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.

 

[abazaba]

I did, over twenty pages in this thread ago.

Thanks, care to share a link ?

 

[Stormonu]

One of the things that I like about this Starter is that it is one of the only Introductory products to have ever even attempted to solve of of the game's great "problems"*

That is, it comes with all of the battlemaps and "miniatures" (in the form of cardboard "pogs") that you "need" to run the adventures. Most have topped out at, at best, some of those things, but never all of them.

* I know that you can play the game theatre of the mind. In fact, I personally prefer that style. But I have sold the game for over thirty years, and I can tell you that most people like the visual aid of maps & minis. Not everyone, of course, but the percent is large. Especially if you want to make the game appeal to a wider audience. Once you break out into a wider range of people-types, the more it's important.

Because we can ALL play with maps & minis, even if we don't prefer it, but some people can't play without them, no matter how much they'd like to.

The '99 (Basic) D&D starter set did this, also the 2E AD&D starter set, the 3.5E starter sets and I think the 4E "Red Box" did as well - battlemats/tiles for the included adventures as well as minis - even actual plastic minis for all but the '99 and 4E set (the 2E one had minis for just the PCs, plastic resculpts from the Dungeon boardgame the others were standees).

So, that's not exactly something new, more par for the course. Actually, looking back it's a bit surprising the 2014 5E starter didn't have pogs and a battlemat or two.

 

[Parmandur]

Hrm. That's odd. Over at DNDBeyond, WotC seems to advertise the new starter set as a 'board game', rather than an TTRPG ?
Heroes of the Borderlands - Shop D&D Beyond

Doesn't seem at all odd, that is clearly how this is going to be marketed in stores.

 

[abazaba]

Doesn't seem at all odd, that is clearly how this is going to be marketed in stores.

Well, that was sort of the point (sorry for all the noise).

The starter set seems to have all kinds of board-gamey contents, and is even advertised as being a 'board game'.

I just felt that when people who will buy this starter set, will get an entirely other gaming experience in comparison to what people will get when they get follow up TTRPG D&D products, which then won't lead to new TTRPG players. But clearly, @payn does not seem to agree with me, and I have no actual data to back up my claim.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, that was sort of the point (sorry for all the noise).

The starter set seems to have all kinds of board-gamey contents, and is even advertised as being a 'board game'.

I just felt that when people who will buy this starter set, will get an entirely other gaming experience in comparison to what people will get when they get follow up TTRPG D&D products, which then won't lead to new TTRPG players. But clearly, @payn does not seem to agree with me, and I have no actual data to back up my claim.

D&D has been tapping into the board game market since the 70s, this isn't even new. The Venn overlap between kids who would want to buy a fantasy themed board game with lots of pieces and doodads and kids who might enjoy a TTRPG if given the opportunity ia huge.

 

[abazaba]

D&D has been tapping into the board game market since the 70s, this isn't even new. The Venn overlap between kids who would want to buy a fantasy themed board game with lots of pieces and doodads and kids who might enjoy a TTRPG if given the opportunity ia huge.

Ok. Seems I was wrong here then. Sorry.

 

[Parmandur]

Ok. Seems I was wrong here then. Sorry.

Apology accepted.

 

[Rainbow Scissors]

Easier to the monetize board game components.

There have been several attempts to make various cards assumed components of D&D for years.
Maybe enough the anti-card crowd has died out or shifted to other games that now seems like a good time to try again.

I think the pogs are a good idea. Not expensive, and they have practical use for a group that may not have minis.
Cards are useful too, but I think there comes a point when too much extra stuff gunks up the game table and becomes a hinderance to actually playing the game.

 

[SteveC]

Thinking of board games, many years ago I was in London and picked up the Dungeons and Dragons Adventure game from Parker Brothers. It was entirely a board game with 3E iconics as characters. The next couple of years I bought the expansions for it too. It was not D&D, but it was a great product, The only issue was you couldn't get it in the US. Cards, maps, minis, and stand-up trees, it was pretty awesome. I think this as a model with actual 5E rules could be a ton of fun to play.

 

[Stormonu]

D&D has been tapping into the board game market since the 70s, this isn't even new. The Venn overlap between kids who would want to buy a fantasy themed board game with lots of pieces and doodads and kids who might enjoy a TTRPG if given the opportunity ia huge.

Re: Dungeon!, Heroquest, Descent, Gloomhaven and others.