Introduction
In 2024, Dungeons & Dragons ushered in a new version of the game’s widely popular 5e ruleset. Nearly one year after the new Player’s Handbook hit shelves, the game’s latest version of the starter set—Heroes of the Borderlands (affiliate link)—is inviting new players into the mix.
The new DnD starter set takes a board game-style approach to onboarding new players. But, compared to previous starter sets, Heroes of the Borderlands creates a higher financial barrier of entry for potential new players.
What can new players expect out of Heroes of the Borderlands and is the new starter set worth the cost? Let’s dig in.
Heroes of the Borderlands: What’s In the Box?
Heroes of the Borderlands costs $49.99 and includes everything you need to start playing DnD:
- 3 adventure booklets—Wilderness, Cave of Chaos, and Keep on the Borderlands—with up to 60 hours of estimated play time.
- Cleric, Rogue, Wizard, and Fighter class boards. Each serves as the basis of a player’s character, including partially pregenerated character builds.
- 200+ reference cards, which include species, backgrounds, spells, weapons, magic items, and monster and NPC stat blocks.
- 200+ tokens to represent the heroes, monsters, terrain, and game elements such as Hit Points, currency, and spell slots.
- Quick-Start Guide, so you can sit down and play faster.
- Play guide that goes over game components and the basics of playing DnD.
- Set of 11 dice.
Differences from Previous DnD Starter Sets
Fewer Rules, Simpler Character “Sheets”
Heroes of the Borderlands shakes up DnD’s approach to a starter set.
Previous starter sets, such as the Essentials Kit and the DnD Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, offered a traditional gameplay experience, throwing new players and Dungeon Masters (DMs) right into the game. New players had to navigate character sheets like the Dwarf Cleric from Stormwreck Isle and new DMs were asked to run a complete DnD adventure and keep the Basic Rules handy for rules adjudication.
Comparatively, Heroes of the Borderlands takes a board game approach to character creation. Players will choose from one of four class boards and add a species and background card on top of it. Experienced DnD players will notice that these have less rules text and bypass some of the decisionmaking that takes place during traditional character creation, such as choosing ability scores.
DMs, meanwhile, are no longer asked to lean on today’s DnD Beyond Basic Rules. You’ll also find the adventures are simpler in their approach. Each of the three adventure booklets also kick off with an adventure that walks you through the entire session, similar to what you’ll find with Intro to Stormwreck Isle, found on DnD Beyond. You’ll get detailed guidance and explanations in sidebars accompanying the content. For example, the Wilderness adventure pits the players against a small series of random encounters, including investigating an abandoned wagon and fighting a group of Bandits.
These design decisions make Heroes of the Borderlands easier and faster for new players to pick up and play, and it helps purchasers feel like they get a complete game experience right out of the box.
Dozens of One-Shot Adventures
Where older starter set adventures like Dragons of Stormwreck Isle offered a complete campaign to run from cover to cover, Heroes of the Borderlands leans into the one-shot play experience. You’re not expected to run Heroes of the Borderlands from start to finish. Instead, you can jump between adventures found in the three booklets.
The starter set’s adventures take place in different regions of the Borderlands, the beloved sandbox setting of the classic module The Keep on the Borderlands by Gary Gygax. Each adventure is short, with a session expected to take about an hour. There’s no expectation to get the same group of players together week after week to run through a campaign, either. The goal? To make DnD less of a commitment.
It’s clear the designers envisioned Heroes of the Borderlands being a game you can pull off the shelf on a game night. Sit down, run a quick DnD session, and move on to a relaxing game of Catan.From my personal experience, I can see sessions lasting closer to two hours. Even at conventions I’ll see DMs gloss over material just to end on time. I can’t imagine a table of new DMs and players navigating the rules and completing an adventure in the same amount of time. Nevertheless, Heroes of the Borderlands improves on the typical experience of spending one hour on character creation and three hours on actual gameplay.
One point I’d like to make (but which may not be a big deal for new players) is that this format results in the loss of a built-in, long-form campaign that runs over several play sessions. The new starter set is more of a series of scenarios tied by a shared setting and a handful of requests from NPCs rather than an overarching narrative. I wonder how much more value Heroes of the Borderlands could have if it had a larger story that unfolded over multiple sessions similar to what you’d find in a typical DnD campaign or what we saw in previous 5e starter sets.
Higher Cost
If there’s one clear downside to Heroes of the Borderlands, it’s the $49.99 price tag. That’s not to say the cost isn’t justified in some ways. There’s a lot of game components in the box and the promise of high replayability with other groups of new players. Consider other DnD board games like Wrath of Ashardalon and the price tag makes more sense.
The challenge comes when you approach Heroes of the Borderlands as a product aimed at attracting brand-new players.
If you’ve never touched DnD before, the higher financial barrier to entry could scare you off or have you picking up the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle starter set, which costs about $20. Sure, the new player experience for older starter sets isn’t ideal, but there’s a reason the 2014 DnD Starter Set with its Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure was so popular: It was cheap and included a well-written, beginner-friendly adventure that became a shared cultural touchstone for a generation of new players. Sometimes, bumbling your way through a fight with Goblins is all you need to get hooked.
I’m also concerned about the expectations being set by the new starter set. The idea of character boards is new to DnD compared to a classic paper character sheet. While it’s certainly a wonderful play aid, there are no character boards for the remaining classes. New players still need to learn how the character sheet works even after completing the starter set, which means that they might bounce off the game immediately after enjoying the product intended to get them into the hobby with minimal effort.
Digital Support
DnD Beyond is a digital tool for playing DnD remotely. You can still find older starter adventures in the marketplace, but their digital release on DnD Beyond didn’t see the same level of support you’ll get with Heroes of the Borderlands.
DnD Beyond’s virtual tabletop, Maps, is going to be free to use for all registered users. Previously, DMs needed a subscription to run games. If you buy the Heroes of the Borderlands Digital Adventure Pack on DnD Beyond, you’ll unlock preset maps, premade characters, and a tutorial video for use in the toolset.
Here’s the problem: If you’ve never played DnD before or never used a VTT, none of that probably made sense. Which is why I think the Digital Adventure Pack is best for existing DnD players interested in testing the waters as a DM with some straightforward adventures.
Pros and Cons of Heroes of the Borderlands
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Everything you need is in the box | Higher cost compared to previous starter sets |
| Streamlined DnD play, greater DM support | Loss of a narrative throughline |
| Greater digital support | New players will struggle with the digital toolset |
Is Heroes of the Borderlands Worth It?
For groups of primarily new players, yes. Heroes of the Borderlands reinvents the formula of the starter set. It simplifies the play experience to make DnD easier to jump into for board gamers. Although experienced players may feel that Heroes of the Borderlands lacks some of the narrative punch of older starter set adventures, they will find it requires less commitment and upfront preparation. Experienced groups won’t find anything new or exciting here.
The new DnD starter set is available both physically from your retailer of choice and digitally on DnDBeyond.
