D&D’s ‘Dragons of Stormwreck Isle’ First Impressions
Move over Phandelver, there’s a new starter kit in town. But how does Dragons of Stormwreck Isle hold up? Let’s find out.
As Princess Irulan Corrino once observed, “A beginning is a very delicate time.”
Especially when that beginning is playing Dungeons & Dragons. Because while 5th Edition is the game’s easiest ruleset, there’s still plenty of stuff to know. And if you’re new to D&D, or new to RPGs in general, you might be overwhelmed. That’s why there’s a lot of work placed on a starter set. Now D&D has a new one: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle.
This new starter set aims to introduce new players and new DMs to the game. As D&D 5E heads towards its 10th year, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle will be the vehicle new players take to hop on the train.
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle – What’s in the Box?
But what is Dragons of Stormwreck Isle? What’s in the box? What do you get for your $19.99?
The short answer is a basic rules booklet, a 40ish-page adventure, and five pre-generated characters. Alongside those, you’ll get a set of dice and you’ll be pointed towards D&D’s new “digital onboarding tools” more on those in a minute.
It’s pretty much the same thing you could expect previous Starter Set, which contained the Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure. Like the new Starter Set, it also came with a set of D&D dice and the basic rules in a booklet.
And while Dragons of Stormwreck Isle is a shorter adventure, it offers up more diversity than Phandelver.
The Adventure Itself
The titular adventure feels a little bit more mythic. You can feel the shift in how the D&D writers/designers have thought about what makes an adventure. The background information is a little more robust; there’s a backstory involving an ancient red dragon that was imprisoned beneath the ocean floor.
And already we get a sense of the magic at the heart of this adventure. This is a place of power. The imprisonment of the dragon, Sharruth, is said to have caused volcanic activity near Stormwreck Isle. And in Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, the characters have come to this place in search of specific goals.
And yes, that is in fact the Paladin and Cleric from the 80’s D&D Cartoon
Which is something this adventure does well. At different points, it specifically calls out moments for each of the five pre-generated characters. Which is an interesting moment. The adventure assumes you’ll be playing as the pre-gens. This means the designers can give the DM tidbits about how to incorporate the backstories of the player into actual moments of the game.
And too, we see another difference in the order of operations. Roleplaying is at the forefront. And it’s not just interacting with the usual suite of inn-and-shop-keepers. Instead, there’s a small sect of lawful good kobolds (who follow a bronze dragon) and come with their own personalities.
This is 2022’s D&D. And the secret sauce, as it were, is weird little guys. Always has been. Just now the weird little guys are frontloaded instead of discovered on accident.
On to the Next Adventure
There are a lot of deft little touches like this. The personal quests for each of the characters are woven throughout the story. The vast variety of encounters they might come across. You’ll get a taste of every part of the D&D pie in this adventure. And you’ll probably be able to play through the whole thing in a single session. Two tops.
But you’ll come through it feeling accomplished. Feeling like you’ve played D&D, even if this was your very first time. Especially since there’s a hub of new starter videos out there for players and DMs.
You can see the player prep video above. But you can check out more, including videos on how to play each character and what roleplaying is at the D&D Starter Hub.
So if you want to bring new people in? This adventure, this boxed set, is primed and ready. You can find it at Target right now, but it will release to your FLGS in October.
Happy Adventuring
