D&D’s New Starter Set Will Head Back To ‘The Keep On The Borderlands’
D&D’s 5.5E Starter Set will take players back to a familiar Keep on the Borderlands and parts beyond. Here’s what we know.
At the D&D Direct yesterday, WotC unveiled a new Starter Set for the 5.5E ruleset coming in summer 2025. The new Starter Set encompasses a familiar D&D adventure that gave rise to many an adventurer’s career over the years; that place is none other than the Keep on the Borderlands, which is just a short jaunt through dangerous wilderness from the Caves of Chaos.
D&D’s The Keep on the Borderlands to be New Starter Set
Well, if you were wondering if WotC would return once more to Phandalin, now you know. It looks like Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk will be the last incarnation of the beloved Lost Mines of Phandelver for a while. But don’t despair. At D&D Direct, WotC revealed a new starter set with a hefty dose of nostalgia: the infamous Keep on the Borderlands.
The Keep on the Borderlands was an old-school D&D module, first printed at the tail end of 1979. By Gary Gygax himself, the adventure module was designed specifically to get new people into D&D. It was one of the earliest “onboardings” where players would arrive at the keep, then travel through the wilderness and eventually find the Caves of Chaos, where all manner of monsters await.
Here’s a look at the cover blurb from the original B2 module:
This module includes a cover folder with maps and a complete description booklet to form a ready-made scenario for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Basic Set. It has been specially designed for use by beginning Dungeon Masters so that they may begin play with a minimum of preparations.
Within are many features to aid novice players and Dungeon Masters: legends, history and background information, a list of adventuring characters, tips on how to be an effective Dungeon Master, plus an interesting area for characters to basethemselves in (the Keep) before setting out to explore the Caves of Chaos!
– The Keep on the Borderlands
So, in 2025, get ready to return to one of the adventures that started it all. It’ll be interesting to see how WotC frames new players in this go-round. With the starter set releasing after the core rules, DMs should have all sorts of resources available to them by the time they have this adventure.
Happy adventuring!
