{"id":498,"date":"2014-08-26T08:38:50","date_gmt":"2014-08-25T21:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fallowbrow.rumblehead.com\/?p=498"},"modified":"2014-08-26T08:38:50","modified_gmt":"2014-08-25T21:38:50","slug":"gfc-dd-4th-vs-5th-edition-starter-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rumblehead.com\/fallowbrow\/?p=498","title":{"rendered":"GFC D&D 4th vs 5th Edition Starter Set"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.\u00a0 I have previously compared 3 of these Beginner Box sets<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nD&D Starter Set (Red Box)
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n		New D&D Starter Set (Greenish Box)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RRP\/SRP<\/td>\nUS$19.99<\/td>\nUS$19.99<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Link to publishers page<\/td>\nD&D 4th Edition Starter Set<\/a><\/td>\nD&D 5th Edition Starter Set<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Player book<\/td>\n32-page book (30 pages of which are the solo adventure)<\/td>\n32-page Starter Set Rulebook (same book for player & DM).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DM Book<\/td>\n64-page DM’s book.<\/td>\n32-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)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maps<\/td>\n1 Double-sided mat 22″x34″ – one side dungeon, the other wilderness. Easier to crumple than the PFBB<\/em><\/a> map, and wet erase and permanent markers are harder to remove (although alcohol works great for cleaning)<\/td>\nNone.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dice provided<\/td>\nSet of 6 BLACK dice<\/p>\n
    \n
  • 1 x d4<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d6<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d8<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d10 (1-10)<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d12<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d20<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    7 dice is more usual. Missing a d10 numbered 00-90 used in conjunction with the included d10 to roll a % (1-100).<\/td>\n

Set of 6 swirly\u00a0 BLUE dice<\/p>\n
    \n
  • 1 x d4<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d6<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d8<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d10 (1-10)<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d12<\/li>\n
  • 1 x d20<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Still Missing the d10 numbered 00-90, but at least the dice are much prettier.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Player\/Hero tokens\/pawns<\/td>\n12 Hero tokens (one side normal, the other side has the same hero “bloodied”). 5 “Action point” tokens<\/td>\nNone.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Monster tokens\/miniatires<\/td>\n36 one-inch and 3 two-inch monster tokens (with different monsters on each side).<\/td>\nNone.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adventures included<\/td>\n1 Solo, 1 group (The Twisting Halls <\/em>broken into 7 encounters)<\/td>\nOne 64-page adventure book: Lost Mine of Phandelver.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Addition adventures (free online from publishers’ web site)<\/td>\n\nCan’t see anything specific…<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Additional free online resources<\/td>\n\n\n
Other Items in box<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • Code to download the “Witchlight Fens<\/em>” adventure for free.<\/li>\n
  • Power Cards: reference for Powers, Abilities, Spells, Magic Items, etc.<\/li>\n
  • Flier advertising the D&D Essentials<\/em> range (i.e. what to buy next)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
None<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Character Sheets<\/td>\n4 blank<\/td>\n5 Pre-generated +1 blank<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Character levels<\/td>\n1st to 2nd<\/td>\n1st to 5th – or to 20th with downloaded Rules PDF.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
# of players<\/td>\n1 to 5<\/td>\n4-6 players (Including DM???)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other notes\/observations<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISBN<\/td>\nISBN 13: 9780786956296<\/td>\nISBN 13: 9780786965595<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bar-code<\/td>\n9 780786 956296<\/td>\n9 780786 965595<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Summary: Pros<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • Quite a long solo adventure.<\/li>\n
  • Great quality printing books and tokens.<\/li>\n
  • Duplicate monster tokens are numbered so you can distinguish between them in battle.<\/li>\n
  • Completely compatible with full 4th Edition rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • New D&D philosophy: Minis\/Maps optional. Makes this more playable in smaller spaces, e.g. around a coffee table<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Biggest included adventure of any Starter\/Beginner set<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      • Free D&D Basic rules download means you can go to Level 20 with little more investment (Maybe a Monster Manual)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Summary: Cons<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • Only 6 dice. Weird, but not fatal.<\/li>\n
  • Only allows players to advance to level 2. You will quickly need to purchase further gear.<\/li>\n
  • Books only have paper covers – not card-stock.<\/li>\n
  • Flimsy feeling mat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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