What's the most accessible starter set for D&D?
Wizards of the Coast has unveiled the heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set, a new introduction to the Dungeon & Dragons, designed to welcome new players and dungeon masters in line with the 2024 core rules. Justice Laminerman, the lead game designer for the set, describes it as “the biggest and best D&D starter set ever.”
This set introduces an innovative character creation system using mix and match tiles to simplify the process of newcomers. It is also included in three adventure booklets: Caves of Mixed Chaos, Keep On the Borderlands, and Wilderness.
To further support new players, the set offers a variety of physical components such as game pieces, multiple dice, booklets, cards, and more, making D&D a more visual experience.
Heroes of the Borderlands is part of D&D's 2025 release schedule and is expected to hit the shelves in September 2025, with price details yet to be announced.
For a closer look at the set and insights from Judge Ramin Erman, you can watch the official announcement video below.
Board Games D&D for Beginners
One of the biggest selling points of Heroes of the Borderlands is its board game-inspired approach to learning the game. “We really decide to teach people how to play with components,” explains Judge Ramin Erman, the project's lead designer. This visual component-driven approach is surprisingly similar to classic board games like HeroQuest (1989), and the inclusion of maps, standies and tiles further enhances the board-like experience.
The set is packed with physical components designed to streamline gameplay and make D&D more accessible. Character creation is simplified using a card-based system. Each player selects a class board, such as a fighter, cleric, wizard, or warrior, and adds a species card and background card. These choices determine which equipment and spell cards the player will receive. For example, a fighter will get cards for ChainMail, Greatsword, Lantern, and one additional item. Classboard and equipment cards clearly show the rules of items and the rules of dice rolling for attacks and other actions, making them particularly accessible to those new to the game.
In addition to players who are even more immersed in characters and adventures, Heroes of the Borderlands aims to reduce the need to flip through the rulebook and instead present information in an easy-to-use format so that players can focus on their fun.
Reimagined Classic Adventure
Heroes of the Borderlands is set in a familiar but evolved world. Inspired by B2: The Keep On The Borderlands, one of the most iconic introductory adventures in D&D history, this new set of starters rethinks the setting with fresh content while retaining the spirit of the original. Players explore three different locations.
Keep On The Borderlands is a fortified forward post base that serves as an adventurer's home base. The wilderness, there is an uncharted danger beyond the safety of Keep. The Chaos Cave is a vast dungeon filled with monsters, treasures and adventures.
Each of these locations is presented as an independent, self-contained booklet, allowing players to easily pick up and play without being overwhelmed. The modular structure allows DMs to introduce content at their own pace. Each booklet contains tutorial-style guidance to ease new players into the D&D mechanism.
Additionally, the set includes a 10-page DM guide that offers important rules and tips, ensuring that even first-time dungeon masters can run the game with confidence. Each of the three main areas comes with a large battle map, which provides players with a clear and visual representation of their surroundings. Monsters are represented by tokens and corresponding monster cards to help DMs quickly and efficiently track battles.
Designed for renewable
One of the key features of Heroes of the Borderlands is its replayability. The modular adventure structure allows different groups to experience the story in their own unique way, and the simplified character creation system encourages players to experiment with different combinations of species, backgrounds and classes. This set also includes built-in support for multiple dungeon masters. This means that players can run the game in turn, further reducing the threat coefficient for the first time DMS.
Plus, it's been a while since the original Keep On The Borderlands Adventure event. This means returning players who are familiar with the old modules means new surprises await you, making it an exciting experience for both veterans and newcomers.
Make new players fold
To further support first-time adventurers, Wizards of the Coast will release a how-to-play video along with the box set, similar to how to play Dungeon & Dragons videos released in The Dragons of Stormreck Isle Starter set.
How much does a new starter cost?
D&D's final starter set, Dragons of Storm Reck Isle, was priced at 17.99, when it was first released. However, it makes sense that borderland heroes have a higher price range, taking into account all the physical components they contain. Still, it is a way to introduce new players to the wider world of dungeons and dragons, so it could compete for the price of the module to promote recruitment.
Get Sneak Peak from New York Fair 2025
The new starter set was previewed at New York Fair 2025. You can see many physical components. Here we will explain in detail how the game is structured in the following videos:
