D&D 5E (2014) Hero’s of the Borderlands unboxing, spoilers.

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And man, 5E is really all-in on making nothics into an iconic low level monster.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I do like the Caves of Chaos becoming, essentially, a bunch of five room dungeons. The wilderness encounters are probably a little faster, but similar in size. There's a ton of content here as a result.

I'm not clear how leveling works here. Is this milestone or XP? It does feel like, between the wilderness and Caves of Chaos booklets, characters might end up hitting level 4 before all is said and done.

I also like the structure of the NPC cards, with a picture on the front, basic stats and info needed to play on the back, including rumors they know.

The monster cards also are way better than the Gale Force 9 ones, although they are generally dealing with simpler monsters in this set.

 

[Distracted DM]

I do like the Caves of Chaos becoming, essentially, a bunch of five room dungeons. The wilderness encounters are probably a little faster, but similar in size. There's a ton of content here as a result.

I'm not clear how leveling works here. Is this milestone or XP? It does feel like, between the wilderness and Caves of Chaos booklets, characters might end up hitting level 4 before all is said and done.

I also like the structure of the NPC cards, with a picture on the front, basic stats and info needed to play on the back, including rumors they know.

The monster cards also are way better than the Gale Force 9 ones, although they are generally dealing with simpler monsters in this set.

Could be some kind of basic milestone experience system. "Complete 1 section, level to 2. Complete 2 more sections, level to 3. Complete the rest..."
Actually I guess that's more like a weird milestone leveling system, not XP. Unless you're doing XP like some other games where it's only a few points to level up

 

[Aellic Mornbringer]

I also like the structure of the NPC cards, with a picture on the front, basic stats and info needed to play on the back, including rumors they know.

Agreed, the NPC cards are well done. As I perused the adventure booklets, at first I thought many of the area descriptions felt light (moreso the Keep but also with the Wilderness areas) but then it dawned on me after reading through the NPC cards; the "missing"* content were the rumors and motivations of the NPCs. So it's not missing, it's just on the cards now. Part of me wishes it was in both places but being able to have the information handy on the card itself is going to pay dividends I'm sure (compared to leafing through the adventure to find the information.)

*'Missing' in the sense when comparing Heroes of the Borderlands to the original B2 version.

The update to the priest/curate dynamic is interesting. (I'm going to use the League of Malevolence villains as my main campaign antagonists with Zargash being the head honcho related to the Caves but I want to tie-in/expand this part of the module and currently trying to figure out how I want to do that.)

From a placement standpoint, I'm liking my decision to place the Keep in the Shield Lands of Greyhawk more and more. The bandit activity can be linked to one of the Bandit Kingdoms and the Horned Society will be the sponsor behind the curtain for what is happening at the Caves.

 

[Aellic Mornbringer]

The more i see it the more i like! While it's a little more expansive than other D&D Starter Sets, i think it packs more than ever before.

I just have reserve concerning the story.

Upon my first reading, I find the story very intentionally light which makes sense to me given what the point of the introductory set is. Now with that said, I do feel like it a good number of seeds scattered around that any DM, new to experienced, can riff off of and expand.

 

[Parmandur]

The update to the priest/curate dynamic is interesting.

Not having been able to watch the full video, mind mind expanding on that a bit?

 

[Aellic Mornbringer]

Not having been able to watch the full video, mind mind expanding on that a bit?

Point of clarification, I haven't watched the video either, this is from my reading of the material (I received my physical copy from DnDBeyond yesterday.) With that said...

Spoiler

The current curate of the Keep has just recently taken over running the local temple because the original priest has left on a long planned sabbatical. Unbeknownst to the residents of the Keep, their original priest is in fact in league with the forces of Chaos and they are the head priest in the hidden temple within the caves.

So while the undercover priest of Chaos doesn't reside in the Keep, acting Lawfully but arousing the suspicion of the Curate as laid out in B2, they still kept a twist with the religious figures associated with the Keep.

 

[kapars]

I got mine and I’m going excited to run it. The art on the tokens, booklets and monster cards is amazing. It’s similar to the 5e standard style but somehow has a little more edge maybe more of a 3e vibe? It’s hard to describe

 

[Aellic Mornbringer]

I got mine and I’m going excited to run it. The art on the tokens, booklets and monster cards is amazing. It’s similar to the 5e standard style but somehow has a little more edge maybe more of a 3e vibe? It’s hard to describe

Good call, I meant to mention the art on the tokens as well. I get what you're saying about the art. The latest 5E art seems to straddle a wide spectrum, from cozy to what I'd call 'modern old school'. The token/monster art and a good bit of the booklet art seems more on that sharper edge side which is nice.