D&D General Actual Play: Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set

[THEMNGMNT]

I'm starting this thread to hear about your experiences playing the new Starter Set, Heroes of the Borderlands. If you've actually played it, please post here!

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Today I played for nearly two hours with my wife, daughter (age 8), and son (age 6). My wife had never played D&D before. My kids have played 5 or 6 times using Shadowdark. At this age, the rules are more of a guideline, regardless. I was curious to see how all the physical components like maps, tokens, and cards would go over.

I had browsed the booklets and listened to @Alphastream's excellent breakdown on YouTube, but otherwise had done no prep.

Here's what happened:

• Everyone selected their character class, species, and background. We ended up with a dwarf rogue (son), elf cleric (daughter), and elf fighter (wife).
• I placed them on the Trail map, set out the wagon, and decided that Mallyn was the driver.
• The players investigated the wagon and found an unconscious Mallyn beneath it. The cleric used her magic to revive Mallyn. Mallyn said she had been attacked by goblins, who had taken her horse, which she loved.
• At that point, three goblins appeared and attacked. The combat lasted three rounds. Two players took damage. The rogue rolled his first crit, ever!
• They dragged Mallyn's cart to the Keep. At the gatehouse, they met Bartho and Gala, who marveled at their fight with the goblins and told them there were more monsters to be found in the Caves of Chaos.
• Inside the Keep, the players had free rein. They decided to split the party.The cleric helped Mallyn get her cart to the Trader's Shop. The dwarf rogue went to the Traveler's Inn and secured a room in return for waking some early risers the next morning. Haldryck, the owner, was happy to make a deal with a fellow dwarf.
• Everyone got a good night's sleep.
• In the morning, the dwarf rogue got another natural 20 on his Stealth check to awaken the early risers without waking anyone else in the common room. They thanked him with a gold piece.
• Returning to the Trader's Shop, the players helped unload the cart and got a few gold pieces. The cleric sold her mace and bought a spear.
• The owner, Oleira, made them a special offer. She took out a wooden case from beneath the counter. Inside was a magic short sword. The sword was theirs if they could defeat it! Flying out of the case, the animated sword attacked the elf cleric and dwarf rogue. The fight lasted two rounds and neither player character got a scratch. The rogue got to keep the sword, but gave his dagger to the cleric to sell.
• Next stop is the Provisioner's Shop.

When we were done, both kids wanted to keep playing. All the physical components definitely increased their sense of immersion. Even when they struggled with the reading, they could follow the flow of the game. My daughter kept suggesting dialogue for the NPCs, so we may have a DM in the making!

 

[mearls]

I haven't run the content as written, but the maps and components make it a great resource for running games on D&D Beyond.

I run short adventures in a West Marches style campaign and the cave maps are easy to adapt. I used cave B as an old alchemist's lair with a well that slowly created lantern oil. The characters were tasked with investigating the cave and gathering up some of the oil.

Prep was maybe 10 minutes to add the map to my campaign, drop monster tokens, customize stat blocks, and write up my notes. The players cleared out the orcs and kobolds who had taken over the place, not before igniting the oil pool, and rescued a wandering alchemist that the bandits had captured. The automation in Maps and assets on D&D Beyond made everything really easy.

 

[Kobold Stew]

When I played with my son, he could have anything in his backpack that he wrote down on his character sheet. RPG play intersected with parental concern about his printing. Total success.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I suspect the child had written "Dexterity" and "Constitution" more times than he had written his name.

 

[Gorck]

When we were done, both kids wanted to keep playing.

What about your wife (since this was her first time playing)?

 

[THEMNGMNT]

What about your wife (since this was her first time playing)?

She is an incredible wife, mother, and human being. But I don't think RPGs are her thing. Hey, nobody's perfect.

 

[Clint_L]

Originally posted elsewhere, but it makes more sense here:

In our first game, the characters met and traveled together to the Keep, getting to know each other on the way. Then they interacted with the guards (I've tweaked Bartho to be a secret cultist, and connected to the vandalism at the temple), picked up a few rumours, and then proceeded to the tavern. They were quite taken by the drinking competition, which they lost in hilarious fashion (having a bit of a tense interaction with the local champ), and then went to the inn to sleep. They stayed in the common room and, being cautious adventurers, decided to investigate it thoroughly. One rolled a natural twenty, so I improvised that his character found a clue to some sort of overarching plot (the Cult) in a pouch found beneath a intentionally loosened floorboard. Several party members decided to skip their long rest to keep watch, and eventually they caught Bartho checking the loose floorboard. They questioned him, with one using the suggestion spell, released him, since they still aren;t sure what's up, and made plans to invstigate this temple situation next game.

That was it...and they loved it! Almost all of the story came from them, there was no combat at all aside from one grapple roll to seize Bartho, and by the end they were invested. So, for this group, at least, there was plenty to provide ermergent story, and they only visited three locations!

Edit: attached the PDF of (most) of my adaptations:

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Thank you for sharing!

 

[Zaukrie]

Originally posted elsewhere, but it makes more sense here:

In our first game, the characters met and traveled together to the Keep, getting to know each other on the way. Then they interacted with the guards (I've tweaked Bartho to be a secret cultist, and connected to the vandalism at the temple), picked up a few rumours, and then proceeded to the tavern. They were quite taken by the drinking competition, which they lost in hilarious fashion (having a bit of a tense interaction with the local champ), and then went to the inn to sleep. They stayed in the common room and, being cautious adventurers, decided to investigate it thoroughly. One rolled a natural twenty, so I improvised that his character found a clue to some sort of overarching plot (the Cult) in a pouch found beneath a intentionally loosened floorboard. Several party members decided to skip their long rest to keep watch, and eventually they caught Bartho checking the loose floorboard. They questioned him, with one using the suggestion spell, released him, since they still aren;t sure what's up, and made plans to invstigate this temple situation next game.

That was it...and they loved it! Almost all of the story came from them, there was no combat at all aside from one grapple roll to seize Bartho, and by the end they were invested. So, for this group, at least, there was plenty to provide ermergent story, and they only visited three locations!

Edit: attached the PDF of (most) of my adaptations:

lots of good stuff in that PDF.