Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set

As a first-time Dungeon Master and someone new to Dungeons & Dragons, I couldn't have asked for a better starter set! The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is an incredible value, packed with everything you need to dive into the game. The rulebook is clear and easy to follow, and the included adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver, is both engaging and well-designed for beginners.The set comes with pre-made character sheets, which saved me time and allowed me to focus on the story and gameplay. The dice are of high quality, and the included accessories (like the rulebook, adventure guide, and maps) really make the game accessible.My friends and I had a blast playing through the adventure, and we’re already planning our next campaign! If you’re new to D&D, this set is the perfect way to start your adventure—it’s easy to learn, fun to play, and provides hours of entertainment. Highly recommend!

After a few rounds of trying new editions of D&D when they came out and being disappointed with the results, I was a little dubious about purchasing 5th edition. This starter set seemed like a relatively cheap way to try it out without the time and cost commitment that comes with buying all the books and planning a whole campaign. Well after trying it out, I'm very pleased to say that this is by *far* the best starter set I've ever encountered in any tabletop RPG. It's more like a mini campaign setting that a starter adventure. We've logged 16 hours of game play with it, and aren't even half way through. Very robust descriptions and maps are provided of four large dungeons, and at least half a dozen substantial side quests, not to mentioned very well fleshed out NPCs at virtually every building in the thoroughly described and well-mapped town of Phandalin.The core rule book they provide with the set covers 90% of everything you need to know for the full game. I've since purchased the full Player's Handbook, which is also excellent, but it really just expands on race and class offerings and character creation. You really don't need it to play all the way the 8-10+ gaming sessions that this set will provide.A quick side note on 5th edition: I've been playing various incarnations of D&D for 20 years. I was a huge fan of AD&D 2nd edition, and haven't really liked any of the newer editions since. Until now. 5th edition may well be the best version of D&D ever made. The advantage/disadvantage system makes it really fast and easy for the DM to apply situational modifiers uniformly and without having to consult a whole litany of tables and charts. For that matter, the whole game seems to have been streamlined to encourage faster play, but they've managed to do it without sacrificing any of the depth of game play that more experienced players are accustomed to. It also seems to be a little more tilted in favor of keeping low-level players alive, which I consider to be a good thing. It's nice to be able to present the players with something other than small bands of goblins to fight for the first 2 levels without having to worry about losing a player, and having to spend time rolling up replacements. I think the only minor complaint I can come up with is that halflings don't have any dark vision, which strikes me as odd - the race that is best suited to play a thief or assassin should really be able to see in the dark without a torch. Overall, though, after about 4 gaming sessions, I'm absolutely in love with 5th edition, and so are my players.The only critique I can offer about this starter set is that the pre-fab character sheets they include with it provide background on the characters in ways that should impact the game play, but that's never really addressed in the campaign book. So the DM is left to make several split decisions about whether or not a character's history with a given NPC, group, or location should provide them insight above and beyond what is explained in the book. Most DMs with a bit of experience in rolling with the twists and turns that players always seem to throw at you shouldn't have much trouble with this, but first time DMs might find it a little frustrating. All-in-all, though, it's one relatively minor weakness among an otherwise great value, especially at the price point. Wizards seems to have realized that they have hit a home run with 5th edition, and are confident enough in their product to provide a very low barrier to entry for new players wanting to try it out. If you're a classic AD&D player curious about 5th edition, or a new player that has never tried D&D (or any RPG) before, this is the best way I can think of to get started.

I was a player years ago with the AD&D Rules and recently decided to get back into the game after one of my sons became interested. Remembering how costly the guide books used to be (at the time), I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money to get started in case we decided we didn't want to play the game long term. Mainly for that reason, I decided on this Starter Set since it seemed to have everything that was really necessary to play a campaign.After spending a few hours perusing this set, I was impressed with the detail. I was expecting something a lot more dumbed down. This goes in depth with four different types of character classes, several different races, the basic mechanics of the game, and even pointers on how to approach some of those aspects.If you are a beginner DM, it really takes you step-by-step through the entire Adventure even giving alternate paths that can be taken by the Player Characters. There are lots of tips on how to approach the many different encounters in the campaign.If you are thinking about playing Dungeons & Dragons, I highly recommend starting with this Starter Set. It's a very nominal investment that charges you right into battle so to speak. It spells out almost everything you need to determine whether the game is really for you.Even if you are already an experienced player I feel it's worth it for the Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign alone.UPDATE: 01/16/17We started the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign included in this Starter Set. The current party consists of my 10 year old son, my son's friend of the same age, my son's friend's Father who is my age, and a 13 year old whose family is friends with all of us. I am the DM which I was reluctant to do but realistically I always new this was best for the group.We have spent approximately 30 hours in game play and I estimate that we are 80% complete. So far everyone seems to be having a blast. Everyone created their own characters for this campaign rather than using the pre-generated ones that came with the set. We did however use the Rogue as a second PC for the other Father until the 13 year old joined us about half-way into the campaign.I have to admit that I am having more fun as the DM than I thought I would. It does take some preparation for each game session as you need to make sure you are fully knowledgeable of the relevant material so that everything runs smoothly and without lags. There are also some aspects of the campaign that you may feel you need to adjust or improvise from what is provided but I am learning that a good DM should be able to do that. Some of that is purposely left to the DM to fill in the gaps and some of it is that you simply can't always know what actions the players are going to take in any given situation. That's really part of the beauty of this game. Everyone has a part in telling the story.After a few game sessions, we all had purchased a copy of the Player's Handbook. Not because we felt the Starter Set didn't include enough information to play The Lost Mine of Phandelver , but because we had become so excited through playing it that we just wanted to be exposed to more. I have also purchased the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster's Manual so that we can continue playing beyond this campaign. I'm not suggesting that anyone do this before finishing this Starter Set campaign. I am simply warning you that you could get so excited once you start playing that you will want more.UPDATE 01/05/21: We had a blast with Lost Mine of Phandelver and ended up continuing the adventure with some supplements from the online DM's Guild that were created for a continuation of this short adventure. I still highly recommend this Starter's Set for anyone new to the D&D that only wants to make a token initial investment. The Essentials Kit is also worth a look for beginners at a slightly higher price point.