Fantastic starter to get folks right into playing D&D as fast as possible with the full experience, including creating their first characters! This comes with a short rulebook with just enough info to get your characters from 1st - 5th level, comes with iconic characters (human, elf, dwarf, halfling, fighter, wizard, cleric, rogue, bard), and gives the Dungeon Master a bunch of short quests loosely tied together to run several dozen one-shots or a short campaign. Includes a full set of dice which is now 2d20 (to account for advantage and disadvantage), 4d6 (for rolling ability scores), and 2d10 (for rolling "percentile" dice) as well as 1 each of d4, d8, and d12. There's even a small DM screen and a bunch of cards so you can hand out treasure, quests, and conditions ... MoreFantastic starter to get folks right into playing D&D as fast as possible with the full experience, including creating their first characters! This comes with a short rulebook with just enough info to get your characters from 1st - 5th level, comes with iconic characters (human, elf, dwarf, halfling, fighter, wizard, cleric, rogue, bard), and gives the Dungeon Master a bunch of short quests loosely tied together to run several dozen one-shots or a short campaign. Includes a full set of dice which is now 2d20 (to account for advantage and disadvantage), 4d6 (for rolling ability scores), and 2d10 (for rolling "percentile" dice) as well as 1 each of d4, d8, and d12. There's even a small DM screen and a bunch of cards so you can hand out treasure, quests, and conditions characters might be afflicted with during combat. My only complaints: 1) the cards are not typical playing card size, so they don't fit into card protectors or 9-card sleeve pages, but they do come with a protective box, so that's a bit of hit and miss (hit if you use all the cards, miss if you only use the condition cards); 2) the DM screen is super flimsy, but does have highly relevant info for all DMs.

Great for getting into building characters for the first time and playing the adventure. Because i had played the Starter set i was aware of the importance of linking the characters goals and story to the adventure; of course with "free form" characters it would be difficult to create those links in a pre-written adventure but i really missed it. I will be spending some time trying to create such links for the second session. Otherwise the set has many helpful features for new players and DMs and i am enjoying the story.

Compared to the other two starter sets, the Essentials Kit is still the best value for all the content and accessories you get in the box (dice, cards, player sheets). However, this set can be challenging for new Dungeon Masters just learning the game because there are so many ways the story can play out. That being said, I still refer to this kit when I need new ideas. For even more value, the kits came with a discount code for the digital version of the Players Handbook! I still recommend this kit a one of the best ways to dive into the game.

Almost Perfect

This essentials pack has everything you need to begin your adventure or learn to play D&D. It has all the dice, maps, and directions to get you started. There is a one player variant introduced with this set and I haven't tested it out but I think this is an awesome new feature, I hope it plays well. This is exactly what I wanted/expected from this product and there are only two reasons why I am docking it a star. I wish all the condition, magic item, sidekick cards were already just cards weren't just perforated as I prefer clean edges. The other reason is that adventure looks like it puts a lot of responsibility for the Dungeon Master who will be running the game. For an experienced DM, this isn't a problem but for a new one (who I assume this was created for), I ... MoreThis essentials pack has everything you need to begin your adventure or learn to play D&D. It has all the dice, maps, and directions to get you started. There is a one player variant introduced with this set and I haven't tested it out but I think this is an awesome new feature, I hope it plays well. This is exactly what I wanted/expected from this product and there are only two reasons why I am docking it a star. I wish all the condition, magic item, sidekick cards were already just cards weren't just perforated as I prefer clean edges. The other reason is that adventure looks like it puts a lot of responsibility for the Dungeon Master who will be running the game. For an experienced DM, this isn't a problem but for a new one (who I assume this was created for), I think it will make it a little harder to just jump in and start playing.That being said it comes with a great adventure, great rulebook, and I would highly recommend this product to anyone who wants to get started playing Dungeons and Dragons but doesn't know where to start.

Easier introduction to Starfinder

A nice introduction to Starfinder. This is only a taste of the main rule books but a heck of a lot less reading to give you a gist of the game system. A basic rule book covers how to create a character and level them up to 4th level and how to use abilities in combat. A brief over view of races and classes is given. Some equipment and spells are also detailed. A game master guide has a 15 page short adventure and some basics on how to run an adventure. More details about the Starfinder world is given with some possible adventure ideas. It also has 20+ pages of stats for creatures and opponents. A double sided flip map and some pawns are included to match the short adventure. There are also 6 pregenerated character sheets and 6 blank ones for custom character ... MoreA nice introduction to Starfinder. This is only a taste of the main rule books but a heck of a lot less reading to give you a gist of the game system. A basic rule book covers how to create a character and level them up to 4th level and how to use abilities in combat. A brief over view of races and classes is given. Some equipment and spells are also detailed. A game master guide has a 15 page short adventure and some basics on how to run an adventure. More details about the Starfinder world is given with some possible adventure ideas. It also has 20+ pages of stats for creatures and opponents. A double sided flip map and some pawns are included to match the short adventure. There are also 6 pregenerated character sheets and 6 blank ones for custom character creation. A set of dice is included. All books and material is of good quality. Keep in mind this is only an introduction to the game and you will need to purchase the main rule books to continue playing. I found the main rules overwhelming to read so these shorter books were nice to get into the game easier.

Great Starter Set

I think is an excellent way to break in new gamers in to tabletop RPG's. In addition to the items included in the starter you receive codes for the same + additional items on D&DBeyond their electronic depository for content. The included adventure(s) are a series of staged adventures that move beginners from first through 7th level with 9 possible connected quests. Its great for new DM's, the included screen has mostly useful stuff on it. Lots of helping text in the module itself and enough in the included rules book to get you through! I have been playing for well over 30 years through multiple editions. Now I am running this for my niece and her friends looking for the fun and challenge of tabletop RPG. The online content includes 3 more adventures that tag onto ... MoreI think is an excellent way to break in new gamers in to tabletop RPG's. In addition to the items included in the starter you receive codes for the same + additional items on D&DBeyond their electronic depository for content. The included adventure(s) are a series of staged adventures that move beginners from first through 7th level with 9 possible connected quests. Its great for new DM's, the included screen has mostly useful stuff on it. Lots of helping text in the module itself and enough in the included rules book to get you through! I have been playing for well over 30 years through multiple editions. Now I am running this for my niece and her friends looking for the fun and challenge of tabletop RPG. The online content includes 3 more adventures that tag onto the end of this taking characters up through 11th or 12th level. That amount of content makes this way worth the purchase price. The dice set could be slightly better quality and while advertising the 2 player option with Sidekicks. Those rules could use a bit of work as well...

Great for new players

I'm pretty familiar with D&D 5e, and I purchased this mostly to see if it would be a good kit to pass around to groups of new players. The good news is: yes, it is! The bad news: I now have a lot of extra, lower-quality stuff that I don't need and will want to reinforce or update before sharing.Dice included: 1d4, 4d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d10 percentage, 2d20. You'll want more, but you could manage with just those. A small cardboard box is also included, which I assume is for storing the dice and cards. The map is double-sided with a hex grid for the regional view. (The hex is not large enough for miniatures and is just to indicate distance. The set also doesn't include information about working with a grid, anyway.)The DM's screen is a condensed (in terms of space, not ... MoreI'm pretty familiar with D&D 5e, and I purchased this mostly to see if it would be a good kit to pass around to groups of new players. The good news is: yes, it is! The bad news: I now have a lot of extra, lower-quality stuff that I don't need and will want to reinforce or update before sharing.Dice included: 1d4, 4d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d10 percentage, 2d20. You'll want more, but you could manage with just those. A small cardboard box is also included, which I assume is for storing the dice and cards. The map is double-sided with a hex grid for the regional view. (The hex is not large enough for miniatures and is just to indicate distance. The set also doesn't include information about working with a grid, anyway.)The DM's screen is a condensed (in terms of space, not text) version of the Dungeon Master's Screen Reincarnated. The only information it seems to be missing is exhaustion stages. It's full color, but it's also made out of a lightweight cardstock, and it already showed edge wear when I took it out of the box. For the price, we can't expect a quality board like the Screen Reincarnated, but DMs will probably want to add a bit of packing tape to reinforce the edges.The rulebook is a condensed (in terms of content) version of the free Basic Rules with an added class (Bard); two Archetypes (one more than Basic) for each class; some magic items, and two pages on Sidekicks. (Note that animal sidekicks are not included in this and leveling options are limited. We can probably expect Sidekicks to be fully officially released in another publication.) Background options are also a bit different from the Basic Rules. Information is included for characters and Sidekicks up to level 6. It's a little unfortunate that pertinent information for DMs isn't duplicated in the adventure book; you can expect to pass the rulebook around a lot during play.The included character sheets don't include a page for spells. You'll probably end up printing off more anyway, but with several spellcasters included in the player options, it's a little odd not to include something for marking spells. Again, you'll be passing the rulebook around a lot.Glancing through, the adventure itself looks complex and interesting. It gives the players a home base in the town of Phandalin, and there are several options for different quests and dungeons set in the area. I wouldn't have minded buying it outside of the Essentials Kit; as expected, it looks like a great introductory campaign set.The cards are both interesting and a little disappointing. Included are cards on perforated cardstock for: initiative order, status conditions, premade Sidekick characters, magic items, and combat rules. Like another reviewer, I really wish they weren't perforated. Even cutting them out ourselves with a scissors would have made for a better effect. They have some good content on them, though, and it's nice to be able to hand them out. The Combat cards are a thorough disappointment, though. They explain how you start combat and take turns, but they don't explain what can happen on a player's turn. In my experience, it's easy for a DM to get combat started and supervise turn order, but new (and sometimes old) players can always use a refresher on what their options are each time their turn comes up.Overall, this is a great starter set. The learning curve is still pretty high (especially for the DM), but with as complex as D&D can be, this is a decent introduction. If you've already been collecting D&D books and peripherals, you might want the adventure for introducing some new players, but you won't want anything else in the set.

I think this is Targeted toward adults (pardon the pun)

This is a Target exclusive for a while. This replaces the Starter Kit. I think the Starter Kit is more targeted toward children, especially the "Stranger Things" edition, where it is easy to get a larger group. This one, besides being a bit more expensive, is more for couples or adults in general who have less time to form large parties or for introducing a friend to Dungeons & Dragons (or role-playing games in general). The themes are no different but this one gives more tools for someone to be able to play with as few as one player character out of the box.What you get over the Starter Kit:- character creation rules- DM screen- sidekicks so you can play with less players (specific 2: 1 DM, 1 player)- deck of item/status cards (it introduces new people to the ... MoreThis is a Target exclusive for a while. This replaces the Starter Kit. I think the Starter Kit is more targeted toward children, especially the "Stranger Things" edition, where it is easy to get a larger group. This one, besides being a bit more expensive, is more for couples or adults in general who have less time to form large parties or for introducing a friend to Dungeons & Dragons (or role-playing games in general). The themes are no different but this one gives more tools for someone to be able to play with as few as one player character out of the box.What you get over the Starter Kit:- character creation rules- DM screen- sidekicks so you can play with less players (specific 2: 1 DM, 1 player)- deck of item/status cards (it introduces new people to the trick of writing items/spells/status on cards to make them easier to keep track of)- discount for digital version of Player's Manual- more/better diceWhat you lose:- pre-generated characters- mini (if you get the Stranger Things edition)What is different:- all the modules across the three are different. However both the regular Starter and this edition take place in the same universe and section of the world so can be used seemlessly.

Not a bad starter--great production value. A little thin on content.

Nice product. The adventure: Dragon of Icespire Peak consists of a set of nice sidequest length micro adventures that weigh in at a page long, each with a little map. There are a set of translucent red dice with white letters--nothing special about them, they feel a little cheap, but you do get four six-sided dice and two twenty-sided, which is convenient. The big poster map is pretty. Some of the cards you get feel like they would come in handy (you get some tag along sidekick characters that can adventure with you as well as some cards that detail bad things that can happen to you and how they work mechanically).I wish the adventures had more going on in them--most are a pretty straightforward fight or two in a cool twisty map area you don't get to use most of. ... MoreNice product. The adventure: Dragon of Icespire Peak consists of a set of nice sidequest length micro adventures that weigh in at a page long, each with a little map. There are a set of translucent red dice with white letters--nothing special about them, they feel a little cheap, but you do get four six-sided dice and two twenty-sided, which is convenient. The big poster map is pretty. Some of the cards you get feel like they would come in handy (you get some tag along sidekick characters that can adventure with you as well as some cards that detail bad things that can happen to you and how they work mechanically).I wish the adventures had more going on in them--most are a pretty straightforward fight or two in a cool twisty map area you don't get to use most of. The main dragon just kind of shows up when you decide it should with not particular big battle set up for you. But they're not bad, particularly if you want to use them in combination with the adventure from the Starter Kit (the other big box from a couple of years ago--the adventure in that one, Lost Mine of Phandelver, is one of the best 5e module they've released).

Perfect Beginner Set

If you’re torn between the Starter Set and the Essentials Kit, start with the Essentials. This is a great introduction to Dungeons and Dragons and gives you all the beginner tools you’ll need. You’ll probably end up buying more dice, but that was inevitable anyways. Dragon of Icespire Peak was my first DM experience and it’s been pretty good. The module can be a little unbalanced at times, and I’ve had to learn some things and make adjustments on the fly, lowering or raising the threat levels appropriately to keep it interesting but not completely deadly for my players…we still had some deaths. Even with the character losses, everyone was still having a great time and I think it added some big twists in their journey and an extra gravity to the situation that helped ... MoreIf you’re torn between the Starter Set and the Essentials Kit, start with the Essentials. This is a great introduction to Dungeons and Dragons and gives you all the beginner tools you’ll need. You’ll probably end up buying more dice, but that was inevitable anyways. Dragon of Icespire Peak was my first DM experience and it’s been pretty good. The module can be a little unbalanced at times, and I’ve had to learn some things and make adjustments on the fly, lowering or raising the threat levels appropriately to keep it interesting but not completely deadly for my players…we still had some deaths. Even with the character losses, everyone was still having a great time and I think it added some big twists in their journey and an extra gravity to the situation that helped them learn to be a bit more careful and clever with how they approached things.It also has a pretty open structure for the story and all the NPCs, which I found a little annoying and difficult to work with at first, but later found that it gave me more freedom to get creative with the characters and their personalities. Part of the initial frustration was on me though, since I didn’t take the time to read or at least gloss through the entire module before starting. I had no idea where creative freedoms could be taken and where they couldn’t, so I just didn’t, and my NPCs fell a little flat and had very little to offer by way of conversation and personality because of it. Another valuable lesson learned during this beginner session.All and all, we’ve had a great time and it’s been an excellent learning experience for everybody. I highly recommend!