Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Screen 2024

 Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• It’s a 4 panel screen with summaries of the main specific rules.

• Full colour art on the outside.

Could Go Either Way

• The art on the outside is not one of my favourites. I’ve preferred the art style of the previously released screens. This one is more cartoon-y.

Cons

• It’s another screen, and the rule changes are quite small. The old screen with a sticky or additional cheat-sheet would do just as well.

• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking.

Introduction

Well, a new edition, and we have a new Dungeon Master’s Screen. It’s always nice to have a screen to refer to when in the thick of being a Dungeon Master. And it makes sense a new one would be released with the new set of core books. What’s it like? Well, let’s dive in.

 

The Contents

The screen covers many rules. Conditions, improvised damage, damage level and severity, actions, jumping, concentration, skills, death saving throws, object armor class, object hit points, food/drink, lodging, difficulty classes, light sources, obscuring, travel pace, travel terrain, cover, audible distances, visibility outdoors, and weather.

Partially, that’s the problem. When we compare it to the previous screen, not much has changed. In general these new books don’t have tons of changes, but many of the big ones are on the player character rules themselves. The ones that are on the Dungeon Master’s side of things, like exhaustion, are first of all simple, and second of all not so numerous. That means a simple cheat sheet, or some sticky notes will do the job. That makes it not a necessary buy this screen for those of you with this edition for a while, unless you really want to, or just want to save time and not bother. Come to think of it, it’s easy enough to make your own screen, so it’s probably more than I made it sound. That said, it is a good screen. It requires less work and effort. I have a player soon trying to run their first session as a one-shot, and I’ll be lending them this screen.

The Art and Book Build Quality

The art is fine. It’s personally not my favourite, and I’ve seen many previously in this edition that I liked more from an artistic perspective. It should come as no surprise I like that realistic action art with interesting but realistically styled lighting. So the outer illustration isn't my favourite, but it's fine.

As for the build quality? Well, it’s very solid. The screen itself looks good with no issues. Everything is printed well and clearly. Even the box it came in unfolds well and easily. It may be a bit too tight for permanent storage, but typically people don’t wrap up Dungeon Master’s Screens anyway. The card stock it's made out of feels nice. 

Summary

All in all, it’s a fine screen. The art isn’t my favourite, but it’s well made and has the rules. It can be a perfectly fine implement if you’re new to D&D. The issue is if you aren’t. It’s not that different than the ones made for the edition from 10 years ago. To the point just a cheat sheet of changes will keep you going just fine. If you rather spend money and save time, it’s great at what it does.

D&D Campaign Case: Creatures Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• Lots of tokens with small, regular, and huge sizes.

Could Go Either Way

• There are 64 plastic discs that serve as a base. And there are many more flat pieces that cling to the bases, called clings. This means that as you need them, you can combine the two parts together to get as many tokens as you need. The plastic bases are also more durable than cardboard pieces. However, I’m not sure how well the clings themselves will hold up to long use. They’re not actually sticky like a sticker, and they don’t feel as bad as I expected.

• It’s nice that there’s a case. I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up to repeated use. Especially the handle. Handles on these sorts of sets always make me nervous.

• The art is the same as from the books. It looks nice, and it’s easy to recognize creatures if you’ve look at the books. On the other hand, the only new art is on the carrying case.

Cons

• No gargantuan token or inserts. Even just one would be very nice. Potentially could even cut out the centre so we can put the huge token inside if we needed to save on plastic for the cost?

• Figuring out how to open the main box is...not easy. Please put some kind of mark at least so we can easily open these things. I think many will give up and just use force.

• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking. Ha. I’m just kidding. How would you even PDF this? Hmm, it would be pretty cool if we could just print the art perfectly sized for these disks directly from a special section of the official website. Well, I can dream at least.

Introduction

If you play D&D, sooner or later you’ll want to try tokens, miniatures, or some other physical representation. Theatre of Mind can be fun, but there are also advantages to being able to see distances and features of a map accurately. If you’re using a Virtual Table Top...well, this review isn’t for you. For those of us who can play in person, are options are plastic miniatures which are expensive, or tokens of different types. The set I’m reviewing today is one of those types.

What’s In The Set

There is also a special case to keep all the pieces safe, as well as a folder for the sheet. When done using the token, I’d recommend putting them back on the paper as it seems to stick. And in the folder which is in the box, even if it falls out, it won’t be lost.

What box? All of the pieces mentioned above fit together in a special travel box that has a handle. Though being a card box, I’d be worried about using the handle. The card used on the box feels good. But my previous experience with such handles makes me nervous.

The Art and Build Quality

The art is pretty good, but it’s not new art. This is nice, since Dungeon Masters and players will recognize the images from the books the read. On the other, there’s not any new art except for the boxes that are used to hold the components. The build quality for my copy turned out pretty good. No obvious problems. Which interestingly enough, is better than some of the experience I’ve had with the books so far.

The disks are made from plastic which feels sturdy. The case to hold everything feels good too. The clings feel better than I expected looking at the pictures too. They aren’t just paper coming out of your printer. That said, they are still a thin material. So I’m left wondering how well they’d last over long term use. I’ll update it in the future with my thoughts. Also, there isn’t a good way to keep them except the folder. And the folder expects paper. This mean that in the heat of a game, I could see people getting the clings they need, and then not remembering which sheets they came from. On that topic, I found myself having to look through all the sheets for the clings I wanted. Even some kind of small title to each sheet like “humanoids” would help with my organization. That way I could find the correct sheet quickly if an unexpected combat encounter broke out.

The main issues assuming you like the clings concept is that the box it comes in is difficult to remove without damage. There’s another box inside which is used to keep the components inside when not in use. That’s fine...but I wish the outbox could be removed in one piece too. It doesn’t even say which side to open from. Compared with the starter set boxes, or even board games, it’s not easy to figure out and like it’s almost intended. After all, who cares if it’s meant to be thrown away anyway.

So overall, the build quality is good for what it is. If you’ll have a problem with this set’s components, it’s more a design issue from the clings itself. I’m sure many will prefer Pathfinder tokens, or just old fashioned miniatures. There’s been many products over the years to help people keep track of monsters on their grids. And no matter the build quality, clings and bases like this will have certain disadvantages. I expect to see future sets that use the same bases in the future.

Price

The set is standard $64.99 USD which is pretty high. The old D&D Adventure System board games came for 40 unpainted minis for the same price. The Dungeon Command board games came with pre-painted miniatures for $40. Do I ever miss those sets. Is this inflation? I think the WizKids new D&D Adventure System games also are significantly more expensive than that.

Summary

There you have it. If you need tokens, it’s not a terrible set. The standard price is pretty expensive, but so are plastic miniatures these days. There are ways to make tokens yourself. And many people prefer miniatures due to their more impressive appearance at the table. But if you can get this set at a good price, it should work well. There are many discs, there are many clings that can customize their appearance. I find myself wondering if more clings will be available with future sets. The standard price has me in an odd state though. On one hand, this set is pretty expensive. On the other, miniatures are even more expensive these days. This one set, however, should provide enough tokens for whole campaigns without running into a situation where there’s not enough discs. So it will serve well. It’s just there’s also many other alternatives. If you can find a good deal on the set, it’s a workable solution for tokens and miniatures.

Dungeon Master's Screen Dungeon Kit Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• The art on the outside of the screen is really gorgeous. If every piece of art was like this, I’d have no complaints.

• Having rules within a screen like this is extremely useful during play. Many people build their own screens for this reason.

• The Geomorph cards are useful for quickly making dungeons. Each one would fit nicely as a dungeon on its own.

Could Go Either Way

• The interior of the screen is basically the same as the ones previously released, including the art on it for conditions, which are also found in the Player’s Handbook.

• The cards provided come in perforated pages you need to break. This isn’t the same kind of cards some of the previous card packs provided. The addition is nice, but you may want a better material.

• The normal price could be a bit steep, especially since many people made their own custom screens by now.

• The dry erase grid page is nice for completion. Personally though, I prefer printing tiles and making maps out of them. Or using 3D printed tiles. Most experienced Dungeon Masters I know already have their own too.

Cons

• The box to keep the extras inside seems really flimsy. I wish they’d be some better way to keep them together provided. They did this before too...and seems kind of a waste of a page.

Introduction

And so we have another screen product for this edition of D&D. I liked the previous Wilderness screen quite a lot. But this one is a bit different, focusing on dungeon creation. Many of the things I liked from the old set are here, such cards being included. However, the cards themselves are different. They cover things like status cards, which were in the previous. But it also has “geomorph cards” to allow quick planning and generation of dungeons. These are meant to help make the game easier to run, and provide references. In general, it’s good, but it’s not as much of an improvement as the last 2 sets. What do I mean by that? Well, let’s dive in!

The Screen Itself

The art again is very impressive. I don’t think a single one of the Dungeon Master Screens made so far has had bad art on the outside. The inside has many rules listed. This is very similar to the Wilderness screen I previously covered here. In their place are rules for travel, foraging, tracking, prices for services including lodging, tables for damage by level range and DCs, object DCs and hitpoints, skills and associated abilities, exhaustion, suffocating, jumping, light by light source, obscuring rules, cover, dungeon generation tables, monster motivation, encounter suggestion, and visibility distances based on terrain.

This is a good collection, but there’s a bit of a problem. Some things in the Wilderness screen are dropped. The prices for travel, the weather tables, extreme weather, spell concentration, and visibility depending on time of day are all dropped. These are useful tables, spell concentration being particularly useful in every case. The dungeon generation tables are really only useful for a particular kind of Dungeon Master too. The type that generated dungeons on the fly, or who has players that had gone off plan and went somewhere unexpected. This can make them not as useful as many Dungeon Masters I’ve seen, including myself, have maps ready ahead of time. So even if I were to use these tables, I’d usually use them outside of the session and be able to consult the book that the table is from.

Additional Resources

The same style of laminated cards come back for a return here. They again detail conditions, and combat rules. But now they also have cards for tracking initiative and geomorph cards. The geormorph cards each have a small portion of dungeon on them. Really, they could be a mini-dungeon on their own. They have tunnels on different sides, and you can quickly combine them to make a dungeon on the fly. This is pretty useful and cool on the fly. The one issue though is that like the rules for generating dungeons in the screen, I know many Dungeon Masters who would use this before a session, rather than during. Sometimes players will be players and force our hands of course.

There are cards to track initiative count. There are also condition cards, like what were provided before. I also like that there’s a card for the basic combat rules. Such a card is easy to pass around the table, especially for new players. The unfortunate thing is that these are the tear away perforated sheet cards from before. They do have a bit of a glossy feel, but they aren’t the best feeling cards. They included a dry erase grid map, that is meant to be used as a battle map. This I like. And again, you can use tokens to build up the map. The only issue here is most experienced players already have grid maps of their choice, or tiles. Whether that be 3D printed tiles, or 2D printed tiles. On the down side, they still have a fold up container for the cards, and it still feels flimsy like before. I just never liked this, and I prefer just putting the cards into a plastic bag or something.

We’ve got these two screens and sets now. Another thing to keep in mind is that this set and the Wilderness screen don’t strictly combine perfectly. There will be duplicate cards. Which is a con if you get them both, but if you only plan to get one, that’d be a plus. I wish they all were combined in one set though. As there’s useful things from both sets that would be absolutely complete if combined.

The Art and Book Build Quality

To start off, the art on the outside of the screen is truly amazing. I wish all of the books used this style. If they did, I’d never have a complaint. A fairly realistic style that also looks like a painting. The sort of thing I could imagine on the walls of my noble’s walls.

As mentioned before, the fold up card holder thing is a bit disappointing and feels flimsy. I don’t think it’d last for very long in use. The pages themselves feel treated with something glossy on the outside, almost giving them a laminated feel. I’m glad they put the effort in there. The outside and inside of the screen feels like other Dungeon Master screens we’ve previously had. They aren’t glossy in the same way, and feel more like the hard cover of a book. That said, the card is sturdy and it stands well. One of the bends was strange in my screen though compared to the other two, which were very neat. The paper popped out a bit, but it seems to work well in use. Unfortunately, these packs are sealed in plastic so you’ll be at the mercy of luck. You can’t look for a better copy like you can with the books.

Price

For the suggested retail price of this product, you can check here. It’s $24.99 at normal price, which can seem a bit steep, especially if you didn’t need a screen.

What I felt was Missing

The pages are pretty useful. Something like dice being included would really make it a must buy. Or stock tiles. But I imagine that’d be too expensive to produce. I also kind of wish there was a set containing all of the cards from all the sets. I would also say compared to some tile sets I’ve seen, or even the board games like the Ravenloft Board Game, there’s not much in the way of tokens. The 4e starter set did include creature tokens, but they’re not here.

As I write this, perhaps my dream set is a well/low priced screen, basic adventure(s), tokens, cards, dice, and screen?

Free Stuff

Nothing to see here.

Summary

There we go. The outside art is astoundingly beautiful. The inner screens include good and useful rules, and generally quite well combined. I wish there were a few other sections somehow fit in, but they’re quite complete. Just be prepared to possibly keep an additional cheat sheet somewhere. The cards are also a nice to have, covering many useful things like basic combat rules, initiative, and geomorph cards to quickly generate dungeons. There are cards I miss from the previous Wilderness screen though. And the price can be a bit up there based on the MSRP. In general though, as a screen and if you find it at a good price, it’s a pretty good set. I just wish there was a bit more to make it an easy recommend. Though with how stingy I can be, maybe I ask too much.

The Witchlight Carnival Dice & Miscellany Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• They’re a complete set of dice. There’s even a pair of D20s for advantage rolling.

• The card box with inner felt is nice, and closes well.

• A very nice map. I really like this.

Could Go Either Way

• If you’re already an expert on the Forgotten Realms, the cards are going to be of no help to you. The same goes if you enjoy crafts and can just make cards yourself. And include whatever you want. The map is still nice though.

Cons

• The set can be a bit pricey, especially compared to other dice manufacturers. The Wizards of the Coast sets often go on sale, but the MSRP is rather high when you can buy sets for 10 bucks at your local game store.

• The colour is very Halloween-y. I prefer the colour scheme and designs of the previous sets.

* Denotes nitpicking.

So, a large part of this will be duplicated from my previous reviews. That’s because this set is almost identical to the other sets. Below are a list of differences, but I’ve also written my thoughts out in full.

Differences

• The D20s are both normal size. I really do prefer it this way.

• The map has a reverse side with maps of locations found on the big, overall area map. Also a good choice. It would be cool though if it was printed on small cards. That way you could place them down as they arrive, and also gives the Dungeon Master more freedom to choose which maps they want the players to see and when.

• Everything is Witchlight themed and meant to go with the adventure.

• Previous cards had the description of the character on one side, and the picture on the other. Both are now on the same side. A marked improvement.

Introduction

Another set of new books, another set of dice. This time the dice set is released to go with the release of the The Wild Beyond the Witchlight adventure. Well, more specifically, the carnival itself I'd say. The set features 4 d6s, 2 d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, and 1d4. The dice are pretty standard, are really quite nice. There’s also a box included, and cards relating the adventure. The box is what we’ve come to expect from these sets, so the question that’s left is how are the cards? The price is quite high, so your need for dice and the miscellaneous part of the set is what will probably determine your need.

The Specifics

The dice are good and roll well. It’s what you’d expect from D&D dice. But the colour really doesn’t do it for me on this one. There are many other dice sets, specifically from Wizards of the Coast, which look much better in my opinion.

The price continues to be a big barrier. For the price of two such sets, you can buy a new book at full price. That said, the addition of handouts and pages helps to add value to the sets.

The Box

There’s a card box that comes with the set as well. As was previously, this is very nice looking. It has a padded inside, and artwork on the outside. I’d be concerned about damage. The box is something I think that you keep on your shelf, and you move the dice into a dice bag when actually going to play. Of course, if you’re playing at home it’s not an issue. I’ll never say no to more dice of course.

Cards

Included are a range of cards with descriptions of characters, factions and enemies found in the adventure. This time, they also include some of the carnival games, and the prizes for winning the carnival games. They are nice aids for running the adventure. Of course, they aren’t really needed. They’re an aid for running the adventure itself. In terms of style, they’re more like the Rime of the Frostmaiden set. There’s a title card that has a design, and then a description on the back. This is where Descent into Avernus had the card with the infernal script. Perhaps the card could’ve been better used for Sylvan.

Map

There’s a small player safe map included of the carnival itself. In general, it’s a smaller version of the map at the back of the book. Which makes it a bit less useful, but that it’s player centred is nice. That way I can keep it in front of my players as they explore. The real missed oppertunity here is that the other side simply has a piece of artwork on it. It’s a nice piece of people attending the carnival, but I can’t stop the thought that a map of some sort would be well suited on the other side. It looks nice in general though, and in terms of feel it’s the same sort of thinner map as the previous sets.

Dungeon Master's Screen Wilderness Kit Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• The art on the outside of the screen is really gorgeous.

• Having rules within a screen like this is extremely useful during play. Many people build their own screens for this reason.

• Some of the cards are exceptionally useful. They cover things such as conditions, and even some healing potions.

Could Go Either Way

• The interior of the screen is basically the same as the ones previously released, including the art on it for conditions, which are also found in the Player’s Handbook.

• The cards provided come in perforated pages you need to break. This isn’t the same kind of cards some of the previous card packs provided. The addition is nice, but you may want a better material.

• The normal price could be a bit steep, especially since many people made their own custom screens by now.

• It’s a Wilderness set. I’d have liked a large map for forest battles, and maybe another environment on the other side (maybe snow). This sort of thing is more useful to me than pages from the rule book, and infinitely re-usable. This is especially true if the map is big enough so you can start in a different area.

Cons

• The box to keep the extras inside seems really flimsy. I wish they’d be some better way to keep them together provided.

Contents of package. Not a bad package at all.

Introduction

And so we have another screen product for this edition of D&D. There is value in a good D&D screen when playing in person (remember what that was like?), and I personally like to see more experimentation. Here, we see this in the form of additional goodies thrown in like status cards, item cards, and a hex page for overland travel. As the name suggests, wilderness and travel are aims of this product. It’s hoped all of this combined helps out in these areas of play. Does it? Yeah, it’s better in this regard than the previous one I looked at. However, it’s not without it’s problems. So let’s jump into the specifics.

The Screen Itself

I’ll go into this more, but the art here is a real standout. The outside of the screen looks very impressive. The inside of the screen has tables and rules ready to be referenced. It contains conditions like the screen from the core rules gift set, but the actions in combat have been removed. In their place are rules for travel, foraging, tracking, prices for services including travelling and lodging, weather, tables for damage by level range and DCs, object DCs and hitpoints, skills and associated abilities, extreme weather (cold, heat, wind), exhaustion, spell concentration, suffocating, jumping, light by light source, visibility depending on time of day, obscuring rules, cover, and encounter distances based on terrain. In general, I think this is a far better collection of rules for more experienced Dungeon Masters. These rules often come up once or twice a campaign, or once or twice in an arc of 5 sessions plus. Combat on the other hand usually happens at least once per session and much more often if dungeon crawling, and as a result is ingrained into the minds of the Dungeon Master. If something is forgotten, it’s something that wasn’t included in the table anyway like improvised weapons, or how bonus action spells force the action to only use a cantrip spell at most. That said, the original screen on its own would be more useful to a new Dungeon Master that hasn’t had those combat rules memorized. However, what they did this time is provide separate handout pages. And this takes us to our next section.

Additional Resources

They almost feel laminated, and contain some other helpful things such as condition cards, some additional wilderness rules and a table for random encounters (meant to be on the Dungeon Master’s side of the screen I think), and a sheet with the actions in combat. I like this since players would often need to see the actions in combat as well. And we Dungeon Masters often don’t want players to see the inside of our screen, filled with our rules, which we might change at a moment’s notice, and notes. As a result of these considerations, I think this a big improvement over the earlier screen. There are some other sheets for rules such as chases would players would also want to see. If anything, I’d have liked to see even more pages for different important aspects of the game. The way the packaging doubles as a folder for these pages is also a nice touch. In general, it’s well designed, though it’s flimsy paper and wouldn’t be able to take pressure very well unless everything is loaded inside.

There’s a sheet to track resources like food and water. Included is also sheets with cards that are used for conditions. They’re in perforated sheets, and need to be broken apart. These generally feel much cheaper than decks they sold before that were a similar idea. However, I think it’s good that they included it. They also included a hex map for travel which has numbers for easy navigation. I don’t think I’d trust to write on it with dry erase markers, but using tokens and putting them on the map would work well, and if you note the location of things on the map you can rebuild it before the game starts rather easily. It’s a nice addition. There is also a fold up container thing for the cards which is probably the cheapest part of the set. It feels flimsy, and I wish they came up with a better way. Though in honestly I’m not sure what that better way would be.

The outside cover of the screen is beautiful. I wish the books had more art like this.

The Art and Book Build Quality

To start off, the art on the outside of the screen is truly amazing. I wish all of the books used this style. It’s simply jaw droppingly beautiful. The inside of the screen has a bit of art for conditions and temperature, but they’re black and white simpler drawings. For reasons of being usable and not distracting I don’t mind this. However, it’s a definite step down from the outside. And finally the additional resources/pages included have no art on them at all. They’re quite packed so more art probably wouldn’t fit, and it’s a nice bonus.

As mentioned before, the fold up card holder thing is a bit disappointing and feels flimsy. I don’t think it’d last for very long in use. The pages themselves feel treated with something glossy on the outside, almost giving them a laminated feel. I’m glad they put the effort in there. The outside and inside of the screen feels like other Dungeon Master screens we’ve previously had. They aren’t glossy in the same way, and feel more like the hard cover of a book. That said, the card is sturdy and it stands well. One of the bends was strange in my screen though compared to the other two, which were very neat. The paper popped out a bit, but it seems to work well in use. Unfortunately, these packs are sealed in plastic so you’ll be at the mercy of luck. You can’t look for a better copy like you can with the books. 

Price

For the suggested retail price of this product, you can check here. It’s $24.99 at normal price, which can seem a bit steep, especially if you didn’t need a screen.

What I felt was Missing

It would’ve been nice to have a few more sheets of additional resources. Perhaps with the maps from the early core books? Tactical maps have largely been ignored in this addition unfortunately, though many players and Dungeon Masters I’ve talked to like using them.

Free Stuff

Nothing to see here.

 

The set from another angle.

Summary

In general, this is a good screen and additional resources. The art that’s here, and particularly on the screen, is amazing. The additional resources are a good addition, and the organization within the screen is an improvement the earlier screen. However, if you didn’t need a screen this won’t be the thing that converts you to using one. I’ve played with a Dungeon Master before who liked to walk around the room, especially with new players so he could help them out. I played with another you didn’t like to take up the space. If you wanted a screen though, this is a good choice. I think it’d really come down to if you think the price is worth it.

Icewind Dale: Rime Of The Frostmaiden Dice & Miscellany

So, a large part of this will be duplicated from my previous reviews. That’s because this set is almost identical to the other sets.

Differences

• The D20s are both normal size. I really do prefer it this way.

• The map has a reverse side with maps of locations found on the big, overall area map. Also a good choice. It would be cool though if it was printed on small cards. That way you could place them down as they arrive, and also gives the Dungeon Master more freedom to choose which maps they want the players to see and when.

• Everything is Icewind Dale themed, and meant to go with the adventure released along side, Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden.

 

 Pros

• Complete set, including 2 D20 (for advantage/disadvantage), 1 D12, 1 D10, 1 D8, 4 D6, 1 D4, 1 D100 (in 10 increments)

• The additional of informational cards is a nice touch. They outline factions and enemies that can be found in Icewind Dale, all written from the perspective of Drizzt. They also provide a map. The added value here is great, I just wish they’d extent this further. Potion trackers, condition cards, that sort of thing.

• The card box with inner felt is nice, and closes well.

Could Go Either Way

• If you’re already an expert on the Forgotten Realms, and Icewind Dale in particular. the cards are going to be of no help to you. The map is still nice though.

• The reverse side of the map has a reverse side that goes into more detail of certain locations found on the main map. It’d be nice to have these on cards though, so you could place them over the area when they’re there.

Cons

• Similar to the other dice sets in this edition, this set can be a bit pricey compared to other dice manufacturers. These sets often go on sale making them more affordable, but the MSRP is rather high when you can buy sets for 10 bucks at your local game store. With sales though, it can be a far easier sale. That said, I’m happy to see that they added more to it than some previous sets they’ve released.

Everything below the image is duplicated from a previous review, which can be found here. I’ve done so for your convenience.

Contents of the set: Dice, cards, map, and box.

Introduction

We got yet more dice, this time aimed at the Forgotten Realms. The set features 4 d6s, 2 d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4, and 1d100. To actually use the D100, you need to roll both the D10 and the D100. One gives you the one’s column, the other gives you the 10s. This is pretty standard. However, there’s more to the box than just the dice.

The Box

There’s a card box that comes with the set as well. The inside is nicely padded, and the artwork on the outside is very striking. I think it’s more of a display piece though, as I wouldn’t trust it around water, and I can see it being scratched up. Instead I think it belongs on a shelf. I’d suggest actually going to a game with a dice bag if you care about preserving the box. When you’re at home though that consideration goes away.

Cards

Included are a range of cards with descriptions of characters, factions and enemies found in Icewind Dale. Now these I like. You can keep them in the middle of the table for players to consult regularly, re-read quickly if there’s been a pretty serious break, or just put down on the table when meeting with a particular person as a visual aid, in in a particular area. Of course, if you’re not going to play in Icewind Dale this goes unused though.

Forgotten Realms Laeral Silverhand's Explorer's Kit

Pros

• Complete set, including 2 D20 (for advantage/disadvantage), 1 D12, 1 D10, 1 D8, 4 D6, 1 D4, 1 D100 (in 10 increments)
• The additional of informational cards is a nice touch. They outline locations and factions in the Sword Coast, and also provide a map. The added value here is great, I just wish they’d extent this further. Potion trackers, condition cards, that sort of thing.
• The card box with inner felt is nice, and closes well.

Could Go Either Way

• If you’re already an expert on the Forgotten Realms, the cards are going to be of no help to you. The map is still nice though.
• The two D20s are oversized compared to normal dice. I’ve personally always preferred the smaller ones as it easily allows me to grab a D20 and a D8 for my long sword, and roll both at once. I would prefer if the extra material just went to more dice. That said, if it’s your thing, no complaints.

Cons

• Similar to the other dice sets in this edition, this set can be a bit pricey compared to other dice manufacturers. These sets often go on sale making them more affordable, but the MSRP is rather high when you can buy sets for 10 bucks at your local game store. With sales though, it can be a far easier sale. That said, I’m happy to see that they added more to it than some previous sets they’ve released.

Introduction

We got yet more dice, this time aimed at the Forgotten Realms. The set, called the D&D Forgotten Realms Laeral Silverhand's Explorer's Kit, features 4 d6s, 2 d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4, and 1d100. To actually use the D100, you need to roll both the D10 and the D100. One gives you the one’s column, the other gives you the 10s. This is pretty standard. And the appearance of the dice look quite nice. However, there’s more to the box than just the dice.

The Box

There’s a card box that comes with the set as well. The inside is nicely padded, and the artwork on the outside is very striking. I think it’s more of a display piece though, as I wouldn’t trust it around water, and I can see it being scratched up. Instead I think it belongs on a shelf. I’d suggest actually going to a game with a dice bag if you care about preserving the box. When you’re at home though that consideration goes away.

Cards

Included are a range of cards with descriptions of characters, locations, and factions found in the Sword Coast. Now these I like. You can keep them in the middle of the table for players to consult regularly, re-read quickly if there’s been a pretty serious break, or just put down on the table when meeting with a particular person as a visual aid, in in a particular area. Of course, if you’re not going to play in the Forgotten Realms this goes unused though.

Oversized Dice

I prefer normal dice. I find it harder to properly roll two dice at once when some are normal size and some are large, so I generally prefer the plastic to be used on more dice. I recognize this is a thing specific to me, but I could also see this view point being shared by others.

Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus Dice & Miscellany Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• Lots more full colour art. The map in particular is a real stand out. I absolutely love the style.
• The dice themselves are a massive improvement compared to the Essentials set. It’s not a solid colour, but a nice marbled appearance.
• The box is a standout part of the set. The symbol of Bhaal on one side looks amazing, and the inside of the box is also padded. Looks great on a bookshelf.
• 2 D20s. Oh yeah, keep this going for as long as advantage is a mechanic.

Could Go Either Way

• Like all of these Miscellany sets, it’s not mandatory. You can run the adventure just using your book, and if you have enough dice another set won’t be enticing.

Cons

• Elements, such as the guide to different kinds of devils, aren’t as useful as I’d like. You can use the cards to show the appearance of the devils to your players. In fact, I recommend you do. The other side isn’t as useful though, being just a high level introduction by Volo. That said, this set has fewer of these useless elements than some of the previous ones.
• There should be a font included on the website ready to download. The alphabet page included is very nice to look at and I’m happy to have it, but it’s power comes from being able to give it to your players and have them translate the abyssal message. I’d like to reuse it in my own campaigns but to do so, I need to be able to write my own message. And to do that, I’d like a font.
• It’s packaged in a plastic case that’s not the easiest to open. And being plastic, it has a better chance of cutting your fingers or scrapping back the skin on your nails. Beware.
• No PDF* included

* Denotes nitpicking.

Introduction

Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus is the newest adventure for Dungeons & Dragons, and it came with Miscellany sets. The goal of these sets has been to provide additional bits such as maps for games at the table.

The Package

It comes with a set of dice, cards for each kind of devil, 2 cards for encounters, 2 for trinkets, a map of Avernus with scale representation of devils on the other side, and a very nice box. All of that is wrapped up in a plastic cover which was actually a bit annoying to remove. Thankfully some leverage fixed that problem.

The Components

The appearance of the dice is a big improvement over the Essentials set. It’s got a red and gold colour very fitting for an adventure based around a level of hell, and looks far less boring than a solid colour.

The case is a standout part of the set. The art is absolutely beautiful. That said, I do have a bias towards the symbol of Bhaal. Might be too much time spent playing Baldur’s Gate way back when. The inside is padded and the box itself is made from thick card. It feels and is around the thickness of the rule book covers.

The cards are on the thinner side, but the are all double sided. The ones dealing with types of devils have a fairly well done drawing on one side, and an in world story involving that type of devil by Volo on the other. These sorts of things are great as aids to put on the table as players run across a devil. That said, I wish the art was done in a more photo real style. There is some absolutely stunning work in the adventure itself.

The map is not as large as the ones in the main adventure. It feel felt thinner to me as well, but it does look amazing. In general, this is the best looking set due to the art style and liberal art throughout. The maps in the previous one tended to be very simple in design.

There’s also a card for infernal, but that’s also at the end of the adventure book. It is nice to be able to put the card in the middle of the table, and it’s a very compact design, but it’s still a luxury.

PDF or Digital Version

I do wish a digital code came with the set. They did that with the essentials set, and I hoped it would be the beginning of a trend. It’s really too bad because being able to bring or mark up the map a bit before giving it to players would make it incredibly useful for my own campaigns.

Price

I think my typical opinion comes into play here. If you’ve got your eye on an adventure and can only pick one, get the adventure. That’ll be a better use of your money as you’ll get hours of campaign out of it. That said, especially on sale, the dice and box alone could be worth it. As always look at the picture, look at the price, and decide for yourself if you think it’s worth it.

Summary

As with the previous set, I think it’s a luxury item. The illustrated devil cards are nice to have to show to your players as they run across a devil, but a good description will still work well. That said, it looks amazing. The small case/box that comes with the set looks incredibly from the outside. I think this moved in the right direction since the one for Dungeon of the Mad Mage had maps that were already present in the adventure, and this set is mostly composed of new elements, but it still has some ways to go to be something that I’d say increases the experience of running the adventure so much it’s almost a necessary addition.

Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica Dice Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros:

• They’re a complete set of dice.
• The smokey aesthetic looks nice.

Could Go Either Way:

• D&D 5^th edition has the great new mechanic of advantage (where you roll 2d20 and take the highest) and disadvantage (where you roll 2d20 and take the lowest). Why not include 2d20 in a set aimed at the new edition?
• The guild dice will probably not see much use.

Cons:

• The set can be a bit pricey out of the box, especially compared to other dice manufacturers. Now, the Wizards of the Coast sets often go on sale making them more affordable, but the MSRP is rather high when you can buy sets for 5 bucks at your local game store.

* Denotes nitpicking.

Very nice looking tin, ain't it? 

Introduction

Another set of new books, another set of dice. This time the dice set is released to go with the release of the Ravnica settings. The set features 4 d6s, 1 d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4, and one guild dice in a decorated box. But how is it? Let’s jump into the specifics.

The Specifics

The dice set looks nice. The best way I can describe the appearance is like strands of smoke trapped inside the translucent dice. See the images below, though they don’t quite do them justice. If you prefer solid colours though, or just don’t like the aesthetic, you’ll think differently.

It comes in a rather nice tin with foam that holds the dice. For the tin see above and for the inside see below. 

The dice in all their glory in the tin. 

I think a big missed opportunity is to include a second d20. Advantage and disadvantage are quite frequently used in D&D 5^th edition, and it would be extremely convenient and speed things up to be able to roll both dice at once. Things such as damage rolls can already be handled by rolling the d20 with the damage dice to save time. Since prices have been going up in general, the addition would go over well I think.

The main issue I can see is that the dice are rather pricey. You can get the starter set for around the same, and get an adventure along with your dice. Now, it’s been my experience that these sorts of products often go on sale both online and in store, so it’s possible to find at a reduced price. However at MSRP I think it can be a hard sell, especially when you can buy dice for $5 bucks at local game stores. If you are a collector, or just like the aesthetics and the box, that’s a different story. But in that case you aren’t buying it as just another set of dice, but are after that particular set.

A bit of a closer view on the dice themselves.