Essentials Kit

Packed with a rule book, an adventure book, 6 character creation papers, 9 uncut cardboard (9 cards each, 81 cards total), 11 dice, 1 master screen, 1 double-sided map etc., everything you need to learn D&D. It's a more affordable version of starter set without some luxurious component, which means more pen-and-paper work for tabletop RPG sessions, but also more likes traditional ways. Product quality is still good, but starter set is better. So if price isn't your most concerns, going for starter set directly would be my suggestion.

If you're looking for a way to get into D&D, this is a great resource. It includes everything that you need* to get started: * dice (a full set including 2d20s so you can easily roll advantage and 4d6 which are good for rolling stats). If you don't have extras, you can pass these around the table as needed, but buying a few extra sets of dice so everyone has a set is about the only thing that you NEED beyond this set. (They're even selling them at the dollar store now, but you can play with one if you must, it'll just slow things down a bit.) * an adventure that goes from levels 1-6 -- great for new players to start in or experienced players can roll up new characters for * basic rules book - this tells you all the basics of how to play the game. There's much more in-depth information and options in the Player's Handbook, the DM Handbook, and expanded in Xanathar's Guide and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. I would recommend buying them in that order if you can afford them, but you can certainly play with just what's in this box without them (and if you don't want to be overwhelmed with too many options or spend more money, just using what's in the box is fine). * character sheets (a blank set of 6; you can run photocopies of one or download more later) -- the only thing I would have changed would have been to include pre-generated characters for new players, as new character generation can be one of the most daunting and boring tasks if you don't know what you're doing. Just make copies before you start, because if your characters get killed and you need new ones, you don't want to have them all used up. And use pencils, because you'll be doing a lot of erasing and updating! * DM screen (pretty basic version but a good starter one) * a set of perforated cardboard cards detailing magic items and NPCs that can be found in the adventure, character conditions, and combat steps. There's also a set of numbered cards that can be passed around during combat for initiative order -- this is the least useful thing included, as a good initiative tracker (like a flag style) or even just a whiteboard that everyone can see is much more helpful than having to look around the table. Even getting some spring-loaded clothespins with characters' names painted on them and clipping them to the DM screen in order is better than the cards. But the condition cards (that explain what happens when you're grappled, blinded, etc) are boku useful and can be passed around the table as needed. I use the condition cards in my games all the time. * A 2-sided fold-out poster map (about 15x22") that shows the area the adventure occurs in (there's a world-map on one side and a town on the other). This is helpful for showing stuff to players, but some parts of the game happen inside building and caves and such, that aren't on the poster map. If you want to have visual aids for those (which are helpful to the players) I'd recommend getting some wrapping paper with the grid on the backside. You can redraw the building maps on that, and then get some tokens to represent your players. You don't need expensive minis, if you go to printableheroes.com or grab pieces from another board game or just use coins or something. You can also just use "theatre of the mind" and describe what's going on, but most players think having a visual "board" makes the game easier and more fun. D&D is a hobby you can easily spend hundreds of dollars on if you really enjoy it (trust me, I have) but for $8 with this introductory set you can't go wrong. A copy of the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Handbook and some extra dice would help things, but aren't necessary.

The best dnd set for beginners

Dragon of Icespire Peak Review After play review using Adventure League Rules 15.2 plus. Using 2024 rules and some 2014 books. TLDR 5 stars but things will need to be adjusted for 2024 rules. I bought this way back in 2019 on sale but only recently got around to running for a local FLGS. My players were most new to either 2024 rules. Or new to Adventure League (WOTC house rules). It ran 10 sessions. And due to being in a FLGS time sometime played into encounters. The box set has basic rules, and adventure book. Some cards which include quests, sidekicks, magic items, and other stuff. And a dm screen which I didn’t use as I don’t use them and some of the information was out of date. Back to Phandalin again. Phandalin is WOTC small town quest location which they have used three times. I use previous play throughs of the town to flesh it out. The town is bared bones with only six locations mentioned. The mayor as quest giver is fun idea. The cards are great props for new dms but I would sort by type and drop them into a Ziploc instead of using the included box. Most of the quests are basic go there and solve the problem or explore. And not all quests have a card associated with them. So you will need to do some prop work for some quests. The dragon location is a nice bit of randomized chaos where a d20 is rolled on arriving or leaving a location. This can be fun but the dragon may appear too early and too powerful if the roll equals the pc location when they are too low of level to fight it. So use your judgement on how and when the dragon fights. No guidance is given on adjusting fights if the party is too strong or weak. So brand new dms will need to hit the net for that. Pros. Good price for your value and a baseline campaign for new players. Cons. No hand holding for the dm. And lots of magic items are given out. With the new 2024 starter set being release at of this writing, this is still a great beginning campaign or gift to your DM.

Perfect intro to Dungeons & Dragons if you’re brand new. Comes with everything you need to start playing, including a solid beginner adventure, dice, rules, and tools for running your first game. Some components feel a little basic, and experienced players won’t find much new here, but for first-timers it’s a fantastic value and an easy way to jump in. Bottom line: Ideal for beginners — simple, fun, and well-packaged.

The D&D pundits all agree that the Lost Mines of Phandelver (from the Starter set) and the Dragon of Icespire peak (from this Essentials kit) are wonderful for new DMs (or returning DMs like me) and new players. I have to agree. These two adventures, best played in that order although this is not necessary, are set in the small frontier town of Phandalin and can be run as is by a moderate DM and are very friendly to brand new DMs, especially the Lost Mines of Phandelver. Beyond that the kits both include a rulebook and a set of dice (a few more in the case of the Essentials Kit). The Starter Set includes some pre-generated characters. The Essentials kit includes * a small but serviceable DM screen with the same back info as the official one * a map of the area on one side, with a map of Phandalin on the other - very welcome addition * Some cards to cut with description of the conditions, description of the magic items and the quests that get posted every now and then on the townhall kiosk. The Dragon of Icespire Peak (the adventure in the Essentials kit) is designed to be non-linear and that can cause surprises if the adventuring party picks a first quest that is balanced for level 2 or more, as happened with the current group I an running it with - without spoilers, some adjustment may be needed to ensure against a TPK, always a possibility in these gritty early levels especially with new players as my group. As for the rulebooks included in these two, the starter set is clearly geared towards new DMs with a thin (but sufficient) booklet that includes everything needed to run the adventure with the pre-rolled characters. The Essentials kit rulebook includes character creation, limited to the classes I would suggest to new players and just human, elves, dwarves and halflings. Both booklets include a selection of spells with description and all. These are fully compatible with the Player's Handbook and other tomes, to the point in both cases I would let my new players expand using the PHB, WGE or TCE (sorry: Player's Handbook, Xanathar's Guide to Everything and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) All in all the added stuff in the essentials kit is nice but not necessary and if you are planning to introduce D&D to new players you cannot go wrong with either kit.

My wife and I decided to try D&D, so I bought this and DM'd for her. She played a Warlock (not in the basic rules included, just picked from the PH), and I used one of the sidekicks to help out (Quinn, a Fighter). As a DM, the book is very good at prepping for areas, and allows a lot of flexibility in terms of the story! You don't have to go in the suggested order at all, but it makes it easy to do a reasonable progression if you do. Great introduction to the game in general for new players. As a PC, she liked having the quests lined up so she had a clear goal of what to do next, particularly for Levels 1-3. She liked the sidekick system, which helped in combat. At the end of the campaign, Quinn (spurred by events in the campaign and persuasion from the PC) was a Lvl 3 Arcane Knight Fighter and Lvl 3 Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk, and we continued with the characters in our own 1&1 campaign off in Neverwinter! We're now in another campaign with 4 friends, and it's all thanks to this beginners' essentials kit!

Of all the starter kits I've ever seen in my life, this one and the new BattleTech Beginner Box are running neck-and-neck for the best "bang-for-your-buck" experience. This is one of the best thought-out and best put-together kits I've ever seen. A lot of care obviously went into the making of this set and it shows in the decisions, such as the perfect binding of the books (they could have saddle-stapled and called it a day), the quality of the paper and cardstock used for the maps and cards, and the crispness of the printing shows that this is them putting their best foot forward and not just slapping something together to make a quick cash-in. And keeping the price down to $25 (or on Amazon, $15) is, pardon the pun, essential to getting new players interested. Although geared to beginners, the box has a lot of draws for a veteran DM as well. * A hard copy of the Basic Rules. Essentially all you actually need to play the game -- while they're a free download from the Wizards of the Coast website, the presentation and the care in printing and production of the book make it worth the price of admission. And included is a new page of rules for "sidekicks", quasi-NPCs that the players can use to bulk up small playing groups. As well as all the other goodies you get with it: * A full-scale adventure book, giving some encounters to bedevil players with, also printed to amazing production standards; * 72 full-color, fairly sturdy cards detailing conditions in battle, the various quests in the adventure book, magic items available in the quests, "sidekicks" referencing the new optional rules, and also initiative counters. All but the last are cool ideas -- I can see the initiative cards as being pretty useful for brand-new players or for groups with kids, but for most groups they're superfluous as the DM usually tracks and calls initiative order; * The most surprising thing is a pre-assembled box to store said cards, something most starter kits don't bother to include, a very classy touch in my opinion; * DICE! For the first time I can remember, a D&D starter set has a full "regulation set" of dice -- actually a bit over what you need to actually play the game (There are 2d20, 4d6 -- great for rolling character stats, 1d8, 1d12, 1d10, 1d00 -- for percentages--, and 1d4 -- previous sets have often skimped on the d00 and would have just 1d6 and 1d20), a total of 11 dice. Not even Chessex or other dedicated dice manufacturers usually include so many dice in a set. That alone may be a draw, as we gamers are stereotypically dice hoarders. The dice look to be fairly good quality in red transparent plastic. * A DM's Screen. While earlier reviews have described it as "flimsy", and it certainly isn't going to be to the standards of their separately-sold screens, it is still solidly within the excellent production standards of the kit. It's made of laminated cardstock and looks like it would work fine for a starter screen. It has all the basic info a DM would need, and is very serviceable. At any rate, it is equal to or even slightly better than the quality of DM's screens TSR sold separate back in the '70s and '80s * A double-sided map, one side showing the Sword Coast in the Forgotten Realms (as a personal quibble, it's a map I'm likely to never use as I usually DM in the World of Greyhawk) and the other side showing the town of Phandalin, used in the adventures in the adventure book. The maps are on a glossy heavy paperstock and have gorgeous art. About the only thing they could have thrown in to have made it better would have been miniatures (either plastic or standee), as with the old 2e starter sets, but they're not strictly necessary and probably would have upped the price by a significant amount. So better to get more people into the game than appease a cranky grog like me :-) If you, for some reason, can buy only one D&D product in your life, the Essentials box is really all you need. Game on!

Hoewel je deze ook niet echt nodig hebt zitten er wel wat bruikbare en handige items in. Wel prijzig voor wat je krijgt.

La campaña es perfecta para los que van empezando, viene con: -Dos sets de dados bien balanceados -Tarjetas con información de los estados, como funcionan los turnos, la iniciativa, objetos mágicos, personajes y misiones. -Viene con un mapa de Phandalin, en el otro lado viene de costa de la espada. -Una versión corta del manual de jugador para crear tu personaje y como funcionan los turnos. -La campaña es de niveles 1 a 6, pero es fácil de expandir o personalizar, ya la he dirigido 3 veces y la estoy dirigiendo de nuevo, de manera diferente.

Le produit conforme, il y a de jolis dés rouge transparent, des cartes de sorts, une map, un livret de regles, une aventure (et d'autres choses à découvrir vous même) pour commencer Donjons et Dragons. Dans ce kit vous créez vous même votre personnage (il existe une appli si vous galèrer mais elle est en anglais) et une aventure à Phandalin et ces environs. Le colis n'arrivé pas, mais équipe réactive qui a proposé de me renvoyer l'article. Ils ont étaient très gentils.

Sealed and complete. cheaper than buying it at our local library. Perfect to starting out. My brother and me enjoyed our first session

Das Set enthält vieles was man als (neuer) DM braucht, die Karten finde ich besonders praktisch und es ist etwas was ich für weitere Abenteuer übernehmen werde, allerdings muss ich sagen dass es (nach kurzem Überfliegen) vom Aufbau eher für DMs geeignet ist, die schon zumindest ein bisschen Erfahrung haben. Für unerfahrene DMs finde ich das Abenteuer aus dem Starter Set (Lost Mine of Phandelver) besser strukturiert. Nichtsdesto trotz ein augenscheinlich gutes Abenteuer und ich freue mich drauf es mit meinen Freunden zu spielen. ACHTUNG: Laut Artikelbeschreibung sollen Codes dabei sein um das Abenteuer gratis und das Playerhandbuch 50% reduziert auf DnD Beyond zu bekommen, dies war bei mir nicht der Fall. Laut Dnd Beyond Support sind die Codes nicht mehr enthalten (auf meine Frage hin, haben sie sich allerdings kulant gezeigt)