In May 2019, the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit was announced during D&D Live 2019: The Descent on a Twitch live stream by Wizards of the Coast and was released on September 3, 2019. It contains a 64-page rulebook with new rules on creating characters, a new adventure titled Dragon of Icespire Peak, dice, character sheets, and 81 cards describing game mechanics.
The Essentials Kit also includes a code that unlocks the Essentials Kit Bundle on D&D Beyond at no extra cost. This bundle consists of the included Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure (level 1–6), as well as 3 digital-only supplementary adventures written by Wizards of the Coast: Storm Lord's Wrath (level 7–9), Sleeping Dragon’s Wake (level 9–11), and Divine Contention (level 11–13). The product also includes a 50% off code for the Player's Handbook on D&D Beyond. Brandin Tyrrel, for IGN, reported that the adventure location is the same as the first 5th Edition Starter Set; as a result, "both adventures can be played together".
Cameron Kunzelman, for Paste, wrote "if you’re getting your feet wet with D&D in 2019, then this is where you’d want to do that".
Charlie Hall, for Polygon, wrote that the "retail product itself provides an excellent value". He highlighted the adventure's "diversity of environments and enemies on offer" and the "dynamic addition" of new two player sidekick rules. Hall was disappointed in the quality level of the cardboard components where he thought the DM screen was "flimsy" and the cards "a bit sloppy. Once separated from their sheets, the edges are rough and uneven. They’ve even too big to sleeve, and need to be trimmed down to fit".
Description:
In May 2019, the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit was announced during D&D Live 2019: The Descent on a Twitch live stream by Wizards of the Coast and was released on September 3, 2019. It contains a 64-page rulebook with new rules on creating characters, a new adventure titled Dragon of Icespire Peak, dice, character sheets, and 81 cards describing game mechanics.
The Essentials Kit also includes a code that unlocks the Essentials Kit Bundle on D&D Beyond at no extra cost. This bundle consists of the included Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure (level 1–6), as well as 3 digital-only supplementary adventures written by Wizards of the Coast: Storm Lord's Wrath (level 7–9), Sleeping Dragon’s Wake (level 9–11), and Divine Contention (level 11–13). The product also includes a 50% off code for the Player's Handbook on D&D Beyond. Brandin Tyrrel, for IGN, reported that the adventure location is the same as the first 5th Edition Starter Set; as a result, "both adventures can be played together".
Cameron Kunzelman, for Paste, wrote "if you’re getting your feet wet with D&D in 2019, then this is where you’d want to do that".
Charlie Hall, for Polygon, wrote that the "retail product itself provides an excellent value". He highlighted the adventure's "diversity of environments and enemies on offer" and the "dynamic addition" of new two player sidekick rules. Hall was disappointed in the quality level of the cardboard components where he thought the DM screen was "flimsy" and the cards "a bit sloppy. Once separated from their sheets, the edges are rough and uneven. They’ve even too big to sleeve, and need to be trimmed down to fit".