Product Description

This new box-set makes it easier than ever to start playing Dungeons & Dragons immediately. The D&D Roleplaying Game Starter Set introduces the complex world of D&D play to new fans in simple, easy-to-understand ways while retaining the fantastic inspiration of the full game experience. This product includes an introductory version of the 4th Edition rules, dice, map tiles, and an adventure to get started playing right away!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10242 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Misc. Supplies
• 1 pages

Features

• 2 - 5 players
• Age 12+

Customer Reviews

A great introduction!
Note: this is a STARTER set not a BASIC set for those of you old enough to remember the pre 3rd ed days...in other words it will get a group started (and with a bit of work on the new DMs part will take a group to the end of 3rd level) but it is not supposed to be a self contained game and you will need to eventually get the core books.

This is, however, a GREAT product for a group new to RPGs or 4th Ed or for a player who wants to have a go at DMing.


It consists of 16 page Players Quickstart Rules booklet. This is divided into a good 6 page overview of the mechanics of the game and a how-to-play with the final 10 pages devoted to 5 pre-generated characters so the players can jump right in.

The real beauty of this product is in the 62 page Dungeon Master's book. This is roughly divided into a 33 page Dungeon Master Quickstart Rules which includes a short 7 page introductory adventure and a 29 page Monster Manual. This booklet really breaks down the basics of running a game in an easy to understand format and provides the basics for creating your own adventures/dungeons or adding to the existing adventure. The adventure is a simple mini-dungeon crawl which is made easy to run whilst at the same time giving the new DM the chance to get a feel for running the game (and the players a great introduction to the game). It will, perhaps, take the players to 2nd level. There is the option to easily expand this adventure using just the DMs booklet or to slot this adventure into the H1-3 series of published adventures. Finally, the monster section details about 60 of the most classic monsters for low-level adventures.

Finally, there are over 50 monster and character tokens and a selection of dungeon tiles that are provided for the introductory adventure. As usual the quality of the tiles is great and with the tokens this will provide an atmospheric introduction to the game for the players. There are also 6 standard dice.

All in all, this is a fantastic product providing both player and DM with an easy introduction to the game and their roles. It is easy to understand and simply explained and is also self-contained enough that a new DM could use this product alone to create their own adventures and take players to the end of 3rd level. The only potential downside is that it does not give the player's the tools to create their own pc's so the pre-generated characters (dwarf fighter, halfling rogue, eladrin wizard, human cleric and dragonborn paladin) are all there is. In that sense the set is aimed firmly at the budding DM or new group rather than the individual player. But as an introduction to the game and especially DMing and creating your own adventures this product is fantastic.

A great way to learn
Having never really played a pen & paper RPG, I bought the 3 core books for 4E a while back, only to be scared away by the mass of information thrown at me.

Then I ordered this, the books are easy to read and well laid out. Making it easy to learn the basic game mechanics.

The ready written adventures guide you through to level 3, helping you understand the level-up process. And it comes with several pre-built characters, saving new players from possibly the most complicated, though, one of the more fun parts of D&D, designing your own.

It comes with 3 pop-out dungeon tile sheets for the adventures in the book, though there's nothing stopping you from writing your own adventure and re-using these supplied tiles.

The monster and character tokens are also worth keeping, as they offer graphical assistance while playing the game. Though ultimately miniatures are probably better.

The only thing I wasn't happy with, was how delicate the box was. I made some supports and now it holding up well. But it arrived a little crushed.

really great for a beginner
I've been a massive world of warcraft fan [cough addict] for monthes now, it occurred to me that wow was based loosely on d&d so I figured I'd give this a go.

The beginners set includes 3 adventures, monster/player tokens, and dungeon tiles.
There is also a small handbook for the dungeon master and the player, including some ready-made character sheets.
Dice also.

I'm rather eager to get on with playing =]