Dungeons & Dragons - Starter Set - Heroes of the Borderlands
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Introductory Set · D&D 2024 · Italian Edition
Heroes of the Borderlands
"The red box opens. The dice roll. Somewhere, in the Caves of Chaos, something stirs."
What it's about
The richest entry point ever published for Dungeons & Dragons
Heroes of the Borderlands is the new Introductory Set for D&D 2024, finally available in Italian edition. A modern reinterpretation of the legendary Keep on the Borderlands that Gary Gygax wrote in 1979 — the adventure with which an entire generation of players discovered RPGs.
Inside the box you'll find three complete adventures that teach the three pillars of D&D — combat, exploration, roleplaying — plus over 200 cards for backgrounds, species, spells, monsters, NPCs, eight character boards for four iconic classes, poster maps, dozens of tokens, and a complete set of 11 red dice that harken back to the mythical '80s Red Box.
Wizards of the Coast calls it a "board game". It's not a board game. It's an RPG with a board game soul — more physical, more immediate, designed to hit the table in minutes without requiring weeks of preparation from the Dungeon Master.
"In a wild and untamed land lies the Keep on the Borderlands…"
— Gary Gygax, original module, 1979
What they're saying abroad
"This is the best D&D starter set yet."
It's the best D&D Introductory Set ever published.
— Gaming Trend
"True genius shines through."
True genius emerges in some passages.
— Justin Alexander, The Alexandrian
"The ultimate gateway into modern DnD."
The ultimate gateway into modern DnD.
— Dungeons and Dragons Fan
Four readers, one box
Who really needs this Introductory Set
The "Starter Set" isn't just for beginners. Heroes of the Borderlands has something concrete to offer four very different audiences.
If it's your first D&D
You'll find everything you need for your first night: essential rules in 31 pages, eight ready-made characters, dice, and three adventures that teach you the game as you play. No character sheet to build, no calculations to memorize. Just open and go.
If you're an experienced Dungeon Master
It's the fastest way to get a new group to the table. The three adventures hold up in conventions and one-shot evenings. The pre-generated characters work without modification. The material is your tool to say "let's start tonight" instead of "we'll talk about it again in a month."
If you're a nostalgic veteran
It's Keep on the Borderlands, rewritten for today's D&D. The keep, the caves, the gorge — everything is there, illustrated as you've never seen it before. The red dice are a direct homage to Mentzer's Basic Box from 1983. You'll buy this box just to put it on your bookshelf.
If you want to test 5.5e
The Game Guide is an essential but faithful version of the new 2024 rules. Eight boards show you how the four basic classes with their respective subclasses work at level 3. Decide if it convinces you before investing €50 in the full Player's Handbook.
D&D Introductory Set: Heroes of the Borderlands
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews and play sessionsWhat you find in the box
Four pillars of the Introductory Set
3 adventure booklets
Wildlands for exploration, Caves of Chaos for combat, Keep on the Borderlands for roleplaying. The three pillars of D&D in three distinct books.
8 character boards
Four iconic classes — Cleric, Rogue, Wizard, Fighter — each with two boards for subclasses at level 3. Modifiers already calculated, no character sheets to build.
Over 200 game cards
Backgrounds, species, spells, equipment, magic items, monsters, NPCs. No more manual lookups mid-session: everything is in the player's hands.
11 nostalgic red dice
Complete set from d4 to d20 in red resin with white engravings — a direct homage to Mentzer's Basic Box from 1983. Plus two extra d6s and one d20 to facilitate rolls.
Honesty first
What you WON'T find inside the box
We'll tell you now — not after purchase. Heroes of the Borderlands is an Introductory Set, not a complete manual. Here's what it does not contain, so you know exactly what you're buying.
The other 8 D&D 2024 classes
Only Cleric, Rogue, Wizard, Fighter. Bard, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, Monk, Barbarian are missing. For those, you need the complete Player's Handbook.
Rules beyond level 3
The three adventures take characters from level 1 to 3. To continue the campaign beyond — advanced subclasses, levels 4+, high-level spells — you need the complete D&D 2024 rulebook.
Customizable character sheets
The boards are pre-set and are not filled out from scratch. Great for getting started quickly, but if you want to create your own character from scratch, you need to refer to the manual.
A narratively connected story
The three booklets are independent and can be played in any order. This is a design choice (useful for DMs), but don't expect a single plot like in Lost Mine of Phandelver.
Digital support included
The Digital Adventure Pack with pre-made characters on D&D Beyond and VTT (Roll20, Foundry, Fantasy Grounds) are purchased separately. This box is 100% physical.
Plastic miniatures
Characters and monsters are represented by high-quality thick cardboard tokens (over 270 tokens total), not plastic or resin miniatures. A deliberate cost-saving measure.
No surprises, no lists
To start tonight, you only need this
✅ You need…
- This box — everything else is inside
- Paper and pencil for everyone (for quick notes)
- 2-4 friends and a free evening
- A large enough table to spread out maps and boards
❌ You do NOT need…
- DM screen
- Additional D&D manuals
- Painted miniatures or extra tokens
- Apps, online accounts, digital support
FroGames Tip
If it's your first time as a Dungeon Master, first read the Wildlands booklet and play the four initial sessions, each about an hour long. They are designed to teach you how to be a DM as you play, not to be prepared in advance. The Caves of Chaos and the Keep, however, benefit from a preliminary half-hour read.
"Maybe tonight is just another night. In a few months, it will be the story of how it all began."
📦Complete ComponentsEverything you open when the box arrives
📖The Three Adventures IncludedThree styles, three pillars of D&D
Wildlands
Four regions to explore in approximately one-hour sessions. Trails, woods, swamps, and tamarack forests. Perfect for teaching exploration, map consultation, and random encounters.
Borderlands Fortress
A fortress with fourteen distinct locations: inn, tavern, blacksmith, temple, bank. Dozens of NPCs with their own motivations. The ultimate test for those who want to teach roleplaying.
Caves of Chaos
Eleven monster lairs carved into the gorge: kobolds, mephits, nothics, goblins, ogres, hobgoblins, bugbears, minotaurs, gnolls, and the shrine of Evil Chaos. A multi-level dungeon crawl.
Your first evening in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. What truly happens when you open the box.
The lid opens
The box is heavy. Really heavy. Inside are booklets, decks of cards, laminated boards, a bag of tokens, red dice that look straight out of 1983. Someone reads the Quick Start Guide aloud. In ten minutes everyone understands who will do what — who is the Master, who chooses the Cleric, who wants the Rogue because "they do dishonest things."
The cards on the table
No character sheets to fill out. Everyone takes their class board, chooses a background, a race. Equipment cards are laid out in front of them as if they were real objects. The Wizard's spells are cards that are flipped when cast. The system speaks the language of board games, and that's exactly what you need on the first night.
"What do you do?"
The Master reads the initial text box. There's an abandoned wagon on the path. The Rogue wants to search it, the Cleric has bad feelings, the Warrior already has their sword in hand. Someone rolls a d20. Someone spends a Power Token. The first encounter isn't with a monster — it's with the feeling of being able to do anything.
The Caves of Chaos
When the group reaches the gorge — that fissure in the rock with twelve black openings staring at them — something changes. The Master smiles: they understood why Gygax wrote it that way. The players discuss which cave to enter. No one knows for sure. And that's exactly the point.
"Next week?"
Three hours have passed. Maybe four. The session ends with the Wizard at 1 hit point and the Rogue in possession of a gem they probably shouldn't have. Everything is put back in the molded tray. Someone takes out their phone to schedule the next evening. Heroes of the Borderlands has just done what it was designed for.
How to organize a session
Four phases, every evening
Heroes of the Borderlands is not a board game with a score — it's an RPG with a modular structure. Here's how to get to the table without preparation.
First evening: Wilderness, sessions of about an hour each. Already played? Caves of Chaos for combat or Fortress for roleplaying. The three booklets are independent.
Everyone chooses their class and comes to the table with the modifiers already calculated. Nothing to build, nothing to memorize. The cards are laid out as if they were real objects.
Every adventure opens with a text to be read aloud. From there, everything is open. Players explore, talk, fight, and the Master uses monster and NPC cards as quick references.
At the end of the session, character conditions and advancement are noted. From level 1 to 3 without experience points — advancement is automatic between chapters.
For those comparing
Heroes of the Borderlands vs other D&D Starter Sets
Hesitating between this and previous starter sets? Here are the concrete differences, no frills.
| Heroes of the Borderlands (2025 · 5.5e) |
Lost Mine of Phandelver (2014 · 5e) |
Stormwreck Isle (2022 · 5e) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| D&D Edition | D&D 2024 (5.5e) | D&D 2014 (5e) | D&D 2014 (5e) |
| Physical components | Very rich (270+ tokens, maps, cards) | Essential (manual + dice + sheets) | Minimal (manual + dice) |
| Adventures included | 3 separate (combat/explore/RP) | 1 linear (long campaign) | 1 short |
| Pre-made characters | 8 boards (4 classes × 2 subs) | 5 sheets | 6 sheets |
| Time to start | 15 minutes | About 1 hour | 30-45 minutes |
| Reusability | High (tokens and cards go beyond) | Low | Low |
| Suitable for | Newbies + experienced GMs + collectors | Newbies + long campaign | Casual families |
Why it's worth 55 euros
Six things other starter sets don't have
Three adventures, three distinct styles
Combat, exploration, roleplaying. Not three chapters of the same story — three approaches to D&D that teach the pillars of the game one at a time. They can be played in any order.
Card-based system, not manual-based
Backgrounds, races, equipment, spells, monsters, magic items, NPCs: everything on cards. Players have what they can do in their hands. No more "wait, let me look in the book."
Character boards with pre-calculated modifiers
Eight character boards — four classes with two subclasses at level 3. Saving throws, skills, modifiers: all printed. You start the first session without doing any arithmetic.
Quality poster maps
Four double-sided poster maps (35×53 cm) and five double-sided playmats (53×76 cm) with a grid. Reusable in any other future D&D adventure.
A declared homage to 40 years of history
The adventure is based on Keep on the Borderlands by Gary Gygax (1979). The red dice recall Mentzer's Basic Box from 1983. For veterans, it is a valuable item even before it is a game.
Material that outlasts the box
When you finish the three adventures, the tokens, monster cards, maps, and character boards remain very useful for other one-shots and for your home campaigns. It's not a demo you throw away — it's a kit that stays.
When the box is finished
What you take home after the three adventures
The "starter" is not the end. It's the point from which something else begins. Here's where this box takes you.
You have a playing group
- Four or five people who have understood the basics of the D&D 2024 system
- A Dungeon Master who has run their first short campaign
- Characters who can grow beyond level 3 with the Player's Handbook
- A shared story to return to and build upon
You have a toolbox
- Over 270 monster, terrain, and character tokens for any future one-shot
- Poster maps and playmats with grids, always useful
- Over 200 reusable cards for any 5e campaign
- Ready-made character boards to teach D&D to other friends tomorrow night
Heroes of the Borderlands is the box with which an entire generation of new players will discover what an RPG is. And the one with which veterans will return to a story they hadn't forgotten.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Heroes of the Borderlands
Do I need the D&D 2024 Player's Handbook to use it?
No. Heroes of the Borderlands contains everything you need to play from level 1 to 3: Game Guide with essential rules, character boards, equipment and spell cards, maps, dice, and three complete adventures. The Player's Handbook is only needed if you want to continue beyond level 3 or access classes not included (Bard, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, Monk, Barbarian).
Is it really a faithful version of D&D 2024 or is it simplified?
It is faithful but scaled down. The rules in the Game Guide are the same as in the Player's Handbook 2024 — only they are presented in 31 pages instead of 384. The system works exactly as in the full manual: D20 Test, advantage/disadvantage, conditions, spell slots managed via Power Tokens. When you switch to the full manual, you don't have to unlearn anything.
How many hours of gameplay are included?
Between 15 and 25 hours in total, spread over 8-12 sessions depending on the group's pace. The initial four Wilderness sessions last approximately one hour each. The Caves of Chaos is the longest booklet, with eleven lairs that can be explored partially or completely. The Borderlands Keep has fourteen locations with dozens of NPCs to meet.
Does it work if I'm the Master and I've never played D&D?
It works, but with an honest warning. The Game Guide is written to provide quick information, not to teach you how to be a Master from scratch. If it's your very first time with an RPG, we recommend watching the two official Wizards tutorial videos first (link in the box) and reading the Wilderness booklet before bringing it to the table. A couple of hours of preparation are enough for the first time.
Can I use it for one-shots at conventions?
Yes, and it's one of the uses it works best for. The initial four Wilderness sessions are designed to last one hour each, perfect for convention slots. Pre-generated character boards eliminate character creation time. The over 200 items on the table (cards and tokens) create a significant scenic presence that helps engage those who have never played.
Is it worth it if I've been playing D&D for years?
It depends. If you're looking for new adventures for your usual group of level 5+, no. However, if you're teaching D&D to family, friends, or a new group, it's the best teaching tool ever produced. And if you're a long-time fan of Keep on the Borderlands, the quality of the reinterpretation and the nostalgic red dice justify the purchase as a collector's item.
Dungeons & Dragons - Starter Set - Heroes of the Borderlands is the new official starter set for D&D 2024 (5.5 edition), published by Wizards of the Coast and distributed in Italian by Asmodee Italia starting March 2026. Designed for 3-5 players aged 12 and up, it contains three complete adventures (Wilderness, Caves of Chaos, Fortress on the Borderlands), 8 character sheets for Cleric, Rogue, Wizard, and Fighter classes, over 200 cards (background, species, equipment, spells, monsters, magic items, NPCs), nine poster maps, a complete set of 11 red polyhedral dice, and over 270 tokens. A modern reinterpretation of Gary Gygax's classic Keep on the Borderlands (1979). Fully in Italian. Available on FroGames.it.
Dungeons & Dragons - Starter Set - Heroes of the Borderlands
Frequently Asked Questions
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