Hasbro Gaming Stranger Things Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Starter Set

Product Description

The stranger things Dungeons & dragons starter set contains everything players need to embark on a stranger things adventure including the essential rules of the roleplaying game. It's a great way for new as well as seasoned dungeon & dragons players to experience the D&D adventure stranger things character Mike Wheeler has created for his friends. Pick your character -- will you be will the wise or Dustin the dwarf? Get your fireballs ready as you investigate the mysterious castle and battle The ferocious Demogorgon. Prepare for just about anything, because the game just Got stranger.

Features

• Battle your way through the D&D universe & The upside down as one of the characters played by the stranger things gang. Five Ready to Play character sheets are included
• Dungeons & Dragons is the world's greatest role playing game. Created in 1974, D&D transformed gaming culture by blending traditional fantasy with miniatures and War gaming. The main Dungeons & Dragons books are the player handbook, Monster manual, and dungeon master's guide
• Embark on an exciting Dungeons & Dragons adventure, hunt for the thessalhydra, and have hours of fun with the Adventure book created By the character Mike wheeler
• Get all the essential rules you need to start playing from the D&D fifth edition starter set rule book with a new colorful stranger things theme
• Special Red box Design: a unique replica of the famous 1983 D&D red box. As seen being played on screen by the stranger things characters
• The starter set also includes 6 Polyhedral dice and 2 stranger things Demo gorgon figures, including one to paint and customize
• The stranger things themed Dungeons & Dragons starter set has everything you need to unleash your imagination and live out the dream of exploring the upside down from the Netflix original series, stranger things

Top Reviews

Intro boxed 5th edition D&D set with a little bit of Stranger Things flavor
by C. Dawson (3 out of 5 stars)
April 2, 2019

I guess I was expecting a little more from this boxed set. I'll admit it didn't make the greatest impression when I opened the box and found that a big cardboard space filled almost the entire inner box. In the space were the two demogorgon figures and a bag of dice. The majority of the box is empty space.

Under the insert was a small handbook of basic rules, very much like the one that came with the original 5th edition starter boxed set, only with Stranger Things illustrations, some examples of game play using Stranger Things characters, and a bestiary of normal D&D monsters except for the addition of the demogorgon (Stranger Things style, not classic D&D) and the thesselhydra.

Also included were a few pre-made character sheets that would match the ones in the show, and a module that ostensibly the one being played in the show. There is some mention of the Upside Down in the module though, so it's not too faithful to the idea of being the exact module played by the characters. The adventure is very basic and short, but it should make a good introduction to totally new players to D&D.

So it's really not a bad set for the price, but it's not the cool package of Stranger Things neatness that I had hoped for.

Oh, and the two demogorgon figures are soft plastic. One is unpainted and one is supposedly painted, but the only part I could see that was colored was some basic red inside the mouth. Otherwise the two figures were identical. Another disappointment.
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Disappointing
by JD (2 out of 5 stars)
April 4, 2019

Received mine today and was very excited to open it up and read through it. The box is 90% empty space, just two thin softcover books inside, along with the standard 7-piece dice set and the two Demagorgon miniatures.

The dice and the starter rules are nearly identical to the official D&D starter set items. The rulebook has some Stranger Things images and flavor, along with the additional monsters for the adventure, but other than that, it is the same as the other box.

The two miniatures are soft, bendable plastic. That okay... I guess, but if you wanted to paint them yourself I don't know how the paint would handle the fact that the plastic is so malleable. The "painted" figure is pretty much identical to the unpainted once, except the inside of the mouth is red. They are pretty cool moldings though. It is a shame they did not include a larger Thessalhydra mini for the price though.

The adventure itself is probably my biggest disappointment. It is straightforward, but the books is uninspired. The text is presented as pencil on lined school ruled paper as though handwritten by one of the ST characters, but that is all it is. There are 3 or 4 rudimentary maps, and 3-4 simple black and white drawings, but other than that almost no artwork. There are a couple of puzzles and riddles, and mostly just a straight forward adventure. Bizarrely, the monster stat blocks are not in the adventure book, but only in the appendix in the back of the rules, which doesn't make much since since you are likely to have the adventure book already open in front of you.

Overall pretty disappointed with the contents. I will try the adventure with a group in the next few weeks and may update the review then if they are really wowed. I'm not feeling it so much on first reading.
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Very Low Quality Cash Grab
by MTheel (2 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2019

This is probably the least quality D&D product that has come out for 5e.

The two minis are made of a very soft rubber. The base is made of the same bendable soft rubber. The "painted" mini is barely painted and I have doubts on whether the un-painted mini can hold paint well due to how soft and bendable the material is.

Being marketed as a Start Box, I was expecting the same quality of adventure. This is not the case. The included adventure is made to mimic someone's hand written notes in a note book. In no place is it printed to look like a standard D&D adventure format. Very inconsistent with what has already been published. The basic rules and dice that are included are the best part of this box set. The dice are the same color as those found in the original 5e Starter Box.

In conclusion, I would not recommend this to someone looking to get into 5e D&D, get the original Start Box instead, which does a much better job at helping new DMs.
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Better than expected. Great original work and good Demogorgon miniatures.
by Blackbird (5 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2019

If you read the product description before ordering then there is nothing here to complain about. Everything is good quality and right on point.

Other reviewers act like they were promised something not in the description.

I won't spoil anything from the storybook, but I will write that the formatting and art style of the book is outstanding. Much of the story is styled to look like Stranger Things character Mike Wheeler actually hand wrote all his campaign notes in a notebook. It works really well and gets rid of some of the more clinical looking campaign books you might otherwise be used to.

The Demogorgon miniature figures are great. The paint is pretty solid on the one figure and the mold is solid on both the unfinished and the painted. The material is bendy and slightly rubbery, in a very good way, and feel like they won't ever snap or break. You would have to really tear the arms off to break them. Still, the molds hold shape and look really great.

The dice are the same blue swirled dice you get with the regular starter kit and still look good.

The rulebook looks fantastic and has all the stuff in it that the regular starter kit rulebook does, but this edition IS unique. The intro part is done from the perspective of the Stranger Things characters and the art style throughout the book is completely different from the original starter kit.

Just like the regular starter set, there is lots of extra space in the box for you to keep your own notes and extra dice, miniatures, books and other materials.

Yes, this is still a 5th edition set.

Yes, you still get some solid pre-made characters with character sheets, and they are unique to this edition of the starter kit.

Happy roleplaying!
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Too Expensive -- Lack of Content
by James Wink (1 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2019

Stranger Things has been a pop-culture juggernaut - one of the signature portions is the game of Dungeons and Dragons and the Demogorgon. In an attempt to capitalize on its popularity, Hasbro has released a Stranger Things boxed set - unfortunately it belongs in the Upside Down and not in our world.

The Good - The box set contains a 50 page rule book, an fairly short adventure book, some pre-filled character sheets, some dice, and two figures of the Demogorgon. The figures are nice --- there is flavor test alluding to the world of Stranger Things scattered throughout.

The Bad - There is a serious deficiency of value in this box set. Overall there are less than 100 pages of rules and adventures. Hasbro provides the bare minimum in content. The adventure is short - even the flavor text says it is good for about an evening of play. Hasbro could have at least provided a map sheet for the two smallish maps the adventure contains. The actual connections to the show is minimal - you are playing an D&D adventure allegedly written by one of the characters. The only real connection to the show is that they plays D&D and Demogorgon was a major enemy.

The Conclusion - I was excited when I saw this starter set was coming out. After receiving it, I am not sure who this is made for. If you wanted insight into the world of Stranger Things, this starter sets fails to deliver on all counts. If you want to learn to play D&D, there isn't enough content to justify its price tags. Ultimately, this is a cash grab. A complete disappointment.
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Only recommended if you really want the minis
by teuchy (3 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2019

I just unboxed everything and it looks really great. It's in a proper box (so less flimsy than FFG's Star Wars starter sets). Of course, most of the box is still empty space, but that allows you to stick notepads and pencils in it.

It comes with 2 Demogorgons as promised - one lightly painted and the other unpainted. There are 6 polyhedral dice, which cover the basics, but you'll want to pick up at least one other set to reduce the passing back and forth. There's a 41-page glossy Starter Set Rulebook with a smattering of art from the show, but (imho) they should have included more art. There's also "Mike Wheeler's Hunt for the Thessalhydra", which is written like it's from a kid's jotter (admittedly a kid with very neat handwriting. Again, there's a small amount of "handrawn" artwork and a couple of small maps. It looks like it is quite a short adventure (shorter than the main starter set), but I'll need to play through it first. The Upside Down is mentioned. Lastly, there are 5 pre-made paper character sheets (Hill Dwarf Bard, Wood Elf Cleric, Human Paladin, Half-Orc Ranger, and Haalf-Elf Wizard). You'll want to make copies of these. All characters start at level 3 and are Neutral or Lawful Good.

I'll update this review after I get time to play this with a group.
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Pretty good, and a great gift
by Captcorajus (4 out of 5 stars)
April 8, 2019

Had to write a proper review for this thing as the ones I've seen don't seem to understand this product.

First, if you got the orginal D&D starter, you won't be surprised here when its mostly empty space. D&D boxed sets have always been that way. Its a rulebook, and adventure and dice.

Second, this is a tie in with Stranger Things. The adventure is made to appear as if it was written by the DM from the TV show Mike Wheeler. Its a great first time adventure for novices, and younger players, but older players might enjoy it as well.

Third, the miniature is a bit of a disappointment, thus the -1 star. The flexible plastic is a weird choice.

Overall, for the price, you get a starter rulebook and a great D&D adventure that mimics the one Mike Wheeler was running on the TV show. Its short, straight forward and ideal for showing a perspective DM how to create their own D&D adventures.
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Disappointing.
by Anthony (2 out of 5 stars)
April 6, 2019

I am very disappointed in this box. First some background: I am not actually new to DnD, and have been playing for over 10 years. I have planed 3.5, Pathfinder, 4e and now 5e. So, NO, I did not need a starter box. However, having bought the original starter box, The lost mines of Phandelver, a while back, this box is not nearly as good. That adventure is a level 1-5 adventure that is probably at least 2 months of content, more for very new players who are also learning the game. This starter box is a "one shot adventure" that will take characters from the level two to level three. They went for a certain ascetic with this box--and my best guess is that what they are going for is 12 year kid from the 80's makes a DnD adventure. And that is what you get: An overly simple adventure with only a few NPC's, none of which are particularly interesting or well fleshed out. Oh an a couple of literally hand drawn maps that are very simple. A Stranger Things fan might enjoy this purely as a novelty, but they should just leave it wrapped and on their bookshelf to preserve its value. But as an introduction to the game, it's very lacking. Oh and the exclusive mini's are ok at best. The difference between the painted and unpainted mini is the mouth of the "painted" mini is pink. The other is not. Thats it. The mini is self is ok, a fair amount of detail and true to the show. Other than that, the art is nice on the box cover, but NOT in the book. Again, its done by a 12 year old kid and the art in the adventure reflects that a bit too much. The rule book is very good: So you will come out of this understanding the basics of the game. However, you have 5 hours of content to run for your players and then you'll be on your own unless you buy more content or pick up on designing adventures really quickly. Here is my advise to new players, buy this one and keep it sealed , then pick up "The Lost Mine of Phandelver" online or at your local game store. And experienced players can skip this unless you are a HUGE Stranger Things fan. Again--very disappointed.
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Great one-shot with great ideas to incorporate in other campaigns.
by Austin Golightly (5 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2019

I love it! It encourages a lot more creativity and allows a lot of flexibility. It's a level 3 one shot, but can be expanded a bit if you so desire. If you're just staring out, I'd recommend picking this up with The Lost Mines of Phandelver starter set and combining the campaigns (that way the players can start learning how their characters work from level 1). The Demogorgon miniatures alone are worth picking it up (they're CR 4 in the included book). My players in one of my campaigns are are at a good level for this set and I can't wait to write it in! Also, this set works extremely well with "theater of the mind," so you don't need to worry about maps if you don't want to.
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Very Disappointing
by M. Scott Smolder (1 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2019

The Stranger Things theming is very minimal. One book is your standard d and d playbook, with no special rules for playing in the Stranger Things world. The included adventure does mention the Upside Down. However there is nothing about the second season and very little actual information about the Upside Down setting. These books have all the characters from regular d and d, though there is no mention of playing any of the kids in Stranger Things, or how to work the kind of story line present in this series into a D and D world.

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