Customer Reviews

D&D Player's Kit With Free Miniatures Booster With Cards

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dispite being designed for beginners and "graduates of the D&D Basic game" this box is worth every penny for players of every experience level (pun intended).
For a $30 (less than 20 here on amazon) box here's what you get:
1)A softbound Players Handbook. The PHB is a $30 value on its own, so this itself earns the price of the box. I myself have been clamoring for a softcover PHB for years.
2)A pack of D&D Minis Abberrations. This set is out of print and easily fetch $15 apiece at online retailers.
3)A set of dice that don't suck. They look and feel like dice that a self-respecting gamer MIGHT buy at least. Also it's a 10-die set with 4d6s, which is better than the woefully inadequate 1 that most die sets come with. $5 value easily.
4)Some things just for beginners. A solo adventure (and I do mean SOLO, i.e. no DM necessary. basically a glorified choose your own adventure)to teach you the ropes, a quick start guide, character creation guide, and a better-than-copier-paper character sheet.

So, all in all, this box is a great product that anyone can use, especially those who play both D&D and DDM. If nothing else the hard box can be used to store papers and campaign notes.

The D&D Player's Kit comes with a PHB, premium dice, and bonus box of eight random miniatures (an Aberrations boosters, for those who play D&D Miniatures). It retails for [...] (and make sure you're getting the free miniatures), but Amazon sells it for [...].

D&D Player's Handbook, softcover: I'm happy with it. The binding and paper quality are better than most d20 softcovers I own and, like the hardcover, it's in color. The cover looks the same as the PHB, and, from a distance, even looks like the hardcover.

Premium dice: The dice set are four 6-sided dice, one of each of 4-, 8-, 12- and 20-sided dice, and two 10-sided dice (percentile dice). (One of the ten-sided dice has the tens digit, and is rolled with the normal 10-sided dice.) The dice are a mixed color of black and another color, with the numbers outlined in gold. Unfortunately, my dice had far too much black, giving the dice a black, mottled look. It shouldn't be too hard to find better dice at the local game store. Nonetheless, these dice are a definite improvement over the blandly colored dice in the Basic Set. (You'll have to get your own Royal Crown dice bag, though!)

Character sheet: Only one character sheet is provided, as a master sheet to make copies from. The sheet is cardstock and durable. (You can also download this sheet from the [...] website.) I would have liked to have at least five or a pad of sheets instead of one.

Quick Start booklets: These 8-page color booklets are quick start rules for character generation, simplified quick-start rules, and a short solo adventure (a "choose your own adventure" with some NPC interaction and three monster encounters). The Basic D&D set is obviously a better starting point to learn D&D, but these booklets might be useful to give new players an overview of the game.

Eight Free Miniatures: As these are random, your satisfaction will vary. (For those who play the D&D Miniatures game, this is an OOP Aberrations booster.) Myself, I received three miniatures which could be used as PC's (elf archer; gnome thief, which could be used as a halfling thief; and human with shield and flail; no spellcasters), two usable monsters (an orc and a mongrelman, who could pass for a goblin), and three exotic monsters (a cool Cthulhu-like Mind Flayer, a one-eyed spider thing, and an overweight grey guy in armor with an ice cream cone sticking out of his forehead). The paint jobs are quite good (more detailed than HeroScape), though on the small side.

The Box: Yes, the box counts. Your first impression will be that it's far too big for a book -- and you're right. The box is the same size as the D&D Basic Set, so my guess is that it's a standard size from the printer WotC uses, so is cheaper than a smaller box. Of course, it's useful to store your D&D stuff.

With the free booster and low online price, this is no-brainer for anyone shopping for a PHB, who doesn't mind a softcover. Use the miniatures to bribe the GM out of your share of the pizza, unless you find some use for an overweight grey guy with an ice-cream cone growing out of his head.

Others have already reviewed the "value" of this item and I must agree with them wholeheartedly, it is a terrific value. The PHB (Player's Handbook) alone is worth 30 bucks, the full set of decent quality dice, eight miniatures and other goodies are (tasty) icing on the cake. As I write this review, amazon is selling the product for $19.77 which is just fantastic, there's really no reason not to buy if you have any interest in D&D whatsoever (unless you already have or don't need all of the contents of the kit -- and even then, it never hurts to have a spare PHB).

The only real drawback that I can see is that someone might purchase this thinking that they are getting a decent gaming experience right out of the box, which is not the case. You will quickly exhaust the included "solo adventure" of every scrap of entertainment value it has, leaving you with nothing to do besides imagine what it is like to play -- unless of course you have a D&D group available, which of course is the whole point of D&D.

If you plan on purchasing this kit for yourself (or as a gift), make sure you (or whoever you're buying it for) already know of a D&D group that will have you, or make sure you have a group of friends/acquaintances that are interested in playing and have a degree of patience. You need someone to "DM" (Dungeon Master) to get the full experience, and to effectively DM you need the Dungeon Master's Guide (and preferably a Monster Manual) as well as enough creativity and/or patience to create an adventure, or else buy a pre-made adventure module and study it.

So just be aware that this isn't your typical board game, nor is it a solo video game and that you will need other players (preferably at least a few of which have their own PHBs or player's kits) and a DM to really get your money's worth.

It was probably a bit of nostalgia that led to my interest in this kit. While the hardcover and softcover books are probably a better medium then the old box sets, I liked those boxes and so the WOTC boxes that have been published, I've snatched up.

This box in particular is a very well designed package. In short, it is excellent for the new player - not for the new group but for the new player. If you've never played D&D before and you don't have any friends who play it then you'll want to take a look at the Beginner's Set.

If on the other hand, you have played D&D or you know a group of friends who play D&D, then this set is for you. It includes a softcover copy of the Player's Handbook, an essential volume, as well as a very nice set of dice and a couple other goodies to play with. Since it retails for the same cost as the hardcover PBH, this is a pretty good deal. Especially since it's being packaged with a box of miniatures. Even if you've already got your PHB, this might not be such a bad box to invest in - it seems like there's never enough copies of the book to go around even though everyone is supposed to have their own, so having a backup can be nice. And extra dice are always useful. Though, as I mentioned, if you're looking to get into the game with a whole group of new players then the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Game set is the route you'll want to explore.

Overall, this is an excellent set.

The bang for the buck on this product is excellent. If your new to D&D and don't mind a soft cover version of the Players Handbook then the addition of the miniatures booster and the small single player adventure in this package is well worth it. The dice in this kit are also very sharp looking with their marbled color patterns.

I only wish the single player adventure in this kit was longer. It is a fun way to become more familiar with the system.

First off buy the set with the free miniatures and you will get your moneys worth. I liked the kit overall the dice were better than the ones you get out of the 30th aniversy set or the basic set and the basic explanation with the choose your own adventure was well laid out , also you get a players handbook so value wise this is great , on the down side the paperback players handbook is the same size as the hardcover I was expecting a more compact version like some of the pocket grimores you see published under the ogl , which was the main reason I was purchasing it to have a compact paperback version to go with me when I didn't want to take my hardcover but this hardcover sized paperback will not make to many journeys before it starts to were. To sum it up buy it if you want a good deal and don't mind the size of the handbook but if you want something that is going to last save up and get the hardcover or even the leather bound players handbook.

I am very happy with this Player's Kit. It is perfect for someone who is just starting out playing D&D or upgrading as a player to 3.5 from a previous version. The product contains a nice set of dice, some helpful brochures on how to create a character, and best of all a paperback version of the player's handbook! It also comes with a character sheet as well, but this is not as helpful because the 4 page pdf ones from the Wizards of the Coast Website are better in my opinion. If you play the mini's game or just collect the minis for roleplaying like me, you will be treated to a booster pack from the Aberrations (now out of print) set. The figures that you can get from the pack alone could justify paying the $20.00 for this kit.



All this being said, there is not much here for a Dungeon Master. If you are new to being DM, I would recommend the Core rule book gift set instead.Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebook Set (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Three Book Slipcased Set) What I usually do as DM, however, is purchase one of these sets for all of my new players and keep the minis pack.



In summary:

If you are a new player and don't have a player's handbook, buy this for yourself.

If you are a DM, you may want to buy it for each of your players (or make them buy it themselves), but you probably won't need it.



Hope this helps.

The Dungeons & Dragons Player's Kit is the perfect purchase for a graduate of the Basic Game, or anyone else looking to join a game of Dungeons & Dragons. The Dungeons & Dragons Player's Kit contains a trade paperback version of the D&D Player's Handbook, a full set of roleplaying dice, and a supplementary booklet that helps new players create and advance characters. This kit is a great value for new D&D players.

I just started playing a couple of months ago. There are no superstitious *don't touch my dice* kind of gamers in the group, and up until getting this, I had been borrowing dice and the PHB as needed. It got really annoying and I even missed out on bonuses as I leveled up because I didn't have time to do it right. (Of course, I didn't know what I missed until I actually got my own book and could take the time to look stuff up.)

The soft-cover handbook is just like the hardcover except it's not as easy to write on (the table is often full of snacks). I like the feel of the dice and how they have several D6 so I don't have to borrow them from others. I don't like that the colors of the dice don't match exactly and that they come in only a plastic zip-lock type bag which pops open in my pocket.

I agree with what someone else said about the character sheets-it would have been nice to have more of them although I can always copy what's in the book. I don't use the minis, either, but, I like them.

Overall, for what I needed, this worked and even though I was just looking and wasn't really planning to buy, it was a good package deal that had everything I needed at a good price. I'm happy with the purchase.

This set is probably one of the best bangs for your buck around. Not only do you get a copy of the Player's Handbook (worth the whole cost of the set by itself), there is a really nice set of dice and a booster pack of discontinued minis. If anyone needs a PHB, this is the way to go.