Post by Gilvan Blight on Jun 3, 2009 8:24:14 GMT -5
This is a review of the relatively new 4th edition D&D starter set.
Quickly: Disappointing for me but would be great for a new DM/group.
Summary: This starter set includes everything a group of players and DM need to get into the new edition of the rules (minus pencils and paper). There are two books included, a small pamphlet like Quick Start Rules Book and a Thicker Dungeon Master's Book. The DM's book is quite large for a starter set measuring 60 Pages. Also included are a set of gaming dice, three sheets of Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Tiles and a sheet of counters to represent a wide range of players and monsters.
The Quick Start Rules cover all your basics, explaining the D20 system, how to make skill checks, how combat works, how to read a power, etc. It also includes 5 pre-generated characters.
The DM's book starts with a bit about what a DM does and includes the quick start rules again but in more detail, giving information on how to set Difficulty Classes and other DM specific information. After that is a short adventure set in the same area as described in the full Dungeon Master Guide and featured in the official WotC H series modules. The module uses the dungeon tiles and chits included. Then the book goes into some detail about creating adventures, giving information on how to set up an encounter, the monster types, how to pick monsters and even providing tips on building an interesting encounter. The book finishes off with a Mini-Monster Manual.
In all the book includes enough information for a group of players to start off with the module in the book and then using the rules in the DM book had the DM build adventures to get the characters to 3rd level.
The Good: One of the best Dungeon Master books I've seen in a starter set. I've never seen a starter that talks about monster types, how to build a dungeon and how to make fair encounters. Usually these types of boxed sets give you a huge block of monster stats and an unkeyed dungeon and that's about it. This is an awesome resource for someone who is considering getting into 4th edition but isn't sure. At about $20 this is a very cheap way to 'test out' the new rules. You basically get a full RPG that is good for 3 levels of play for that price and that's hard to beat. Adding to the value even more are the dungeon tiles, dice and encounter tokens. The dungeon tiles included are some of the most useful ones out there and include a variety of doors, some statues, various sized difficult terrain, A table with chairs, a switch, and a couple large rooms and a few corridors. Everything you need to get you started, and actually a great addition to the existing tiles as it will give you duplicates of some rather useful tiles.
The Bad: I ran the included module last night as an intro to 4th for my players and it was lackluster. It was alright but barely had any roleplay in it and only included 3 small encounters, the last of which seemed way too powerful for 1st level characters. There was no wrap up at the end either, it just ended with no notes on finishing it up. I know what I'm doing when behind the screen so this wasn't much of a problem and I just improved but for something supposedly for new DM's this was a bit odd. Minis would have been much better the counters, though you do get a lot of counters (way more then if they had included minis).
The Ugly: What really frustrated me about this is that I expected a Starter Set like previous ones that had been released. There would be a series of short encounters that each explained a section of the rules. This what had been done in the past. I really wasn't expecting one tiny adventure and that's it. Also the Quick Start Rules are nothing new and are identical to the ones that you can now download free on the WotC site and match the ones that come with Keep on the Shadowfell. The first half of the DM's book is the same thing: there's nothing new. I was surprised by the sections on designing encounters and the slew of monsters in the back half of the book, but this is totally unneeded if you have a copy of the actual DMG and Monster Manual. I would say this start set is only actually useful to someone just getting into the game for the first time.
Overall: This is a great starter set for a group taking their first steps into 4th edition of D&D. All of the rules you need to get a group from 1st to 3rd level are here. The Dungeon Master's book also includes a full Monster Manual for levels 1-3. The problem with this set though is that it's only actually useful for a new group. The quick start rules have been published before and are now free, the module included is not worth running if you aren't new to the game and you can get a set of 6 dungeon tiles cheaper then the cost of this set. So if you are thinking of getting into 4th edition this is a good place to start, if you are already in, skip this one and spend your $20 on some minis or some Dungeon Tiles and have some cash left for a new D20 for your next character.
Quickly: Disappointing for me but would be great for a new DM/group.
Summary: This starter set includes everything a group of players and DM need to get into the new edition of the rules (minus pencils and paper). There are two books included, a small pamphlet like Quick Start Rules Book and a Thicker Dungeon Master's Book. The DM's book is quite large for a starter set measuring 60 Pages. Also included are a set of gaming dice, three sheets of Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Tiles and a sheet of counters to represent a wide range of players and monsters.
The Quick Start Rules cover all your basics, explaining the D20 system, how to make skill checks, how combat works, how to read a power, etc. It also includes 5 pre-generated characters.
The DM's book starts with a bit about what a DM does and includes the quick start rules again but in more detail, giving information on how to set Difficulty Classes and other DM specific information. After that is a short adventure set in the same area as described in the full Dungeon Master Guide and featured in the official WotC H series modules. The module uses the dungeon tiles and chits included. Then the book goes into some detail about creating adventures, giving information on how to set up an encounter, the monster types, how to pick monsters and even providing tips on building an interesting encounter. The book finishes off with a Mini-Monster Manual.
In all the book includes enough information for a group of players to start off with the module in the book and then using the rules in the DM book had the DM build adventures to get the characters to 3rd level.
The Good: One of the best Dungeon Master books I've seen in a starter set. I've never seen a starter that talks about monster types, how to build a dungeon and how to make fair encounters. Usually these types of boxed sets give you a huge block of monster stats and an unkeyed dungeon and that's about it. This is an awesome resource for someone who is considering getting into 4th edition but isn't sure. At about $20 this is a very cheap way to 'test out' the new rules. You basically get a full RPG that is good for 3 levels of play for that price and that's hard to beat. Adding to the value even more are the dungeon tiles, dice and encounter tokens. The dungeon tiles included are some of the most useful ones out there and include a variety of doors, some statues, various sized difficult terrain, A table with chairs, a switch, and a couple large rooms and a few corridors. Everything you need to get you started, and actually a great addition to the existing tiles as it will give you duplicates of some rather useful tiles.
The Bad: I ran the included module last night as an intro to 4th for my players and it was lackluster. It was alright but barely had any roleplay in it and only included 3 small encounters, the last of which seemed way too powerful for 1st level characters. There was no wrap up at the end either, it just ended with no notes on finishing it up. I know what I'm doing when behind the screen so this wasn't much of a problem and I just improved but for something supposedly for new DM's this was a bit odd. Minis would have been much better the counters, though you do get a lot of counters (way more then if they had included minis).
The Ugly: What really frustrated me about this is that I expected a Starter Set like previous ones that had been released. There would be a series of short encounters that each explained a section of the rules. This what had been done in the past. I really wasn't expecting one tiny adventure and that's it. Also the Quick Start Rules are nothing new and are identical to the ones that you can now download free on the WotC site and match the ones that come with Keep on the Shadowfell. The first half of the DM's book is the same thing: there's nothing new. I was surprised by the sections on designing encounters and the slew of monsters in the back half of the book, but this is totally unneeded if you have a copy of the actual DMG and Monster Manual. I would say this start set is only actually useful to someone just getting into the game for the first time.
Overall: This is a great starter set for a group taking their first steps into 4th edition of D&D. All of the rules you need to get a group from 1st to 3rd level are here. The Dungeon Master's book also includes a full Monster Manual for levels 1-3. The problem with this set though is that it's only actually useful for a new group. The quick start rules have been published before and are now free, the module included is not worth running if you aren't new to the game and you can get a set of 6 dungeon tiles cheaper then the cost of this set. So if you are thinking of getting into 4th edition this is a good place to start, if you are already in, skip this one and spend your $20 on some minis or some Dungeon Tiles and have some cash left for a new D20 for your next character.