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 wonder why each of the samples has 1 hp more in tokens then their max HP.

Math is hard :(

I like the overall concept and execution. But having the two Equipment sections positioned diagonally from each other makes my head tilt. Why not put them next to each other? or one below the other?
 

4e was not a role playing game though. At least advertise what it is; "don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining".

Are you purposefully trying to taunt people.

I've been playing D&D since the 70s. I've played OD&D all the way to 5e.

The only people who make the claim you do above are those who don't know what an RPG is...OR, they never really played 4e (maybe they played some poor imitation, or played with someone who didn't know what they were doing...but they didn't play 4e).

4e IS an RPG.

Of course, if you REALLY want old school, then 3e was the one that broke everything. What that should have been called was D&D D20 or D20 D&D or something like that rather than D&D...and they should have kept some rendition of AD&D going!

If they did that, then calling 4e D&D Skills and Powers would have probably been more acceptable, as they would have started the different naming conventions of D&D with 3e.

I could have even gone with the D&D tactics suggested, but that's with the understanding that 3e is no D&D either, but rather D&D D20.

5e could have been...D&D Bounded or something like that (seeing it also broke the mold and highly neutered Martials even more by increasing eveyrone's HP, nuking saves, and making their to hit advancments all the same rather than Martials advancing so much quicker and having a far easier time of hitting...meaning they could focus even more on damage).

Anyways, I've already probably said too much, but it irks me when people who have no idea how 4e actually worked (and I had more free form RPG games with 4e in some instances due to how free form they made it via page 42 and lax rules in those areas than I have with 3e or 5e in some instances...it was truly an easier RPG experience even if the combat was far more structured).

It's like trying to claim PF2e isn't an RPG (very similar chasis to 4e) these days. It's a ridiculous claim.
 

On the Basic Set, I've already gotten it pre-ordered. As someone who did not get the new 5.5 rules, I'm pretty excited to try this new set out.

Maybe it will win me over to 5e anniversary.
 


Look, I get you didn't like it. And would expect that this kind of statement expresses some feelings you have about the game.

But, as a flat assertion, it is unconstructive hyperbole that will more likely start an argument than communicate truth.
Art without hyperbole is just industrial design. If we're to consider games as art, we must be able to make grand sweeping statements about it the same way we can literature and cinema.

For some reason saying "4e D&D isn't an RPG" is somehow more controversial than "Atlas Shrugged isn't a novel."

Also, for some more context, I started DMing with 4e. I naughty word love that naughty word. Don't take my statement as an insult just because you disagree with it.
 

Art without hyperbole is just industrial design. If we're to consider games as art, we must be able to make grand sweeping statements about it the same way we can literature and cinema.
I find grand sweeping statements pretty useless in any context... Maybe start there as an initial thought, then take the time to dial it down to something useful and insightful.

For some reason saying "4e D&D isn't an RPG" is somehow more controversial than "Atlas Shrugged isn't a novel."
It's not controversial if everyone (but you) is in agreement. First, you have to come up with a convincing argument that causes some friction... then it can be controversial. Until then, you're just wrong.
 

Also, for some more context, I started DMing with 4e. I naughty word love that naughty word. Don't take my statement as an insult just because you disagree with it.

If we take your opinion as truth, no...you did not.

YOU have to actually be playing an RPG called D&D to be a DM.

As per your statement, 4e is not an RPG...therefore...you didn't start DMing with 4e as there was nothing to DM.

Afterall, it's just a miniatures game...(like warhammer, or battletech...etc). You don't DM those...

Or are you saying 4e is an RPG (just as this old timer said it was)?

I started DMing far before 4e, and maybe it's just experience, but 4e is definitely and RPG. We even did it with theater of the Mind...and it was easier for us to do that sometimes than it was with 3.5!

Now that's a feat!
 

Am I the only person who thinks these are more complicated than a simple character sheet?
theyre not though, just different.

also psychologically it should be easier for a brand new player to pick up a discrete bit of info on a card and put it into the right slot on the board than a new player flicking through a rule book and then trying to slot that same info into the cloud of rules in their head.

Hopefully after a bit of practice both methods get to the same point of seamless gameplay
 

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