New D&D Starter Set REVIEW - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 2024
- My take on the latest Starter Set for D&D 5th Edition. and a rant about Target. 🤷♂️
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My original take on the Essentials Kit: • D&D Essentials Kit Review
My updated take, Starter Set vs. Essentials Kit: • I Was Wrong ⚔️ Starter...
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D&D BASIC PRODUCTS
📕 Player’s Handbook 📕 amzn.to/2sDuECK
📕 Starter Set 📕 amzn.to/2sDC3Ci
📕 Essentials Kit 📕amzn.to/3sMgD4s
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0:00 - Intro
1:31 - Target RANT
2:41 - The Contents
5:17 - The Rulebook
6:36 - The Adventure
10:31 - More beginner friendly - เกม
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Same exact struggle with Target! This didn’t happen to me with the Essentials Kit, so maybe department stores are still just reeling from 2020-2021 problems, but I hope they stick with game stores next time
Yes! Just watched your review and saw that! The experience seems pretty universal. :(
Same exact thing-drove to 3 targets, called and found out they showed they had stock but every helpful person that went and checked the shelf came up empty handed, so I ordered one.
Nice to see both of your reviews of this. Not surprised about the Target situation. I for one, do my part and don't support this kind of nonsense from the Big-box stores. If everyone did then this wouldn't even be a thing, but I realize that's never going to be the reality.
I think the two of you should contact WotC. Being influencers with a much larger audience than well, us non-influencers, maybe they'll take your input about this exclusive b/s.
@@WASD20 You and Bob both have glossed over the fact that it didn't come with a DDB activation link or did I miss something about that? Especially now that DDB is owned by WoTC
@@asraiSOA I agree!
Both WOTC and Target should hear about these disasterous releases!
As a Canadian whenever somebody mentions Target, I get flashbacks...
In all seriousness, exclusively releasing this at Target is just anticonsumer, especially if you live outside the US.
Exclusivity is always anti-consumer.
Even in the US not everyone has a Target in the nearest major town....
But Target exlcusive money is a LOT of money up front, so you don't have to worry about starting when you are a small company just needing a paycheck before release like Hasbro-- wait, Hasbro/Wizards needs exclusive deal money???
I picked up both the Essentials Kit and original Start Set for nephew, for his birthday. I wish I had known about this coming out, but he's set up for success as a new, young DM. I also got him set up with a Chromebook I wasn't using, and had him install D&D Beyond. He took it and ran with it. He's already had two sessions with his group from school, and the school year just started.
Awesome! 👍
Living in Europe I can confirm that to me (and I believe many others) making it a Target exclusive simply meant "Screw you guys. We only care about our U.S. customers"
I'm in UK and got my copy from amazon
Me, who's played all of 5 minutes of DnD 5+ years ago and never again: Oh hell yes a new WASD20 vid to watch! :D
Why so little dungeon time?
@@dylanvincent4254 Just never could get fully into its gameplay style I think. The customization is appealing, but many other aspects just aren't for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I do love fantasy/rpgs/world building/mapmaking in general tho! Which is probably how I got recommended WASD20 in the first place haha
I like what they have done in the rule book and adventure by adding notes and advice. This is the first box set actually geared towards beginners. They should have done that since the beginning (LMoP). I was disappointed that a Sword Coast map was not included. I like the blue dice, but they should have added several more as the Essential Kit did. The five character sheets were lacking, they could have added more as the other boxes did. I'm on the fence with the friendly kobold clan. Over all, it is barely ok...not sure it's worth the $22 price tag.
$22, converting those prices to where I'm from...
Yup, not surprised
It really works well incorporating it with the essentials kit (which I think is part of the pitch) and even the original starter set for a large campaign.
The character sheets have mistakes. You can catch them if you use the enclosed rules, so it's not as bad as this format could have made it.
That is so funny...The same thing happened to me with the box set still on pallets. Luckily a Target worker went back and got one form me.....Took him about 20 Minutes, but I got it on the release date.
As a retail worker, I bet that guy found it easily, and had a 15 minute smoke break.
@@paulcoy9060 I like to think that it was due to my charm and charisma that he worked so hard at making sure I was happy. ;-)
I went to my local Target at 7:30 AM and got the pallet story too!
I spoke with a manager and he took my name and number to give to the Toy Lead so they could phone me when they dug them out…
I never got a phone call!
But I was in the store a couple of days later and what was ON THE SHELF!?!
Their LAST box!
At least I got one and didnt have to pay extra for shipping if I had ordered it.
TARGET IS LAME!
If you buy a copy of the first-run DVD boxed set of the "Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series' (1981-84) they have fully rendered character profiles of the teen/preteen protagonists of the animated show, with D20 based skills, weapons, etc. They would likely be easily substituted for the characters in this Starter Set.
It was great to meet you at Game On in PHX Nate! We appreciate you hard work!!
We are new to the game, and i for one am trying to learn how to DM.
I bought the essentials kit however it still feels a lot to a newb like me.
Appreciate the take you had on this new starter set-- on it being easy on new players. Will definitely look forward to it.
Welcome to the ranks if DM.
As someone who's been in that seat since my first campaign in AD&D, the most important rule is to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves. Learning what each player enjoys from the game is something that you'll learn. Blending all those things together so everyone gets to have that "awesome moment" is such a great feeling.
Try looking at a series of videos by Critical Role called Handbooker Helper they were useful to me in the beginning.
Wow i feel lucky i found these at my local target back on the 11th. Didn't know they'd just released and can be hard to get. Loving the simplified rules. I have the essentials kit too so im ready to dive in! Thanks for all the great videos! :D
This is LITERALLY perfect! We all started dnd last night! Gonna go pick this up:)
It might also come with that link to Wizards of the Coast. You can print the map locations w/o any of the DM info on them for the players. Another solid tool.
Just told some new players to buy the handbook, was gonna run lost mine of phandelver for them , but there might be a new adventure on the horizon. Keep crushing Nate!
Thanks, Jake!
@@WASD20 I'd love to hear your in-depth opinion on the Arcane Library adventures.
Lost mines is so fun to play
This is a good review and great take on the product, I've watched too many reviews not take into context that this is a starter product to introduce players to DnD and review it as an adventure or product for people who have already played the game before which this was not obviously designed or written for. I do think they should have included the expanded dice that they did for the essentials kit.
I also wonder if WoTC would be up to releasing pre-written shorter adventures for experienced DMs and players. I buy almost all their books but just cannot find the time with friends to do a full run campaign; it would be great if I could buy a small $20-30 box that would have everything I need to run a 3-4 session game (perhaps not starting from lv 1), that they could release one every couple of months and it wouldn't really compete with the larger campaign books.
Yeah, I totally agree about some shorter adventures. I’d much rather have a 3 to 10 session mini campaign here or there rather than the gigantic volumes we get 2 or 3 times per year.
I think the limitations you mentioned are good thing , I have ordered this set as a new DM and all new players sometimes less is better less to overwhelm and get newbies of course and helps them have a fun time
Perfect comment
i was interested in the game so i asked my friends if they’d wanna try. this was perfect for our first run of the game. lasted us a few days and we all got a feel without being overwhelmed
Thanks for the video.
I have the Starter set. 10/10 value.
Skipping on the Essentials Kit.
We are coming up on session 4 and still not finished with the Redbrand Hideout.
I don't need the maps and I can make my own cards to hand out to players.
This kit seems like a great value too.
Just started playing I gotta pick this up
Extremely Awesome, Outstanding & Informative D&D Starter Set Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Review by you Sir. You always set the standard. Thx you so much 4 being such a Pro @ All Things D & D......👽👽👻😉
Never heard of Dscryb good to know!
Hey Nate I just recently returned from a 12yr hiatus and your videos have been extremely useful. I plan on running this adventure for the first time (never dm'd) and would love to see you post a video of you running it so I can get a better perspective of it. If you do can you please link me? Awesome work with the channel! Keep it coming.
Same issue with Target on my end. Employees looked like I was nuts when I asked
Exactly the review I was hoping for so that I can get the minis I'll need in advance. Sadly not available in the UK at present.
I work at a target and just want to say that the date that this set was supposed to be released could not have been at a worse time. We have one of the biggest busiest back to school rushes and college students are basically clearing out every area of the store. But if someone tells you something is on a pallet in the back, anyone can grab that and bring it to you, they’re actually supposed to, they just are to lazy to get someone who has keys to the machinery
I'd like to pick this up!
Very disappointing to hear that the characters from the 80s cartoon are basically memberberries and only used in the art.
They’re gonna shift a lot of copies based on people’s assumption that this ties into the old cartoon in some way and that’s dishonest.
Still it does sound like a great adventure for first time players and I’ll still be adding it to my collection.
Ohh, I member the original D&D Cartoon.
Member Chewbacca?
I was disappointed they didn't include the D&D cartoon characters. They knew people would be expecting it, since you see the art on the box, and it's included in the artwork.
That's wizards for you they are ass hats who only want the old fans money not their active participation, hell they have released the new dragonlance under the marketing "classic" main reason I bought it.
Seeing this set available for pre order in the UK now. Lots of online retailers already sold out of their allocation. As a new player who is currently going through the lost mines starter quest with an experienced DM I feel I may have already leap frogged over this. I would love to give DM’ing a try though so perhaps it’s worth a look.
I got mine at Brigundry Games in Greenville Tx.
I pre-ordered and got mine a little early, so there is that. Sorry you had such trouble.
As someone from the UK I have ordered from local independent games shop I still would have done the same even in the us. I hate when big corporations try to take business away from local shops.
Late to the party, so had no issue getting it on amazon. As a brand new player, who wants to get my kids involved, I think all the negatives mentioned are actually positives. For 20 dollars I don’t need something big. Something small to get a taster is all that is needed, and will be much easier to learn how to play. After that I can decide if I want to spend real money on it or not. I always had an interest in dnd growing up, but never had friends interested in it, so been limited to dnd based video games over the years. Having kids is my chance to hopefully try the real experience 😆
I started wanted to play d&d because of stranger things so today I went to my local good games store and I got the essentials kit i plan to get this soon
$20 for the adventure alone is a good deal. Throw in a set of dice, it's a decent deal really.
As for # of players, henchmen, sidekicks, and hirelings are a reasonable additions even when just starting out.
Was able to get it for $10 on Black Friday ... For a collector like me I feel it's week in terms of content but a fun little story , if only we can go back to the starter sets being board games with painted minis like 3rd edition
The Target order online also tags a $6 delivery fee on a $20 game
Yep! Lame. My total was over $27 with tax and shipping.
For your "Number of players" Argument, I'll just let you know right now, I plan on getting this for my Solo games. So you're right about their number of players being wrong, just not in the way you thought. lol
A lot of content creators are complaining about the “lack of content”. To me, I see it as an intentional limiting of options in order to keep from overwhelming newbies. Experienced players love to have “extra stuff” to spice up their campaigns, but it’s easy for us to forget how overwhelming just having those options can be.
Fair point. I do think having some extra aids (cards, a map, etc.) and more dice like the essentials kit would be a nice addition, and would be more helpful than overwhelming.
And to be clear, for a brand new group I would still definitely recommend this set.
Everyone complaining are people that have already played the game. This set isn’t supposed to be for them. I think its better to wait until new players start running this and hearing their view on it.
@@sarahhiggins1515 Agreed, but new players will have limited perspective on how it compares to the other boxes. Still, I think it's pretty obvious that if you're COMPLETELY new and want a more approchable guide, this is the best box yet.
@@WASD20 I believe much like the original starter set, it's made to work with the essentials kit which is stocked right next to it in Target. You do the 1-3 in Stormwrack then go to the essentials kit adventures.
You can use it as a one-shot since it is a short game so that is a good thing.
The swordcoast map in the essentials is better than other two sets alone....NO starter set should ever lack a nice big map for the table it sets the mood and gives an image of the world its very very important
I just look at these starter kits and compare them to stuff like the RuneQuest or Call of Cthulhu or Alien starter boxes and it's mind blowing how little bang for your buck there is. Granted, as has been pointed out to me before, D&D has such a huge chunk of the market share, they don't have to really make much effort. It shows.
Oh yes, I just bought Cubicle 7s Warhammer RPG starter set... This starter set is a literal insult. Its utter garbage.
and not to mention the starter sets from other editions 3.5. 4e, hell even 2nd gave you a lot more in terms of components. I think WotC is skimping a lot on these boxed sets, they are a bit embarrassing, tell it like it is reviewers, stop making excuses for the little value they include in these boxed sets
i played my first game of dnd yesterday and i went on a whole journey with a subplot and sidequest just to get this box. I went to go pick this box up at target - target riding have it, i went to walmart, walmart had NOTHING then i went to a buddies house an hour away and then had to drive back by the time i got back it had been 3 hours after ee were supposed to start
😂
Does it include paper pawns yet? No? OK, well, let me know when Hasbro gets around to the basics.
just make your own? I've made mine.
@@AvianEdits hmmm, isn’t that like saying buy your own dice if none are included, print your own character sheets if none are included etc etc, the point is that far more effort is required as other companies are providing far better value in their starter sets.
Honestly? It should come with four unpainted/unprimed sprue minis like the dragon quest/first quest boxes did. Hell, it could be those exact minis, watzi probably owns them with all the other TSR junk, and cardstock tokens for enemies.
I live in Australia we have it at zing with a bonus pin
Bummer about target
I may have to go get this set though
the boxset was never release at the Targets in Colorado because Target at the same time decide to rearrange thier store shleves, so no D&D product has been release yet over here.
I was so stoked to see the characters from the 80’s cartoon but oh so saddened by them not being playable.
Agree it's funny since I believe we are getting minis of them later this month
That'd suck. Who wants to play Hank, he with the personality of wet cardboard, or Eric the whinebag?
That actually sounds like some people in my group now
I will be looking out for those
I received the starter set about a week ago and am excited to DM my first game although I and the 3 players I've recruited have been playing it as players for years. I have two questions: 1. Would it be hard to swap out the pregenerated characters and their tie-ins with ones my players and I create? And 2. Given we have experience with the game, I just haven't DM'd before, should I go with the Essentials Pack Adventure instead? Thanks!
1. Yes. This would be quite easy. You could show the players some of the built-in backgrounds and story hooks from the pre-gens if they want to take any of those on to their newly created characters, but I don’t think it’s a big deal if they don’t.
2. I honestly don’t love the essentials kit adventure as it reads a little bit too much like a series of side quests, but the box is a much better value and you get some great tools inside. So, it’s up to you! Some people really like it.
I ran essentials awhile back. I don't remember it being too many side quests, but then again, my group is like herding cats most of the time. "Something shiny in the distance" was all it took to have them go check it out.
Love DMing for that group
My two complaints are one not enough dice and two is the lack of blank character sheets.
As a new comer to all things D&D this looks to be a more friendly new DM, new players (combo) set. I’ve been playing in a game (home brew) as a player for a few weeks and I have started some kids (with me as DM) Starter Set: Lost Mines of Phandelver and I have to say it’s a little too much for everyone to take in. It was a bit off putting for the kids. They were perplexed. This set seems to be a little more friendly when it comes to this sort of situation.
I bought mine at target for $12 just before Christmas 8)
Thanks, bud.
Personally, I think that the original Starter Set, expanded upon by use of the Essentials Kit, is a much better base equipment for new dms to start running the game.
my brother just finished DMing this and i thought it was really good but i still prefer lost mine of phandelver
Nice!
yo nice another vid
A good video thought for you, Why is Paizo's Battle minis better the Wizards of the Coast Icons of the realms? To my eye the Paizo just look better detailed and painted.
Thanks for the suggestion
I refuse to shop at Target. Will get this though when it is GA.
Starter Set 2's rulebook is the same length, 32 pages, as SSet 1's.
Good catch! I was indeed wrong about that.
Sparkrender on the cover : 2:59 "I'm a big scary dragon, Fear me!"
Sparkrender actually : 10:10 "Imma big scawy Dwagon, Feaw powerful might of the vewy gweat Sparkwendah for I can nibble on youw toes while you sleep, Moohahahaha I'm evil!
He's TOO CUTE!
Truth. The cover is misleading in so many ways.
@@WASD20 My theory is that on the cover and the other illustration, it's not Sparkrender but his grandfather that was killed by Runara
Lol the infamous Target Pallet story of the DND started set. Make it Canon WOTC please.
I thought there were gonna be minies from those cartoon dnd characters. Must’ve been mistaken.
It sounds like WotC is preparing new players for the high price tags as well as learning to play the game. Honestly, that material could make a nice freebee to introduce people to the game as a pdf. After all, they're going to be investing substantial amounts in handbooks and setting books. Selling it does allow pretty printed versions, but it seriously looks like a $10 price would be more than reasonable - it's literally a $3-4 dice set and a couple of small pamphlets.
i just picked this up on black friday for $10. it was perfect for our first time playing the game
Can you take a look at the Pathfinder beginner box?
Maybe!
wait for it on sale on Amazon for $10
Nice
Pls could you do a video on Armour and combat,bc if I’m fighting a Orc who has 13 armour and my light bow has to use 1d8+3 and 5ATK bonus,thanks for reading
Sure. Here you go: th-cam.com/video/FvpwoZeNwt4/w-d-xo.html
Cool
And it’s only a level 1-3 adventure, compared to the usual 1-5. And in Canada the set will probably be around $30 like the previous two, unlike the $20 in the USA. I know I’m still going to get it though.
I’m a new dm. But my group wants to use the characters they’ve built. Can they use their characters with this adventure?
Current Target employee here: everything is a mess that's been running at the bare minimum this entire pandemic, which means anytime there's another wave it completely breaks down. Two weeks out of the past month we've had nobody in my department at all for five days to a week in a row bc of COVID, which means nobody was stocking AT LEAST five truck's worth of stuff (some days have double trucks). The managers don't even have time to call in replacements. We're also in back to school season, which is one of the busiest times outside of the holidays which makes it even worse. Of course, this could have been softened if they actually gave the employees they do have the hours they ask for instead of giving people they hire as full-timers 20 hours a week, but why would they do that when that cuts into profits?
The reason that they aren't looking on the pallets is because it would probably take forever with the back log that they have, and presumably the person whose supposed to be in toys is sick so they can't even ask them if they've spotted it while they've been stocking.
So if it doesn't have Eric, Presto, Diana, or the others, then no thanks. Although it looked like there was a new character in blue robes next to Eric in the hallway. Maybe WotC can release a boxed set of the whole crew, complete with Venger and Uni!
Bow if only I had friends to play with lol
I would much rather buy this from a game store than a huge department store. Guess I'll wait another month to get it.
For future, pre- order AND go in person on release date.
You can return the pre- one unopened if it comes in after, using the receipt.
Also, worst case scenario, you have a 2nd one to give as a gift...
No D&D Beyond code? Pretty sure my Essentials Kit came with one. I really was hoping this would be the new norm for Wizards releases. I would be happy to pay a little extra if it were included.
Yeah, kinda lame, and surprising after the Essentials Kit DID have one.
The current Essentials doesn't have a code. Very upsetting.
"Sorry it's on a pallet in the back." Is terrible customer service.
Agreed
Agreed. Couldn’t they have got one off the pallet given a customer had specifically asked for one after visiting the store especially!
@@andyphilipson6983 That's just how bad things have gotten between post-COVID pipelines and ineffectual people in corporate. The combination of those things led to the current debacle of truck unloads being several days behind due to increased truck load and a lack of hours from increased minimum wage and spending more of it on guest service instead of stocking. In the old days, we had a 10-to-12-person crew on unload, and we unloaded the truck in an hour and finished stocking by store open. That crew is now halved, the unload process only now ends after store open, and the others were scheduled later in the day to push product and help with guest service, which reduces the amount they can get done by a significant margin. COVID only magnified that. When they say it's on a pallet in the back, I can only assume they've gotten to the point where the current and previous days' trucks are piled on a palette that can't be readily accessed and rifled through until it's ready to be taken down and pushed. Thankfully, I'm not there anymore. Target used to be a good company, but now it sucks just like Walmart, only prettier.
@@EitherProductions man that sucks. Thanks for the insightful reply. Gotta feel sorry for the workforce.
I was hoping the dice would look different …
Me too
All girls I've played with are saying it's just the right size. Even Elton and Freddie said it's perfectly find that it's not as big as the rest.
Thought it was announced that the cartoon characters got minis in this box set? Did I just dream it?
Never heard that, but speculation was they would at least be featured in the adventure in some way.
@@WASD20 from everything I'm reading now, they are gonna come in a 5 pack in September similar to the witchlight packs that had warduke and some of the people of 1st ed covers
Cool
Are the pregenerated PC Just like the ones in the Starter Set?
I know there is a new one (Paladin)
Thanks for reading.
Edit
I checked another video.
They are really close.
That is lame.
They are definitely a bit different. The new character sheets also give a lot more information for new players.
does this starter set also connect with the Tyranny of Dragons campaing?
No. Neither of them directly connect, but it could be done with a little creativity. I think there are actually guides out there from people who have done it.
@@WASD20 oh, ok. I saw/read somewhere that the icons of the realm figures of the starter set are part of the line from Tyranny of dragons. But maybe i just got confused since im very new here lol. thanks for clearing that up. and keep up the great content.
There is only one campaign in my school. How do I ask them if I can join?
Good luck 👍🏿
Just ask! Nicely. :)
If you REAAALLY wanna make a good impression on the game group,
Be in character when you ask them.
“Fellow adventurers! I have trekked through the mists of Avalon to join you on your quest. Perhaps my skills would be of use to your party?”
You could approach the DM and tell them, "I heard you are running a D&D game. Can I join? I would really like to play the game."
BRO WTF LMFAO I LITERALLY WAS JUST AT A TARGET TO GET THIS AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS ON A PALET IN THE BACK SOMEHWERE LMFAO I DROVE OVER 30 MINUTES AWAY TO ANOTHER TARGET THAT HAD THEM READY LMFAOOOOO bruh what is target dooooing
Nooo! It is universal. Target exclusives must DIE!!!!!!
I used to work at Target. The main problem is that the company has been infected by people who don't understand how reality work, and useless people in corporate are enforcing programs and protocols that are only making things worse. When I first worked at Target, we were able to get things done and everything stocked by store open. Then they shifted to stocking while the store was open so that extra team members are available to help guests. This led to truck unloads not being completed by the end of the day, and there were not enough extra hours allotted to the store to catch up until we were 3+ days behind. Then COVID hit and slowed down everything along with changing what we could even get in stock. Now everything is a complete mess since there are even fewer hours now due to minimum wage increases and an ever-piling workload that won't ever be completed. It's a good thing I'm no longer there anymore, because my body wouldn't have been able to take the beating much longer. I had already suffered through two feet injuries and a shoulder injury in the last 2.5 years I worked there.
Video starts at 2:30
Any advice on how to hack the game for a very small party ? Even down to 1 player for 1 DM ?
Are purple allowed to stream games from the adventure books, starter, essential kids? Not sure if I don't see them because people like doing their own games better, legal reasons, or both.
If you search TH-cam you’ll find quite a few actual plays of published adventures. There are absolutely no legal issues there, and I’m sure wizards of the Coast views it as free promotion, which it is!
By the way, don’t search essentials kit or starter kit. Search the names of the adventures: Lost Mine of Phandelver, dragon of ice spire peak, etc.
Anyone know if the characters are always the same 5 in these boxes ?
Yes
@@WASD20 awesome thank you so much 👍
This feels like a step down from Phandelver.
I agree with that.
I find it annoying that these sets don't AT MINIMUM come with paper tokens...like how hard could it be to add paper tokens of each of the player characters since they are pre-generated, all the NPCs, and the 5-7 different baddies? It's printed paper...and would add so much to the game for all these one off $20 sets where finding just the right tokens to make it real is a pain for NEW DMs.
When I got the Lost Mines of Phandelver set, I had to hunt down and pay additional for a quality full set of paper tokens that I literally printed in black and white and cut out to have as affordable tokens for my new players to have a visual at the table. Wizard is just so behind the game on DND, and its embarrassing sometimes.
I wish they did have at least one box w some paper tokens, but tbh 5e really emphasizes theatre of the mind gameplay.
Isn't the point of the 80's characters that you are playing them if you use the pre-made sheets?
No. The premade sheets don’t make sense with the 80s characters.
I don't think they count the DM as a player when saying 2-6 players.
They must. There are only five characters included in the box, so not sure how they’d get the number 6.
Want to play but none my close friend even care to read :(
Absolute misstep that this set does not have the D&D TV cartoon show characters as pregens in the game. I thought that Was going to be the whole selling point of this set...shocking bad decision.
I assumed they wore npcs, but I sweat I heard somewhere that they got minis in this boxset, but no mention
Can't understand why there is no basic minis. Not painted, some goblins, few heroes and maybe the main vilan.
Don/t do anything bad for your FLGS Hasbro!
How does this compare to Dragon of Icespire Peak? I've had to constantly mod that one to get any flow out of it for my players since the notice board system does not create any continuity.
Nice video, Nate. While the adventure wasn't bad, I really felt a bit ripped off with this one. Awfully short adventure, no character creation, being teased about the cartoon characters but no stats. And I HATED those dense character sheets. You give that to a new player and they'll run screaming. The Essentials Kit is a much better value. Get it before they take it off the market.
I see your point on the character sheets, but they actual provide a lot more instruction and clarity than those that came with the original starter set.
So the content is remarkably less, but it is better because it advertises some instruction videos and it gives a little extra information for the DM, the first time they have to do something? They could have done that and give us a more satisfying adventure. Then, it would have been better.
I find it diffcult to believe this is in any way better than Phandalin, or (laughing just saying this) the Essentials Kit.
You’re right that it could have ALSO had more content. TBH I don’t like the Essentials Kit adventure at all. The package is a great value in terms of stuff in the box, but I’d much rather play Phandelver or this.
And when it comes down to it, I know for a fact that other boxes have turned people off because they’ve been hard for new players to approach. I think there’s a good chance this new one will do that a lot less.
@@WASD20 I have not had similar experience with the previous boxes, but I will take your word for it.
Bottom line (for me) is that improving one thing, while making something else worse, does not make the product better. Don't get me wrong, I will probably get it (even just for my collection), but I had higher hopes for it.
Paizo make better Beginner Boxes than WOTC do.
Agreed