Well D&D Next a.k.a D&D 5th edition, or as Wizards of the Coast want it called: D&D is out now, & I recently received my pre-ordered Starter Set in the mail. I have previously compared 3 of these Beginner Box sets, so I thought I would take the data from the 4th Edition Red Box and compare it to its direct descendant. This should highlight some of the major differences between editions.
| D&D Starter Set (Red Box) |
New D&D Starter Set (Greenish Box) | |
| RRP/SRP | US$19.99 | US$19.99 |
| Link to publishers page | D&D 4th Edition Starter Set | D&D 5th Edition Starter Set |
| Player book | 32-page book (30 pages of which are the solo adventure) | 32-page Starter Set Rulebook (same book for player & DM). |
| DM Book | 64-page DM’s book. | 32-page Starter Set Rulebook (same book for player & DM, although there is some information on magic items and monsters in the back of the adventure book) |
| Maps | 1 Double-sided mat 22″x34″ – one side dungeon, the other wilderness. Easier to crumple than the PFBB map, and wet erase and permanent markers are harder to remove (although alcohol works great for cleaning) | None. |
| Dice provided | Set of 6 BLACK dice
7 dice is more usual. Missing a d10 numbered 00-90 used in conjunction with the included d10 to roll a % (1-100). |
Set of 6 swirly BLUE dice
Still Missing the d10 numbered 00-90, but at least the dice are much prettier. |
| Player/Hero tokens/pawns | 12 Hero tokens (one side normal, the other side has the same hero “bloodied”). 5 “Action point” tokens | None. |
| Monster tokens/miniatires | 36 one-inch and 3 two-inch monster tokens (with different monsters on each side). | None. |
| Adventures included | 1 Solo, 1 group (The Twisting Halls broken into 7 encounters) | One 64-page adventure book: Lost Mine of Phandelver. |
| Addition adventures (free online from publishers’ web site) |
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Can’t see anything specific… |
| Additional free online resources |
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| Other Items in box |
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None |
| Character Sheets | 4 blank | 5 Pre-generated +1 blank |
| Character levels | 1st to 2nd | 1st to 5th – or to 20th with downloaded Rules PDF. |
| # of players | 1 to 5 | 4-6 players (Including DM???) |
| Other notes/observations | ||
| ISBN | ISBN 13: 9780786956296 | ISBN 13: 9780786965595 |
| Bar-code | 9 780786 956296 | 9 780786 965595 |
| Summary: Pros |
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| Summary: Cons |
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I haven’t had time to delve deeply into the 5th edition yet, but I can see a several changes, not just in rules but in the entire philosophy of the game.
- The use of maps an miniatures is completely optional – which would explain why neither are included in the box. The focus seems to be on story telling and imagination. This can be a huge financial win for players and DMs as minis, playmats etc. can be ridiculously expensive. Of course I would personally still like them, but that’s just me.
- The rules have been radically simplified. While the 4th edition came with “power cards” etc. to help you keep track of your character, the 5th edition sweeps all that cruft away. Anything you liked from earlier versions can be incorporated into 5th edition, but out of the box it is clean and simple – much better for newbies (and old-school players) than 4th edition.
- 5th Edition monster Stat Blocks are clean and easier than 4th edition.
- Advantage/disadvantage. A lot of people are talking about this and personally I love it! If a player has “advantage” (or “disadvantage”) they get to roll two d20 dice instead of one, and use the higher (or lower for disadvantage) roll. I think I will incorporate this into all my other games.
- The artwork is beautiful. What I have seen of the 5th edition artwork is probably the nicest art in the history of D&D.
In conclusion, 5th edition is a big departure from 4th edition. This seems good to me, as I was never a 4th Ed. fan. You can burn me at the stake if you want, but I thought 4th edition was a ridiculous, unwieldy, cumbersome beast that sucked the joy out of gaming. Even though the new box seems to have very little in it (dice, two books and some character sheets), it does have quite a big adventure module, which includes a few very handy indexes at the back (containing monster information, magic items, and an index to the Rule Book on the back cover). I think there is both a smaller learning curve, and longer playing time for 5th edition, so it is logically better value than the old Red Box, even though emotionally it feels worse due to the lack of included geegaws and thingamywhatsits.
The new box resolves the biggest problem with the 4th Ed. Red Box: Lack of character advancement. Combining the 5th Ed. box with the free rulebook on the WotC web site allows you to take players to level 20, while the old Red Box stopped at level 2. LEVEL 2 FFS! WTF WOTC?
So in conclusion, for anyone not willing to hand over $150+ on the 5th edition core rulebooks, but who is curious about the latest incarnation of the original Role Playing Game, I would recommend the Starter Set + Basic Rules download. If however you are looking for an introductory box to play with some buddies who are new to RPGs, I still think you are better off with the uber-sexy Pathfinder Beginner Box.
Disclaimer: All opinions are genuinely mine, and I have received absolutely no financial consideration whatsoever for this (or any other) review – I even paid out of my own pocket for my review copies of all the products mentioned herein. Anyone wishing to buy my opinions in the future is welcome, and the price of my integrity is extremely low, however any such arrangements would be gleefully disclosed.
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