Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set Price Point Revealed

The new Heroes of the Borderlands D&D boxed set will be significantly more expensive than past Starter Sets. Pre-order pages up on D&D Beyond and Amazon confirm that the new Starter Set, made to introduce the new version of 5th Edition rules to newcomers, will cost $49.99. Previous starter sets, such as the Essentials Kit or the Dragons at Stormwreck Isle, had much lower price points ranging from $19.99 to $24.99.

One reason for the price increase is that the new Starter Set will contain many more components than previous Starter Sets. A trailer (seen below) shows off many of the cards, tokens, and handouts that are included in the boxed set in addition to the standard quickstart guide and character sheets. Per Amazon, the new Starter Set will contain 3 adventure booklets, 8 character class boards featuring iconic D&D classes, 1 quick-start guide, a reference booklet, 5 in-world immersive handouts (including a tavern menu and shop catalogs), 9 double-sided poster maps, a combat tracker, 11 dice, 210 game cards (including spells, magic items, and equipment), and 273 tokens (including monsters, terrain, and resources).

One twist for this new boxed set is that it will include tiles that will add a modularity to character creation. Players will choose their background and class and then build a character sheet using corresponding tiles.

Hasbro also previously stated that the Starter Set was produced in China, so the increased price could be impacted by the current tariffs imposed by the US on foreign-made goods.


The new Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set will be released on September 16th, 2025.

 

[Sacrosanct]

The LMoP Starter Set is the best selling product in D&D history.

More than Mentzer's Basic Set? (which IIRC, was the leader)

 

[Clint_L]

Do you have any evidence to support that? Because I think it had more to do with streamed games and covid. I saw plenty of copies sitting on shelves whilst more expensive boardgames sold well.

And I think the adventure is old fashioned - more likely to appeal to veterans than new players.

I find your criticism odd, given that my entire quotation was:

I think LMoP contributed a lot to 5e's exponential growth. It was one of many factors, but if you had just sort of become aware of D&D, or remembered loving it from your youth, having an outstanding starter kit available everywhere for around $20 certainly made for an easy on-ramp. $50 puts it in a different category, IMO.

So I feel like I specifically both covered the nostalgia factor and gave my reasoning, which is expressed as an opinion ("I think"), and immediately assert that "it was one of many factors." But if you want more evidence, I can point out the phenomenal, persistent sales of LMoP, the widespread critical acclaim for LMoP, and the fact that it has been praised by so many prominent voices around the D&D community, such as the Russo brothers, who once stated that they replay it every year.

I definitely don't think Covid 19 had much to do with the exponential growth of 5e, given that the exponential growth began immediately upon publication, years before Covid 19 existed. I do think streamed shows (specifically Critical Role) and pop culture were among the "many factors" I already cited, though I think the most important was demographics, and specifically the demographics of Generation X and their offspring. But I also think having an extraordinary starter set at an inexpensive price point was a significant contributor, yes. Personal anecdote: when I got back into regular D&D after a long hiatus, it was specifically because of an impulse buy of LMoP to play with my kid.

Would I have done that if it was double the price? Not sure.

 

[Parmandur]

More than Mentzer's Basic Set? (which IIRC, was the leader)

Specifically, yes.

 

[Arilyn]

It's possible that the new set's goodies will lure in new players. I love Free League sets because of the stuff. Maps, tokens, etc. might make the game feel more approachable, especially if they are boardgamers. Is WotC pushing replay ability? That could help, even if it's not exactly accurate.

 

[aiouh]

To be fair cheap kits like LMOP (which is free on DDB by the way), Essentials Kit and Dragonwreck don't cease existing just because 2024 came out. And they're both 5e. (BG3 players might even feel more familiar with 2014 rules.)

So making an expensive kit for the new version to round it out makes sense! 2014e Starter Kits are still useful as 5e introduction kits! LMOP is free and so are Basic Rules and/or Essentials Kit Rules! So making a deluxe tabletop version to round out the "Starter Line" makes a lot of sense if you start thinking of all the 4 products of being starter products for the same game.

 

[Rainbow Scissors]

The components look kinda cool, but I am not sure if I would actually use them or if they would end up just being clutter in the game room.

The price point seems reasonable for the content. It will probably be nice for someone brand new to the game. Depending upon the quality of the adventures, 3 adventures and a set of dice might be worth $50.

Any word on if future D&D products will adopt the card model rather than character sheets?
I feel as though selling more cards might be a way to "monetize" the D&D brand in a manner similar to Magic.

Will there be an option to get the starter adventures from the booklets without buying the whole set?

 

[Plaguescarred]

It packs a lot of goodies for the pricetag, clearly a different way than we're used to for Starter Set, usually coming at lower price range. Its more of a Starter Box Set feel