Wofano Wotanto
Hero
The point of a boxed set to me is to include stuff that wouldn't go in a book well. So, big folding map(s), player handouts, smaller maps or deck plans on cardboard, preferably with some art showing the location or ship, that sort of stuff. Maybe a gimmick deck of cards of teh system needs it, but most of the time that's better done with a simple chart in a book somewhere. No dice unless the system insists on some fancy bespoke design, in which case they darn well better be in there. In the days of yore a character sheet and any other forms required to photocopy would have been good, but not so important these days.
The original TSR Spelljammer boxed set is pretty much my platonic ideal, and that map of the Rock of Bral remains one of my favorite RPG maps of all time. The Knight Hawks box for Star Frontiers also gets very high marks, with (effectively) two whole board games crammed in with the RPG rules and a very nice little RPG mini-campaign. Only thing there that could be improved in the modern day would be better counter quality and maps. Come to think of it, the Buck Rogers XXVC box was also pretty awesome. TSR was doing some great boxed sets there for a while - but they were probably not profitable enough for them to make good financial sense.
Chaosium (and later AvHill) RQ boxed sets have generally been very good as well, with lavish maps, plenty of content, and unusually sturdy boxes, which is more of a selling point than many publishers realize. A flimsy box is a real turn-off no matter how pretty it is new on the shelf.
The original TSR Spelljammer boxed set is pretty much my platonic ideal, and that map of the Rock of Bral remains one of my favorite RPG maps of all time. The Knight Hawks box for Star Frontiers also gets very high marks, with (effectively) two whole board games crammed in with the RPG rules and a very nice little RPG mini-campaign. Only thing there that could be improved in the modern day would be better counter quality and maps. Come to think of it, the Buck Rogers XXVC box was also pretty awesome. TSR was doing some great boxed sets there for a while - but they were probably not profitable enough for them to make good financial sense.
Chaosium (and later AvHill) RQ boxed sets have generally been very good as well, with lavish maps, plenty of content, and unusually sturdy boxes, which is more of a selling point than many publishers realize. A flimsy box is a real turn-off no matter how pretty it is new on the shelf.
