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Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit

Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit

  • Downloads：5512
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-02 06:54:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Wizards of the Coast
  • ISBN：0786966831
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Everything you need to create characters and play the new adventures in this introduction to the world's greatest roleplaying game。 Designed for 2-6 players。

"The Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit is the perfect introduction to the legendary role-playing game。" --Forbes

"Truly excellent。"--Paste

- Take your first step into the world of Dungeons & Dragons， or get a more expansive D&D experience after playing the Starter Set。
- Play with groups as small as two players （one Dungeon Master & one adventurer） for the first time in D&D fifth edition with the introduction of "sidekicks。"
- Battle and plunder your way through Phandalin in the all new D&D adventure， Dragon of Icespire Peak。
- Experience the thrill of being a Dungeon Master behind a four-panel DM screen with at-a-glance game rules for quick and easy reference。
- Continue your Dungeons & Dragons journey with codes to unlock content on D&D Beyond， the official digital toolset for D&D。

Components: （1） rulebook， （1） Dragon of Icespire Peak introductory adventure， （6） blank character sheets， （11 ） dice， （1） 33" � 8。5" Dungeon Master's screen， （81） cards for magic items， sidekicks and more， （1） 21" x 15" double-sided poster map for use with the adventure， （1） code for 50% the digital version of the Player's Handbook， access to supplementary content， including additional adventure materials to continue the story into higher levels of play。

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Reviews

Pádraic ，

I don't have the kit itself， but this is a placeholder to talk about the adventures contained within， as they don't have their own separate pages。 My understanding is that Dragon of Icespire Peak comes with the kit， and then there's a code included to download the other three adventures。 Dragon of Icespire PeakA simple sandbox that can function like an introduction to the game， similar to Lost Mine of Phandelver， or else as a sequel/expansion to that。 But despite its increased amount of locat I don't have the kit itself， but this is a placeholder to talk about the adventures contained within， as they don't have their own separate pages。 My understanding is that Dragon of Icespire Peak comes with the kit， and then there's a code included to download the other three adventures。 Dragon of Icespire PeakA simple sandbox that can function like an introduction to the game， similar to Lost Mine of Phandelver， or else as a sequel/expansion to that。 But despite its increased amount of locations， they feel thin and insubstantial， and you'd have to manufacture a through-thread of your own。 If you want a place to start， I reckon Phandelver's the better bet。 Still， I can't be totally down on anything that includes a cursed lighthouse， and wererats。 Storm Lord's WrathD&D's gotten a lot of mileage out of cults huh。 Anyway， much stronger stuff here。 The encounters are meatier and funnel to a clear conclusion。 The rebuilding of Leilon is a great anchor point for characters to get invested and make connections。 Something that ought to be standard are the options included not just for running combat with less or more players， but also the details regarding what happens if they fail， and by how much， which is a fantastic idea。 Even the dungeons are all of manageable size。 And I am forced to admit that a storm cult is one of the cooler kinds of cults。 Sleeping Dragon's WakeAnother sandboxy adventure， functioning as a bridge between the previous one and the next， and seeing the return of the job board quest structure from Icespire Peak。 Nothing horrendous， nothing extraordinary， and if you were running these last three as the trilogy they're designed to be， you could blend into this content straight from Storm Lord's Wrath probably without your players even noticing they're technically in a 'new' adventure。 Divine ContentionThe smaller inbetween quests here aren't anything special to write home about， but the larger more central ones are。 The attack on Leilon is gruelling （too many combats， too many rounds）， but provides a great way to run an event-by-event larger battle like that， complete with handy flowchart。 I don't care about the lore of the Forgotten Realms or Drizzt， so none of those historical references do anything for me。 I also think there's gotta be another way to handle the quest of going to Neverwinter to petition for aid， otherwise the players are going to want to start running around in a large location that you've prepared nothing for。 Also， one of the climactic locations here is just a repeat from Sleeping Dragon's Wake， with barely any significant changes。 Returning can be fun， but there needs to be some overhaul that's occurred since the last visit， like the return to the tavern in Storm Lord's Wrath。 Here it just feels lazy。Disregarding Icespire Peak， the latter trilogy comes together to be a solid， well-structured adventure， complete with interesting encounters and decisions to be made， and one that I'd be happy to either play or run， as it contains some of the best pieces I've encountered in the official releases thus far。 。。。more

Brian ，

I am not entirely certain this product was needed。 In a sense， it is the starter kit 2。0。 Originally billed as a continuation of the original starter kit， it was to take characters from level 5 or 6 up to level 10 or so。 Instead， it resets characters back to level 1 and is designed to progress them through Level 6。This set does not have pre-generated characters like a starte set would but does give a few blank character sheets。 It includes a nice map of the northern portion of the Sword Coast wi I am not entirely certain this product was needed。 In a sense， it is the starter kit 2。0。 Originally billed as a continuation of the original starter kit， it was to take characters from level 5 or 6 up to level 10 or so。 Instead， it resets characters back to level 1 and is designed to progress them through Level 6。This set does not have pre-generated characters like a starte set would but does give a few blank character sheets。 It includes a nice map of the northern portion of the Sword Coast with a detailed map of Phandelin on the back。 It includes numbered initiative cards to track turn order， one copy of all the conditions， and all the special items you can find throughout the adventure。 There are also several pre-generated sidekicks， explained a bot more below。 All of these are printed on card stock sheets that are perforated into nine cards each page。 A flattened deck box is provided to store the cards once separated。 This also come with a set of dice in what is now becoming more common to include a few extra of the standard 7-dice sets。 A second d20 is available （for those dis/advantage rolls） and 3 extra d6's so you can actually roll a character up。The presentation is different here as well。 Instead of a sandbox like narrative that helps a new DM get their feet under them， this is a series of one-shot adventures usually laid out in 2 pages。 It gives you the bare bones of what one needs to run them without the backstory the original starter did so well。 There is a little bit of gatekeeping in that the higher adventures aren't presented until some of the lower ones are accomplished。 The end goal， confronting the white dragon， is pretty much alluded to right off the bat instead of the mystery surrounding the Mine of Phandelver。 The most interesting aspect of this is the introduction of Side Kicks， allowing a smaller adventure party （and even just one player besides the DM） to bring on some simplified yet effective compatriots that can be easily controlled under a player。 These sidekicks come in three basic varieties: Warrior， Spellcaster， and Expert， roughly translating to your fighter-class， wizard-class， and rogue-class。 They can round out the party's needs and level up with them along the way。 But even this concept was fully expanded and better executed in the most recent sourcebook， Tasha's Cauldron of Everything。This set best fills in the gaps for those that want to level up characters for some of the printed adventures that would rather start your Player Characters at level 3-5 without giving you a better option in the book to get you there。 Wizards of the Coast missed the boat by not having this pick up after Phandelver。 While it is nice to add to the collection of official adventures with a couple hooks， "essential" it is not。 。。。more

Brandon Williford ，

As with the Starter Kit， this introduction to D&D is smooth， easily readable， understandable， and an easy to use adventure for the DM to run their players through。

Luz ，

My SO and I bought this so we could do a 2 player game because we missed playing and aren't sure when we'll be able to play with our group again。 We've been playing for 3 years， but neither of us has ever DMed。 My SO is the DM and said the adventure left a lot open to add details to the story and customize to the PC's backstory。 The rulebook only has the common races and a few classes and subclasses， but you can play any。I'm playing a Dwarf Forge Domain Cleric （from Xanathar's Guide to Everythin My SO and I bought this so we could do a 2 player game because we missed playing and aren't sure when we'll be able to play with our group again。 We've been playing for 3 years， but neither of us has ever DMed。 My SO is the DM and said the adventure left a lot open to add details to the story and customize to the PC's backstory。 The rulebook only has the common races and a few classes and subclasses， but you can play any。I'm playing a Dwarf Forge Domain Cleric （from Xanathar's Guide to Everything ） 。。。more

Mason ，

A perfect introduction for D&D， especially useful for a DM （which I am）。 I annotated the rulebook and took notes， which was an enjoyable experience。 I’m especially surprised how easy it was to understand。

Phil Nicolle ，

A good addition to the starter kit， more like a series of loosely associated side quests than an actual full adventure。

Quinn ，

Pros:- "Essentials" comes with more stuff than the "Starter Kit" （more dice， more table-top maps， etc）- The included rulebook is more comprehensive than the one provided in the "starter set。" It is no replacement for the Player's Handbook， though。 Many classes are skipped over （Warlock， Paladin， etc）， and many subclasses aren't mentioned。 Also， classes on offer are only discussed up to level six。Cons:- My main complaint about this set is that it reads more like a collection of side-quests than a Pros:- "Essentials" comes with more stuff than the "Starter Kit" （more dice， more table-top maps， etc）- The included rulebook is more comprehensive than the one provided in the "starter set。" It is no replacement for the Player's Handbook， though。 Many classes are skipped over （Warlock， Paladin， etc）， and many subclasses aren't mentioned。 Also， classes on offer are only discussed up to level six。Cons:- My main complaint about this set is that it reads more like a collection of side-quests than a cohesive campaign; this is due， in large part， to the fact that many of the "quests" come from a "Quest Board。" None of the quests are bad， but they lack the direction of the "Starter Kit。"- The books are printed on the same awful， glossy paper as the "Starter Kit"- I'm disappointed by how little coverage "side-kicks" got （2 pages of 65 in the rulebook）， but I am glad it was included as a mechanic。 - The spells section doesn't specify which classes can use which spells; that must be looked up in the "classes" section。 There are also a few weird formatting choices （e。g。 putting a sidebar where one isn't needed）。Conclusion:I found the "Essentials Kit，" a fun read。 While it lacks some of the overarching structure of the "Starter Kit，" it adds value by providing more content and pack-ins。 If I could only pick one， I would pick the "Starter Kit。" Given the price， though （around $15-20 USD）， it may be worth it to pick up both。 。。。more

Bryan Borgman ，

Excellent way to beat the COVID-19 pandemic blues。。。 online D&D with your buddies！

Jasmine ，

Good introductory adventure！ I like the modular nature， and the cards for items and sidekick rules I can see aiding play quite a bit。 Lost stars for the really problematic mental health depictions in the rock gnome adventure， especially because that could have easily been fixed by swapping “madness” with “paranoia” and “deranged” with “sleeplessness has made her erratic”。 Come on， folks。 Also only one nod to LGBTQIA representation， and it’s in the madness chapter？ This feels dated， and not in a Good introductory adventure！ I like the modular nature， and the cards for items and sidekick rules I can see aiding play quite a bit。 Lost stars for the really problematic mental health depictions in the rock gnome adventure， especially because that could have easily been fixed by swapping “madness” with “paranoia” and “deranged” with “sleeplessness has made her erratic”。 Come on， folks。 Also only one nod to LGBTQIA representation， and it’s in the madness chapter？ This feels dated， and not in a good way。 。。。more

Dom Mooney ，

TL;DR: this is the one to buy the kid who has read up on D&D and wants to get into it。 AKA me in 1983。 At £20 （street）， it fills a great niche between the £90 for the core D&D rules and the £15 for Starter Set。 You get a lot for your money。I picked up the D&D Essentials Kit when it was announced， and I'm glad I did。 It comes in a similar box the Starter Kit， but this one is full of material。 It reminds me very much of the Holmes Basic D&D kit that I started with many years ago， except that it ha TL;DR: this is the one to buy the kid who has read up on D&D and wants to get into it。 AKA me in 1983。 At £20 （street）， it fills a great niche between the £90 for the core D&D rules and the £15 for Starter Set。 You get a lot for your money。I picked up the D&D Essentials Kit when it was announced， and I'm glad I did。 It comes in a similar box the Starter Kit， but this one is full of material。 It reminds me very much of the Holmes Basic D&D kit that I started with many years ago， except that it has dice， not chits。This is a full game; unlike the Starter Kit， the Essentials Kit includes character generation rules。 The core rules are 64 pages long， full colour and perfect bound; a cut down from the Player's Handbook。 You can play one of four races （dwarf， halfling， elf， human） and one of five classes （bard， cleric， fighter， rogue， wizard） and the rules cover up to 6th level。 So it's covering a similar span to the Starter Kit in character development， except you get blank character sheets here。 The number of available backgrounds is cut down to five。 The back of the book has a summary of the conditions。 There are new rules for sidekicks， effectively henchpeople for when you have a solo player or a low number of characters。 There's no index but a comprehensive table of contents。The second book in the box is also 64 pages long and is the Dragon of Icespire Peak campaign。 More on the contents later。 I've covered both books with library grade slip-on covers， but I do that with most roleplaying books。We also have a better set of polyhedral dice， and a small but surprisingly useful DM's screen。 It's flimsy compared the official screen but will be fine if it lives in the box。 We've also got loads of cards。The cards come on punched sheets so you need to separate them， and also assemble the deck box for them。 There are cards for sidekicks to hire， for the conditions a character suffers （so you can hand it to them）， reference cards for combat， initiative order cards and magic item cards。 Finally， there are quest cards tied to the quests in the campaign。The final item in the box is a sheet with codes to unlock the campaign on dndbeyond。com; this also unlocks additional content to allow you to take the game beyond 6th level with more adventures。 There's a code to purchase the full Player's Handbook digitally for 50% less （so $15）。The 'Dragon of Icespire Peak' campaign shares the same base as 'Lost Mines of Phandelver' in the Starter Kit， set as it is around the town on Phandalin on the Sword Coast and deals with the consequences of the arrival of a dragon in the region。 It opens with guidance on character generation and how to use sidekicks and discusses the adventure structures used and how to approach them。 The whole set up is very reminiscent of a MMORPG; sometimes it made me thing of my lost hours playing 'Torchlight' on the Mac。 You start off with three quests available which the townmaster will pay for adventurers ad ne'er-do-wells to complete。 When you complete two， you unlock an additional three quests。 When you unlock two of the next set， you unlock a final three sets of quests。 Working through these should mean that the characters have a fighting chance to deal with the White Dragon at the heart of the adventure。 The scenarios can also point you at each other encounters and adventures。 There are fourteen different locations detailed。 The dragon's lair is not a quest that is handed out; the players can decide if they want to hunt the beast out。 Each location has a map for the DM， but no player maps （not even digitally）。 There’s a large separate colour map of the Sword Coast and Phandalin。 The locations have short descriptions and there is not much scope for waffle and unnecessary text。 Tactics and responses from the opposition are covered。 The level of guidance is lower than that given with the Starter Set's campaign， but it's a definite step up from B2 The Keep on the Borderlands。 The campaign will reveal itself as the players explore the frontier region。You could easily integrate the campaigns from the Starter Set and Essentials Kit together， and it would be pretty awesome to do so。This is a fantastic introductory set; it retails for £5 more than the Starter Set and it feels so much more value for money。 As a starting DM， I'd want this set， not the Starter Set， because it is more flexible and has everything I'd need; a decent number of dice， screen， cards， much more comprehensive rules。 You could use this set with one of the core adventure books if you wanted to。 This is the set to give to a kid who wants to get into D&D and has read a bit about it。 This is Basic D&D for the new millennium。That said， the voice and arc of the 'Lost Mines of Phandelver' is stronger than the 'Dragon of Icespire Peak'。 That's because Icespire is a true sandbox with points of interest and the journey to the conclusion of the campaign is far more player-led than Phandelver。 I'd want to use both sets together though。 Highly recommended。 。。。more

Richard Dabell ，

I'm already running a main D&D campaign。I got this to play away from home， so wanted less books and a simplified setup。 It works really well and I especially like the rules for playing with a single play with the DM。 I'm already running a main D&D campaign。I got this to play away from home， so wanted less books and a simplified setup。 It works really well and I especially like the rules for playing with a single play with the DM。 。。。more

Mike Bertrand ，

An excellent adventure that takes place in the Phandalin area levels 1-6。 I would recommended using it in tandem with the starter set。 Where the starter set has a more overarching story adventure in the Lost Mine of Phandelver， the Essentials Kit's Dragon of Icespire Peak serve more as side-quests。 An excellent adventure that takes place in the Phandalin area levels 1-6。 I would recommended using it in tandem with the starter set。 Where the starter set has a more overarching story adventure in the Lost Mine of Phandelver， the Essentials Kit's Dragon of Icespire Peak serve more as side-quests。 。。。more

Lasse Carlsson ，

The adventure is a very inspiring read full of exciting and quirky adventures and the rule book a quick and easy summation of the rules for new players （and rusty veterans 😅）。 Looking forward to running Icespire Peak a lot！

General Greysorrow ，

An interesting follow-up and/or possible concurrent adventure with the D&D 5th Edition Starter Kit。 Instead of pre-generated characters， this Kit allows you to make your own from limited choices （better for newer/newish players）。However， whereas the Starter Kit granted experiences per encounter as one normally would， the adventure in this Kit requests that the DM just have the characters level up after x number of missions。Also， this "campaign" is set-up much less narratively than the one in the An interesting follow-up and/or possible concurrent adventure with the D&D 5th Edition Starter Kit。 Instead of pre-generated characters， this Kit allows you to make your own from limited choices （better for newer/newish players）。However， whereas the Starter Kit granted experiences per encounter as one normally would， the adventure in this Kit requests that the DM just have the characters level up after x number of missions。Also， this "campaign" is set-up much less narratively than the one in the Starter Kit。 The Lost Mine of Phandelver is a story-driven campaign to take characters from levels 1 to 5 with a clear beginning， middle， and end， and a chain/series of events which leads the characters through a story that can easily serve as the launching point of a campaign。This one， The Dragon of Icespire Peak， is much more "video game" adventuring。 There's a "Adventurer's Board" in town and the players are just supposed to choose their next mission， complete it， return， get reward， and repeat。 The "climax" is the final confrontation with the Dragon - however， there's a mechanic where the Dragon can randomly appear at any site， so it's possible that the characters may have killed it out in the middle of nowhere sometime。 And there's really no finale。It's not bad。。。it's just more a book of adventure sites with a lot more magical gear to give away and much less reason to be。I think that the two combined together， however， both the Starter Kit， and this Essentials Kit can actually form the basis of a very nice campaign。 They both occur in the same location， and sort of fill in each other's blank spots。I'm not saying I don't like this Set。。。because I do。 I just feel that each Kit is lacking what the other provides。 Were I a brand new person just getting into D&D， I think I would much rather like the Starter Kit as I'm a big story， narrative guy。 However， I think most people would probably prefer the Essentials Kit due to its easier level of customization and， as each encounter is sort of its own entity， it'd be far easier to just go from site to site without wondering how they're linked。 。。。more

Jason Panella ，

Dragon of Icespire Peak is an engaging and well-written adventure， but lacks that impressive *something* that made Lost Mines such an amazing intro adventure。

Diz ，

This Dungeons and Dragons set is nicer that the starter set that was released earlier。 This includes rules for character creation， a better dice set， and a DM screen。 The addition of sidekick rules is a nice bonus， especially if you are playing with a smaller group （you can even play with only one player other than the DM）。 The only downside is that the adventure included in the starter set is better than the adventure in this set。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0