed in using Phandelver with 2024 characters is that the encounters were noticeably easier, because I was still using the 2014 monsters.

I'm also interested in the extent to which the original Keep on the Borderlands was a factor in your design. Is this more of an "inspired by," or are there specific elements, such as plot points, characters, and settings, that have been retained?