Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was a player years ago with the AD&D Rules and recently decided to get back into the game after one of my sons became interested. Remembering how costly the guide books used to be (at the time), I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money to get started in case we decided we didn't want to play the game long term. Mainly for that reason, I decided on this Starter Set since it seemed to have everything that was really necessary to play a campaign. After spending a few hours perusing this set, I was impressed with the detail. I was expecting something a lot more dumbed down. This goes in depth with four different types of character classes, several different races, the basic mechanics of the game, and even pointers on how to approach some of those aspects. If you are a beginner DM, it really takes you step-by-step through the entire Adventure even giving alternate paths that can be taken by the Player Characters. There are lots of tips on how to approach the many different encounters in the campaign. If you are thinking about playing Dungeons & Dragons, I highly recommend starting with this Starter Set. It's a very nominal investment that charges you right into battle so to speak. It spells out almost everything you need to determine whether the game is really for you. Even if you are already an experienced player I feel it's worth it for the Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign alone. UPDATE: 01/16/17 We started the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign included in this Starter Set. The current party consists of my 10 year old son, my son's friend of the same age, my son's friend's Father who is my age, and a 13 year old whose family is friends with all of us. I am the DM which I was reluctant to do but realistically I always new this was best for the group. We have spent approximately 30 hours in game play and I estimate that we are 80% complete. So far everyone seems to be having a blast. Everyone created their own characters for this campaign rather than using the pre-generated ones that came with the set. We did however use the Rogue as a second PC for the other Father until the 13 year old joined us about half-way into the campaign. I have to admit that I am having more fun as the DM than I thought I would. It does take some preparation for each game session as you need to make sure you are fully knowledgeable of the relevant material so that everything runs smoothly and without lags. There are also some aspects of the campaign that you may feel you need to adjust or improvise from what is provided but I am learning that a good DM should be able to do that. Some of that is purposely left to the DM to fill in the gaps and some of it is that you simply can't always know what actions the players are going to take in any given situation. That's really part of the beauty of this game. Everyone has a part in telling the story. After a few game sessions, we all had purchased a copy of the Player's Handbook. Not because we felt the Starter Set didn't include enough information to play The Lost Mine of Phandelver , but because we had become so excited through playing it that we just wanted to be exposed to more. I have also purchased the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster's Manual so that we can continue playing beyond this campaign. I'm not suggesting that anyone do this before finishing this Starter Set campaign. I am simply warning you that you could get so excited once you start playing that you will want more. UPDATE 01/05/21: We had a blast with Lost Mine of Phandelver and ended up continuing the adventure with some supplements from the online DM's Guild that were created for a continuation of this short adventure. I still highly recommend this Starter's Set for anyone new to the D&D that only wants to make a token initial investment. The Essentials Kit is also worth a look for beginners at a slightly higher price point.