D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

[TrippyHippy]

4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

The main attraction for me is to have a nice box to store my full core rule books in - although it only fits two I think. The game is what it says it is - a cheap entry point into the game. I appreciate having a free download too, for the Basic Rules, as it allows people who want to get into it a free stepping stone towards the full game. The adventure isn’t bad either and the game feels nice in a tactile sense. All good but, for me, I needed to purchase a bit more to get what I wanted from it.

 

[halfling rogue]

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

My first DM experience was running this adventure and I'm glad it was. So easy and fun to run as is, AND pretty easy to tinker with as well. I've even used this adventure with my kids (10, 7, and 4!) as written. I've already gotten lots of mileage out of this adventure and I haven't even scratched the surface with my main group. I have a game report and a few observations in the link below

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...me-Report-Takeaways-and-Exceeded-Expectations

 

[delericho]

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

Question: are you looking for a really good low-level adventure? If "Yes", I can recommend this product unreservedly - "The Lost Mine of Phandelver" is one of the best adventures WotC have ever published, for any edition. If "No", don't bother with this product - apart from the dice, everything else of value in the box is available free online.

 

[amerigoV]

4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

My group is a bunch of Savage World folks now, so I cannot comment all that much on the rules. I bought this because (1) I wanted to support D&D in a modest way (as a long time gamer) and (2) I can always use a good adventure.Overall, the product walks a nice line to help out new DMs but yet give us veterans good value for the money. The adventure has nice tidbits along the way yet it was not a railroad or an axe-grind type adventure. I am glad they had the pregens and a nice summary of the rules (aside from the Basic set).Some comments on the adventure (this is from memory - I may go back and get the box if I am motivated and clean up the details)

• Nicely weaved in some Forgotten Realms material without making it all about the Realms. New to the hobby people get enough info to see if they like it but those that do not use FR have little changes to make it work in their game.
• After the ambush, the goblin's cave lair was very nicely done. There is nice 3D effect to this 1D map - it reminds me of some of the Skyrim cave maps. By far my favorite "dungeon" from WoTC in a long time. The rest of the maps were "meh" - all one level. There is some 3D to them, but you might as well had stairs go down followed immediately by stairs go up for all the effect it has on the adventure.
• I was shocked how easily the Spider's name could be gotten from the goblins. But after reflection I warmed to this approach. First of all, D&D has been horrible at foreshadowing a key villain. Without GM effort, many D&D modules could be run without the players ever realizing who the BBEG even is until they finish the "tough fight". Second, it shows new GMs that having a name out there adds spice to the campaign.
• I liked the map of the town - it was small enough to have the labels on the map. Nice and clean.
• I do not know about anyone else, but the A-Team theme song kept running through my head with respect to the ruffians in the town. Small town intimidated by a gang of tough guys that is only opposed by a crack team of professionals. All the PCs need to do is run the blacksmith and slap some iron plate onto a wagon to crash into thug's lair. "I pity the fool that messes with this town!"
• The Druid/Dragon/ruined town has a lot of potential create other side adventures. Some people have whined about encounter, but I think the Druid is consistent. He shoos the PCs away, but if they persist in wanting something, then the druid wants something for the information. The PCs (and players) have been warned that its not a straight up fight. Man up - life is not about EL appropriate encounters.
• The encounter with the Red Wizard COULD have been cool, but I am afraid they way its presented will just result in a plain fight (who trusts a necromancer to stop zombies from attacking you?). I recall a scene from one of the Malazan books that I would use instead. Basically, start with a talking encounter and then have the PCs realize he is using undead for menial labor. Let the undead have a touch of personality. Z:"I had a horrible death" PC:"How did you die?" Z:"Horribly". Something that throws both new and veteran players off the normal hack and slash.
• Cragmaw Keep is a mixed bag. There is some nice opportunity with the Doppleganger, but it just did not feel like it was used right. The set up felt like they just wanted to get some iconic monsters in play (Owlbear, Doppleganger).
• The mine - kinda weak in its layout. The map looked distinctly un-mine like. Upon reading you find out that the Dwarves basically worked this area to be living quarters, so that explained it (but it would have been nice to have some indicates of "mines this way"). The second weakness was that the coolest thing (Spellforge) was just a normal 20x20 room - not much different than a typical dungeon storage room. Lastly, it would have been nice if there was a map for the GM showing who controlled what areas of the mine. The keyed encounters jumped around a bit, so it was hard to visualize what area the Spider's group held vs. the denizens of the mine. Making the ending memorable relies on the PCs navigating these factions but the module did not give you good tools to help.

Overall, there is a ton of good stuff in there. It reminds me of some of the older modules where you could easily go back and reskin parts to make it really fit what you want to do without a ton of work. The town is the classic home base ala Hommlet/Keep on the Bordlands. The area map is evocative so the GM can continue to use the area after the main adventure. The flaws noted above are modest in the grand scheme of things.Its a good deal for the money.

 

[Rhenny]

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

Although I've been playing and DMing D&D for a long time, I appreciate the simplicity of the starter set. It is a great value and seems like it will inspire many new players or DMs to dig deeper into the hobby. It is also nice that the first adventure (Lost Mines of Phandelver) is somewhat sandboxy and can be played in a non-linear manner. There are lots of ways to expand it and add to the areas around Phandalin. The starter box doesn't have anything too fancy (nice dice though), but it accomplishes its goal and can provide a score of hours of entertainment.

 

[Evhelm]

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

A good introduction to what makes 5e different from previous editions (for experienced players) while still remaining new-DM and new-player friendly by picking up a lot of the slack. Highlights include realistic villains, factions, sandbox gameplay, and a variety of different gameplay options over the adventure (dungeon crawling, wilderness adventuring, travel, interaction with friendly NPCs, home-base, etc.). Not a perfect adventure by any means, but worth playing through as a first 5e experience.

 

[guachi]

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

My original opinion of this product was low but the included adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver, is worth the price of admission. It may not be the best ever low level module I've ever read, but what it does have is lots of little adventures and one large adventure of the kind a DM might invent if he had a new campaign. Start in one village, expand to the world!!! It really reminded me of all the great adventure ideas form the Mentzer Expert set.

 

[The Escapist]

4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

In the end, this is certainly an above-average way to get introduced to a new game. It's a taste of the new for veterans and a gateway for newbies. However odd choices like the decision to not include better examples of play, better explain how certain adventure encounters should proceed, and the lack of handouts or poster maps hold the Starter Set back. It's not the finest starter set for an RPG ever made, but it's certainly a lot of fun to play and serves as a good taste of things to come. At $20, you're getting your money's worth and then some.

 

[io9]

4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

Wizards of the Coast has been steadily demolishing my skepticism about the new edition, and the Starter Set has finally disintegrated it altogether. The Starter Set is exactly the kind of product I've long thought a new edition of D&D needed. I recommend it for anyone who's curious and wants to learn D&D (although it's always nice to have an experienced player around). I think it's a good buy even for experienced players, as an on-ramp for new players, or just a for a solid low-level adventure that comes with a nice set of dice for $20. That's a pretty good deal.

 

[Yaztromo]

3 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Starter Set

Sara' che sono cresciuto con BECMI, sara' che crescendo ho chiesto ai giochi di essere sempre piu' veloci da preparare e da giocare, lasciandomi il divertimento e qualche spazio alla fantasia, senza annoiarmi con regolamenti tediosissimi e tabelle, ma tutta la produzione di AD&D e delle versioni successive di D&D (incluso Pathfinder) mi hanno spinto con sempre maggior convinzione ad affidarmi ad altri regolamenti, se volevo divertirmi senza per forza perdere un monte di orre per preparare le partite, lanciare un milione di dadi (robe da tunnel carpale fulminante), fare un sacco di calcoli, consultare un sacco di tabelle.... e avere contestazioni continue sull'interpretazione di questa o quella regola.Beh, devo dire che questa versione del regolamento e' un (mezzo) passo indietro in quella che (per me) e' la giusta direzione e l'idea di introdurre uno starter set e' quello che ci voleva, ma c'e' ancora parecchia strada da fare prima di tornare a qualcosa di ragionevolmente semplice e rapido da giocare...