D&D 5E A $20 Starter Set. Cool!

[Giltonio_Santos]

Well, we have a lot of threads about the price of a 5E PHB, but you know what I'm really excited about? The price of the Starter Set. I'm imagining something like:

- A set of dice.
- A how to play booklet with character creation rules and advancement up to 3rd level. Basic fighter, mage, cleric and rogue. Human, mountain dwarf, wood elf and lightfoot halfling.
- A how to DM booklet with some smart instructions about running the game, encounters, difficulty of ability checks and a bestiary of 20+ creatures.
- An introductory adventure.
- A generic battleground and some cardstock miniatures to use with it.

If WotC releases that in a box with a MSRP of $20, I'll buy at least one or two as gifts for people I believe may be interested in D&D. In fact, I'll keep one for myself and use it when I want to introduce people to RPGs without scaring them with 300-page books.

That's it. To me, the price and amount of content they manage to put into that box is more important than the price and content of the PHB. I'm depositing all my hopes in what they manage to do with it.

Cheers!

 

[GMMichael]

Well, we have a lot of threads about the price of a 5E PHB, but you know what I'm really excited about? The price of the Starter Set. I'm imagining something like:

- A set of dice.
- A how to play booklet with character creation rules and advancement up to 3rd level. Basic fighter, mage, cleric and rogue. Human, mountain dwarf, wood elf and lightfoot halfling.
- A how to DM booklet with some smart instructions about running the game, encounters, difficulty of ability checks and a bestiary of 20+ creatures.
- An introductory adventure.
- A generic battleground and some cardstock miniatures to use with it.

If WotC releases that in a box with a MSRP of $20, I'll buy at least one or two as gifts for people I believe may be interested in D&D. In fact, I'll keep one for myself and use it when I want to introduce people to RPGs without scaring them with 300-page books.

That's it. To me, the price and amount of content they manage to put into that box is more important than the price and content of the PHB. I'm depositing all my hopes in what they manage to do with it.

Cheers!

I'll be handing out .pdfs of free RPGs. I doubt the owners of Hasbro need a portion of your hard-earned dollar.

 

[Li Shenron]

I really think low entry price is the most needed feature if they want to capture the interest of new customers, casual gamers, and families. 20e basically qualifies as an "impulse purchase".

 

[delericho]

That $20 price point is indeed attractive. My only slight concern is that I feel it might be too low - I had really hoped for something along the lines of the Pathfinder Beginner Box, but given that this set is approx half the price that seems unlikely.

But we'll see - I fully intend to pick this one up as soon as possible, so I'm hoping it's good.

 

[Klaus]

Well, we have a lot of threads about the price of a 5E PHB, but you know what I'm really excited about? The price of the Starter Set. I'm imagining something like:

- A set of dice.
- A how to play booklet with character creation rules and advancement up to 3rd level. Basic fighter, mage, cleric and rogue. Human, mountain dwarf, wood elf and lightfoot halfling.
- A how to DM booklet with some smart instructions about running the game, encounters, difficulty of ability checks and a bestiary of 20+ creatures.
- An introductory adventure.
- A generic battleground and some cardstock miniatures to use with it.

If WotC releases that in a box with a MSRP of $20, I'll buy at least one or two as gifts for people I believe may be interested in D&D. In fact, I'll keep one for myself and use it when I want to introduce people to RPGs without scaring them with 300-page books.

That's it. To me, the price and amount of content they manage to put into that box is more important than the price and content of the PHB. I'm depositing all my hopes in what they manage to do with it.

Cheers!

Agreed! Cut out all the "optional" parts of the game (like feats), hardwire the subclasses into the main classes (so the cleric is a Life cleric, the Fighter is the simple one [Warrior, was it?], the rogue is a thief, and the wizards is a... evoker, I guess?), with reduced spell lists. But I'd bump the rules up to level 4, so the box cover the entire Apprentice tier.

 

[Li Shenron]

One thing that will need to be cleared in the next months, is whether this Starter Set is required to play the full game, and as such needs to be bought alongside PHB/DMG/MM.

Last year, Mearls shared their target of making a "basic-but-full" product and call it D&D, and then making the traditional core books. Now it's not clear at all whether this Starter Set is still the same as the Basic product or something else. But also it's not clear whether PHB/DMG/MM will contain the whole game or will be missing the parts already in the Starter Set.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I would bet money that the starter set is not needed to play the game (if you have bought however many $50 rulebooks), but that it will be the only place where one could get the introductory adventure, and that completists will need to buy it only if they need to own their Keep on the Borderlands.

 

[vagabundo]

I'll be handing out .pdfs of free RPGs. I doubt the owners of Hasbro need a portion of your hard-earned dollar.

There is nothing wrong with promoting our niche hobby to others.

A physical product, for newbies, is obviously to be preferred.

 

[ggroy]

Would such a $20 starter set be a "lost leader" for WotC?

 

[Morrus]

Would such a $20 starter set be a "lost leader" for WotC?

How could we possible know? We don't know what's in it. Even if we did, we don't know how much it costs to produce.