Essentials Kit

Packed with a rule book, an adventure book, 6 character creation papers, 9 uncut cardboard (9 cards each, 81 cards total), 11 dice, 1 master screen, 1 double-sided map etc., everything you need to learn D&D. It's a more affordable version of starter set without some luxurious component, which means more pen-and-paper work for tabletop RPG sessions, but also more likes traditional ways. Product quality is still good, but starter set is better. So if price isn't your most concerns, going for starter set directly would be my suggestion.

ESSENTIALS KIT vs STARTER SET SHORT REVIEW: if you can only buy one set and are new to the game then buy the Starter Set. It explains the rules in a condensed version and easy to read manual--you will be up and running quicker than Essentials Kit. The rules and setup in the Essentials Kit has more steps and might get new players bogged down with too many details. After playing the Starter Set you wil have a feel for the flow and mechanics of the game and can then go deeper into the rules with the Essentials Kit. After playing the Starter Set and you want to move on, choose the Essentials Kit next before buying the hardcover Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide which have way too much information for new players. The Essentials Kit will build on the Starter Set by introducing magic-using races/classes and character customization. LONG REVIEW AND COMPARISON: ESSENTIALS KIT vs STARTER SET: In the Essentials Kit you get a 64-page squarebound rulebook and 64-page Adventure book. The Starter Set has a 32-page staplebound rulebook and 64-page staplebound Adventure book. I'm not going to talk about the Adventure books to avoid spoilers. But both are recommended and both should be played. The Rulebook differences are significant: in this case shorter (Starter Set) is better. The Essentials Kit has 6 blank character sheets. Players will use the Rulebook to help create their own custom character. The Starter Set has 5 pre-made characters which is NOT bad and for first time players it might be better to start this way. It forces you to play different races and classes of characters, it shows you what type of background story you might want create for future characters, it gives you an idea of how a character sheet is put together and where everything goes, and most importantly it gets you up and running quickly so you can learn how the game plays out. On your second adventure you can take the extra time to create your own character knowing what you liked or didn't like based on your first character. You can easily download and print blank character sheets online. I personally think the Starter Set's idea to use pre-generated characters is best for first time play. DICE: There are 11 dice total in the Essentials Kit but there are duplicates; there are only 7 different types. The Essentials includes a percentage die not in the Starter Set which has 6 different dice total. You only need the 6 types of die so both sets are equal to me. For the Starter Set that's all you get: Rulebook, Adventure book, pre-filled character sheets and dice. It's priced less than the Essentials Kit here on Amazon. Additional material in the Essentials Kit includes extra cards that come 9 to a sheet and you need will need to separate them. None of these are necessary to play. You could write down the information on the cards on paper, but the cards are a nice convenience and can help move the game along. The different cards are: 9 Initiative cards: these are just cards with a number on them, #1-9. 3 Combat cards: these are cheat sheets of combat rules. 24 Magic Item cards. 9 Quest cards: a description of a mini-quest players might take during the bigger Adventure Book. 9 Sidekick cards: your extra character when running a 2-player game. 14 Condition cards: when characters suffer from a certain condition this card reminds them of the symptoms. 1 Magic Charm card. Some of the cards are helpful to have and the Starter Set could be improved to include them as well. Other items in the Essentials Kit: a thin paper Dungeon Master's folding screen. It has a picture on one side and rules/tables on the other. This is very helpful for the Dungeon Master only--it has no use for players. A color map of the world. Maps are fun! And a thin cardboard box to store your dice (not fun). Both the Essentials Kit and Starter Set are good steps towards introducing new players to the game. I think they are both useful. Starter Set should be first. And the Essentials Kit should come second. After that you can play a few more adventures with the information you currently have. Or if you want to dive into the hardcover books then that's the next step. I highly recommend the Starter Set and Essentials Kit. Both are worthwhile purchases. I suggest the Starter Set first then Essentials Kit.

The D&D Essentials Kit is packed with everything you need to get started, including a rulebook, character sheets, a set of dice, and an adventure book. The rulebook is clear and easy to understand, making it perfect for beginners who may not have any prior experience with tabletop games. The character sheets are also well-designed, with plenty of space to record your character's stats and abilities. One of the standout items in the kit is the set of dice. The dice are of high quality, with a satisfying weight and feel. The set includes all the dice you'll need to play the game, including the iconic 20-sided die (also known as the d20). The adventure book that comes with the kit is also a lot of fun. It's filled with exciting quests and challenges that will keep players engaged and entertained for hours. The book is well-written, with detailed descriptions of the world and the creatures that inhabit it. But what really makes the D&D Essentials Kit stand out is its accessibility. The game is designed to be easy to learn and play, making it perfect for kids and families. The rules are straightforward, and the adventure book provides plenty of guidance and direction for players who may be new to the game. Overall, the D&D Essentials Kit is a fantastic product for anyone who is interested in exploring the world of Dungeons and Dragons. It's well-designed, easy to use, and packed with everything you need to get started. If you have kids who are interested in tabletop games or are looking to try out D&D for the first time, this kit is a great choice. It's a fun and engaging way to spend time together as a family, and it's sure to create memories that will last a lifetime.

If you're looking for a way to get into D&D, this is a great resource. It includes everything that you need* to get started: * dice (a full set including 2d20s so you can easily roll advantage and 4d6 which are good for rolling stats). If you don't have extras, you can pass these around the table as needed, but buying a few extra sets of dice so everyone has a set is about the only thing that you NEED beyond this set. (They're even selling them at the dollar store now, but you can play with one if you must, it'll just slow things down a bit.) * an adventure that goes from levels 1-6 -- great for new players to start in or experienced players can roll up new characters for * basic rules book - this tells you all the basics of how to play the game. There's much more in-depth information and options in the Player's Handbook, the DM Handbook, and expanded in Xanathar's Guide and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. I would recommend buying them in that order if you can afford them, but you can certainly play with just what's in this box without them (and if you don't want to be overwhelmed with too many options or spend more money, just using what's in the box is fine). * character sheets (a blank set of 6; you can run photocopies of one or download more later) -- the only thing I would have changed would have been to include pre-generated characters for new players, as new character generation can be one of the most daunting and boring tasks if you don't know what you're doing. Just make copies before you start, because if your characters get killed and you need new ones, you don't want to have them all used up. And use pencils, because you'll be doing a lot of erasing and updating! * DM screen (pretty basic version but a good starter one) * a set of perforated cardboard cards detailing magic items and NPCs that can be found in the adventure, character conditions, and combat steps. There's also a set of numbered cards that can be passed around during combat for initiative order -- this is the least useful thing included, as a good initiative tracker (like a flag style) or even just a whiteboard that everyone can see is much more helpful than having to look around the table. Even getting some spring-loaded clothespins with characters' names painted on them and clipping them to the DM screen in order is better than the cards. But the condition cards (that explain what happens when you're grappled, blinded, etc) are boku useful and can be passed around the table as needed. I use the condition cards in my games all the time. * A 2-sided fold-out poster map (about 15x22") that shows the area the adventure occurs in (there's a world-map on one side and a town on the other). This is helpful for showing stuff to players, but some parts of the game happen inside building and caves and such, that aren't on the poster map. If you want to have visual aids for those (which are helpful to the players) I'd recommend getting some wrapping paper with the grid on the backside. You can redraw the building maps on that, and then get some tokens to represent your players. You don't need expensive minis, if you go to printableheroes.com or grab pieces from another board game or just use coins or something. You can also just use "theatre of the mind" and describe what's going on, but most players think having a visual "board" makes the game easier and more fun. D&D is a hobby you can easily spend hundreds of dollars on if you really enjoy it (trust me, I have) but for $8 with this introductory set you can't go wrong. A copy of the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Handbook and some extra dice would help things, but aren't necessary.

It's a solid product that has everything you need. It's great for new DMs and players. It's modular, meaning almost every quest, every map can be extracted from this adventure and used elsewhere (for a one-shot or as a basis for your own stuff). It's a solid product, that I can recommend to any DM who wants to start running Dnd with an adventure already written for them. However (if you're looking for a gift, you can stop reading here) To any person, who wants to try out Dnd, I advise researching other ttrpg systems before jumping on products like this. The short reason for this is that Dnd is an expensive hobby, but tabletop roleplaying in general isn't. Moreover, even if you really like Dnd, you can still play without the prewritten modules! Writhing your own stuff isn't hard. Believe me, I'm a bad writer, but still a good DM. Just steal some ideas from the games you like, the music you listen, the books you read, and it will come to you. To conclude, the product is great, but you don't really need it. It is not worth the money. If you want good cheap alternatives, look into systems like Dungeon World (my favorite because it's good at creating stories), Five Torches Deep, and Knave. Kairn and Basic Fantasy RPG are free, however... they are not everyone's cup of tea

Dragon of Icespire Peak Review After play review using Adventure League Rules 15.2 plus. Using 2024 rules and some 2014 books. TLDR 5 stars but things will need to be adjusted for 2024 rules. I bought this way back in 2019 on sale but only recently got around to running for a local FLGS. My players were most new to either 2024 rules. Or new to Adventure League (WOTC house rules). It ran 10 sessions. And due to being in a FLGS time sometime played into encounters. The box set has basic rules, and adventure book. Some cards which include quests, sidekicks, magic items, and other stuff. And a dm screen which I didn’t use as I don’t use them and some of the information was out of date. Back to Phandalin again. Phandalin is WOTC small town quest location which they have used three times. I use previous play throughs of the town to flesh it out. The town is bared bones with only six locations mentioned. The mayor as quest giver is fun idea. The cards are great props for new dms but I would sort by type and drop them into a Ziploc instead of using the included box. Most of the quests are basic go there and solve the problem or explore. And not all quests have a card associated with them. So you will need to do some prop work for some quests. The dragon location is a nice bit of randomized chaos where a d20 is rolled on arriving or leaving a location. This can be fun but the dragon may appear too early and too powerful if the roll equals the pc location when they are too low of level to fight it. So use your judgement on how and when the dragon fights. No guidance is given on adjusting fights if the party is too strong or weak. So brand new dms will need to hit the net for that. Pros. Good price for your value and a baseline campaign for new players. Cons. No hand holding for the dm. And lots of magic items are given out. With the new 2024 starter set being release at of this writing, this is still a great beginning campaign or gift to your DM.

It’s been six months since I bought this for my son and he still uses it every week to go to his DND club. He thought it was cool when I got it, but he didn’t know how much he would use it, but this is something that is now literally an essential for him and his friends in their sessions. He has used the materials inside to introduce new people into his hobby, and he said that it makes being dungeon master way easier. If you have someone that’s interested or setting up a game with their friends, this is the perfect thing to get them to push them into being more organized, and it’s totally worth the money.

Excellent product. Worth the money to get started. Might not be the best starter kit but it is a fun action-packed quick pace module. It does present some tough encounters that will likely be a TPK but that isn't the fault of the DM exactly. The party will learn and gain experience. Hence why it is a good, not great, starter module. Professional packaging and usable materials