57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Advice before buying, November 29, 2008
This review is from: Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Starter Set (D&D Introductory Game) (Misc. Supplies)
If you are new to 4th Edition, or new to Dungeons & Dragons entirely, and are hesitating to invest in the books -- I actually recommend starting with the module that Wizards of the Coast released before any of the books, and before the Starter Set -- It's called
Keep on the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1), and it's a module for first to third level characters. Because it was released before any of the other materials, it has all of the Quick Start rules that make it a stand-alone product, and has the versatility of being an enjoyable module in tandem with other books (Player's Handbook, Adventurer's Vault, Martial Power, Dungeon Master's Guide, etc.) should you decide to go ahead and purchase them later.
That said, if you are new to roleplaying games altogether, there are probably things for you in the Starter Set that wouldn't be in Keep on the Shadowfell. I've just been helping people get into 4th Ed. since before the Starter Set existed, and wanted to share the Keep on the Shadowfell option with the Amazon crowd.
- L. R. Steventon
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38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great starter for new DMs or groups!, November 17, 2008
This review is from: Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Starter Set (D&D Introductory Game) (Misc. Supplies)
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 a GREAT product for a new group or 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.
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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Place to Start if You Are Interested in 4E, December 9, 2008
This review is from: Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Starter Set (D&D Introductory Game) (Misc. Supplies)
The Starter Set is specifically designed as an introduction to 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons for new players. It contains everything you need to learn the basic rules of the game and play a session or two with pregenerated characters. By the time you have played a few sessions, you will probably be ready to pick up the Player's Handbook and create your own characters.
What's in the Box?
- 16-page Quick-Start Rules book
- 64-page Dungeon Master's book
- 3 sheets of Dungeon Tiles
- 1 sheet of character and monster tokens
- A set of six polyhedral dice
The Box Itself
Let me rant for a minute about boxes. I really like good game boxes because you can chuck all kinds of goodies in them like dice, miniatures, pencils, etc. The boxes for both versions of the 3rd Edition D&D Basic Game were a little big, but sturdy. The box for the Starter Set sucks. It's not really a box at all. You just get a thin, outer `shell' with a cardboard liner to give it some stiffness. It is not useful at all for future storage of the Dungeon Tiles, tokens or dice that you get in the set. I give it a D-.
Quick-Start Rules Book
This is a very quick and dirty introduction to the rules. The booklet does a pretty decent job of covering the game's major concepts in a short span of six pages. The focus is on the game's tactical elements - movement and combat. The rest of the book's 16 pages are taken up by five sample characters; a Dwarf Fighter, a Halfling Rogue, an Eladrin Wizard, a Human Cleric and a Dragonborn Paladin. Each includes enough information to advance the character up to 3rd level. Unfortunately, there is basically no advice on actually playing a character; just the nuts and bolts of how to move and fight.
I would have also prefered that each character had been provided on separate sheets to hand out to players or even if WoTC had provided PDF versions of the character sheets on their website. As it stands now, you will have to head to the photocopier/scanner or rip up the book.
Dungeon Master's Book
As the name implies, this book is designed to be read by the Dungeon Master (DM). In D&D, the DM bears a heavy burden. It is his responsibility to know the rules, create the campaign world (including adventures) and run adventures in that world. He is also ultimately responsible for a large part of what makes the game `fun'. The DM's book puts it this way:
The book provides a suprisingly good introduction for the prospective DM. Good advice is given on everything from playing monsters fairly to vividly describing combat. Also included is plenty of crunchy stuff including most of the same combat and encounter rules from the Quick-Start book. You also get a (very) short three encounter adventure and rules for building encounters, running skill challenges, traps and hazards, and creating dungeons. The book is rounded out with a surprisingly robust monster section. If you count all of the individual types (five varieties of goblins for example) you get more than 50 different monsters from levels 1-4.
The Dungeon Master's book is the strongest element of the Starter Set. The only problem that I could find with it is that it leaves out rules for some of the monster abilities like insubstantiability for the Phantom Warrior and disease for the Dire Rat. It also makes a cardinal sin for me by not including an index. Any book of this length (especially one designed for a beginner) should include an index.
Dungeon Tiles
The Starter includes three sheets of WotC's nicely produced Dungeon Tiles. All three are from previously released sets. Two sheets are from DT7: Fane of the Forgotten Gods and one sheet is from DU1: Halls of the Giant Kings. The tiles provide a pretty decent selection of generic elements, but the inclusion of the tile from DU1 has less useful stuff like giant-sized doors. I have a sneaking suspicion that these particular tiles might have been included because WotC had a surplus of them, but that's just a guess.
Token Sheet
The token sheet is of the same thickness and material as the Dungeon Tiles. The art is nice and taken straight from the DM's book. The monster tokens are all double-sided with a different monster on each side. I thought it was a nice touch that you get eight tokens each for common monsters like orcs and skeletons. The five player character tokens have a green normal side and a red `bloodied' side. These are really nice and make for a great portable alternative to miniatures.
Conclusion
The Starter Set is a decent enough introduction to 4th Edition D&D, but less successful as an introduction to roleplaying in general. I also think it is more valuable to prospective DMs than it is for prospective players. With the Starter Set and a Player's Handbook you could actually get started running a campaign with no Monster Manual or Dungeon Master's Guide. If you are interested at all in 4th Edition D&D, pick it up and see for yourself.
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