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.

 

[Dire Bare]

Thanks, care to share a link ?
No ? Nah, didn't think you could. Link or it didn't happen.

Or, I don't know, you could read the thread before posting out of ignorance. Shrug.

 

[abazaba]

Or, I don't know, you could read the thread before posting out of ignorance. Shrug.

Actually, I looked up his profile, and checked all the posts he made in this thread, and there were absolutely zero posts about whether the perceived experience in playing the new starter set 'board game' would be significantly different enough from buying another random D&D adventure (perhaps along with the PHB or even the DMG or MM), to not really bringing new players into the hobby.

Or, I don't know, you could do your homework before posting out of ignorance. Shrug.

Care to share the link to the post of his that already references my initial question ?

 

[JusticeArman]

Thank you for this insider information and clarification!

When you state that it is "powered by the D&D rules," could you expand on that a little bit? The recent starter sets have been simplified versions of the 2014 5e rules system. Does this new set incorporate aspects of the 2024 rules updates? Similarly, will the monsters be based on the most recent Monster Manual, and so on? One thing I noticed in using Phandelver with 2024 characters is that the encounters were noticeably easier, because I was still using the 2014 monsters.

I'm also interested in the extent to which the original Keep on the Borderlands was a factor in your design. Is this more of an "inspired by," or are there specific elements, such as plot points, characters, and settings, that have been retained?

Yes! This starter set uses the 2024 rules. We've also streamlined some aspects to make for easier onboarding, but if you learn to play D&D with this set and then go pick up a Player's Handbook or the D&D Basic Rules, you'll be playing the same game. One example of a quality-of-life improvement you might have noticed in the previews was that we chose to only include ability modifiers on the Class Boards (and not both ability modifiers and ability scores), since it's more important for new players to get rolling with the right bonus than to understand where that bonus is coming from. The math is still worked into the characters; it's just invisible for the sake of simplification.

As for the adventure, it's a reimagining of the original B2. Keep on the Borderlands. If you played the original, many things will feel familiar, but there are some new surprises as well. We also made some small improvements. For example, all the NPCs now have names—and art!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

For example, all the NPCs now have names

MADNESS

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I know the '91 D&D starter did ...

Ah! That one would have been before I started selling them (though I may have once owned one... memory fades.

At any rate, you are right that they've occasionally toyed with the idea. It's a good idea. I'm just glad to see them give it a shot for 5e, and the extent to which they seem to have gone with it.

As an aside, a list of what "board game" elements I could find across old products...

I'm shocked at how many of these things have completely faded from memory for me. I suppose when you have dealt with as many of them as I have (which is EVERY D&D PRODUCT since November, 1993 to now!) They all start to blend and fade...

 

[Clint_L]

I am very much looking forward to using this. An updated Keep on the Borderlands pushes a lot of buttons for my inner twelve year old.

 

[bedir than]

Heroes of the Borderlands demos will be at GenCon

https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/2023-d-d-at-gen-con-2025