D&D quickstart rules

[Le Noir Faineant]

Thank you! Those look great! ...Though *Handout* may be a bit confusing... The Combat HO alone is of about 26 pages...

 

[CharlesRyan]

I just want to state DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY [on the Basic Game] . . . My suggestion is make your own cheat sheets . . . Have a combat one that lists action types, AoO, combat maneuvers, grappling, etc. Have one for skills and make some spell cards & feat cards out of index cards. . . .

Everyone values their time and their money differently, but I would much rather pay someone $20 to do all that work for me--and do a nicer job than I could do.

If you're looking at the Basic Game as a complete D&D experience, yep, don't waste your money. But if you're looking at it as a great teaching tool--a terrific way to introduce a new batch of players to the game at the low cost of about $5 a head (assuming you only use it once), it's a fabulous deal. And you get a handful of minis and other components as a free bonus!

 

[Li Shenron]

Everyone values their time and their money differently, but I would much rather pay someone $20 to do all that work for me--and do a nicer job than I could do.

If you're looking at the Basic Game as a complete D&D experience, yep, don't waste your money. But if you're looking at it as a great teaching tool--a terrific way to introduce a new batch of players to the game at the low cost of about $5 a head (assuming you only use it once), it's a fabulous deal. And you get a handful of minis and other components as a free bonus!

Mmh... not to devalue the job done by the developers of the basic game but... I seriously doubt that the product "does all the work for you".

 

[Le Noir Faineant]

If you're looking at the Basic Game as a complete D&D experience, yep, don't waste your money. But if you're looking at it as a great teaching tool--a terrific way to introduce a new batch of players to the game at the low cost of about $5 a head (assuming you only use it once), it's a fabulous deal.

While I haven't seen the object yet, that is basically what I had been looking for. - If my FLGS still has it, I might just go and buy it.
With all the books I already have, it's getting more and more important for me to get material that actually enhances playability at the table, so this one might indeed be worth a look.

 

[Asmo]

So..how did it go?

Asmo

 

[JoeBlank]

My sons, ages 4, 6 and 8 at the time, learned from the Basic Game and have now played both versions of the game. I recommend it. Good fun, good production values, and well worth the money. We still use the minis and tiles. If your players want to continue and do not want to create their own characters you can continue to use the iconic character sheets too.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Mmh... not to devalue the job done by the developers of the basic game but... I seriously doubt that the product "does all the work for you".

All the work of preparing components, character sheets, handouts, simplified rules descriptions, etc.? Yes, it does all of that.

 

[JustKim]

I just want to state DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. Unless you want some extra minis or a couple of dungeon tiles...don't get this. You'll be paying $25 for incomplete rules(You will still have to explain alot when you switch to the full rules) that only allow you to play for one level. Sooo not worth it.

I bought two just for the minis alone. The Deathknell blue dragon sells for at least $20 all by itself, all of those minis on the secondary market would run at least $50, plus another $15 for tiles and $5 for dice. I would highly recommend wasting your money on the basic set while it's still available.

 

[Imaro]

I bought two just for the minis alone. The Deathknell blue dragon sells for at least $20 all by itself, all of those minis on the secondary market would run at least $50, plus another $15 for tiles and $5 for dice. I would highly recommend wasting your money on the basic set while it's still available.

I was actually offering my opinion on the basic set as per the OP's needs. I actually think the Basic Set does more to promote minis than to actually codify the "real rules" of D&D into an easily grasped format.

It teaches the basic mechanic(roll d20+mod) but changes or even dismisses most of the things that a new player will find "complex" in the game...AoO, casting spells in combat, Initiative, Combat maneuvers, types of actions, etc. are either totally dismissed or use different rules than those in the D&D handbook. Now whether switching to these rules at third level would be beneficial...or just coinfuse your players more is a relevant thing. I was just offering an alternate oppinion, as I found after using the Basic Set, I had to explain and work through just as much since the rules in the PHB differ in many ways. YMMV of course.