D&D General Take A Look At The Class Boards From The New D&D Starter Set

Check out the cleric's 'dashboard'.
Heroes of the Borderlands, which is Dungeons & Dragons' upcoming new starter set, is one of the largest starter sets the game has ever produced--not least in part to the card-based character creation pops. One essential part of that card-based process is the class board--as D&D Beyond puts it, "a dashboard that clearly lays out everything you need to play, from your Armor Class to your spells and features, with card slots and token trackers that keep the game moving fast".

class-board.jpg

There's a board for each class in the boxed set (the example above is the cleric). In the bottom left you can see a 'What You Need To Play' section which lists the additional cards you need to play a cleric--in this case, two equipment cards, 7 spell cards, and a bunch of gold pieces.

The card itself includes your basic stats--ability scores, saving throws, skills, hit points, speed, and so on. There are also clearly marked spots where you can place cards for your armor, your spells, and other things. There's also a space over on the far right for species and origin cards.

Once you reach level 2, you flip the card cover. That automatically increases your hit points and other features.

cleric-level-2.jpg

Finally, at level 3, you choose your subclass and you swap your class board for a more specialised one. The included cleric includes boards for the Life and Light domains. The new board not only updates your stats (like when you leveleled up to level 2) it also adds in the subclass features.

cleric-board-3.jpg

Heroes of the Borderlands comes out September 16th for $49.99.
 

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I like the concept for new players and it looks like the ability score is out and just the +/- is on it. That takes some getting used to for me and it ties back to being a kid when I started and saying I had a 15 instead of a 14 “seeemed” like a big deal to brag about even if the bonus was the same :)

Edit as it came to me after the fact….the roll under the ability score in earlier editions was also a factor in having it listed back then.
The 5E team didn't ditch ability scores because of 4E. I think 5.5 should have, but every decision they make there is pushback, and you have to ask yourself, is that worth the change?
 

Hot take: this format is in no way easier for my brain to process than a character sheet.

That said, I 100% applaud the elimination of the 1-18 ability score numbering, which is a vestigial artifact of earlier editions and no longer needed in the current game.

Next re-do spells so spell levels match class levels.
Yes, I admit it was a shock not to see the ability scores, only the modifiers. 3-18 scores are of course unnecessary, but I suspect it's a sacred cow that couldn't be eliminated without people saying it's not D&D anymore. EDIT: ninja'ed by @Mark Craddock
 

The 5E team didn't ditch ability scores because of 4E. I think 5.5 should have, but every decision they make there is pushback, and you have to ask yourself, is that worth the change?

Yes, I admit it was a shock not to see the ability scores, only the modifiers. 3-18 scores are of course unnecessary, but I suspect it's a sacred cow that couldn't be eliminated without people saying it's not D&D anymore. EDIT: ninja'ed by @Mark Craddock
PF2 originally didnt ditch ability scores either. There was a few whispers of doing it which were met by "a 4 str is too damn wimpy" complaints. Though, they decided to just go for it with the remaster. I think with the success of 5E, PF2 is able to do its own thing now without too much pushback (especially after the OGL debacle). It seems odd given PF was the maintain the cows brand, but D&D reclaimed that title unshackling Paizo and PF it would seem.
 

Hotter take, if your an experienced dnd player, you simply cannot answer that question.

I get what you're saying, but I do have enough experience with my brain to know that, all things being equal, "loads of irregular cards and tokens" is always much worse than "sheet of paper" for me personally, across the board.
 

Sacred cows make the best eating.

Sure, it probably isn't Dungeons & Dragons anymore, but Warrens & Wyrms can get by just fine with modifiers and level consistency. And maybe a wound-condition track and armor as damage reduction, and ...
4e would've cleaned the naughty word up if it was branded "Dungeons and Dragons: Tactics" or "The Dungeons and Dragons Miniature Combat Game" and they kept 3.5e as a reduced product line.
 

I get what you're saying, but I do have enough experience with my brain to know that, all things being equal, "loads of irregular cards and tokens" is always much worse than "sheet of paper" for me personally, across the board.
Most of my game are online and in that environment, sat alone at a desk, players have commented that huge amounts of tokens becomes a nightmare to manage in the space provided, so totally can see it being a lot. I also know for some people this carries across to physical space top. They want to have dice, paper, stationery and enough room for a drink and anything that makes their space cluttered is gonna get down voted.
 

4e would've cleaned the naughty word up if it was branded "Dungeons and Dragons: Tactics" or "The Dungeons and Dragons Miniature Combat Game" and they kept 3.5e as a reduced product line.
I dont think that would have worked. Too many folks would complain that they cant get people to play D&D tactics because its not a role playing game. Both would have been ditched for a 5E shortly after launch.
 


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