Reddit reviews Wizards of the Coast Monster Vault: an Essential Dungeons & Dragons Kit
We found 23 Reddit comments about Wizards of the Coast Monster Vault: an Essential Dungeons & Dragons Kit. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
MOnster Vault
I just use a wet-erase mat and these tokens. The players each have a mini they bought, but that's it.
Get the Monster Vault box. It comes with a ton of tokens.
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Essential-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786956313/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371297632&sr=8-1&keywords=monster+vault
4e is pretty simple. Even simpler than that is Swords and Wizardry which is made to resemble old school DnD. Microlite 74 is similar but does not hew as closely to any incarnation of DnD. All of these are free.
Swords and Wizardry has quick start rules here. I listed some beginner modules for it.
>Is there a D&D "basic" set in its latest incarnation?
You mean like this?
The Red Box, then Rules Compendium, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, and then the Monster Vault.
The Red Box comes with some premade characters and a quick adventure. Its pretty cheap and will help you determine if this is the system you want (note your free options.)
If you like it, then:
Then the Heroes book will help you guys build characters.
The Rules Compendium contain all the... rules. (What happens on each players turn, etc etc).
Monster Vault has monsters for the DM.
Not a lot of good adventures available for 4e though, though if you like 4e and want to run premade stuff for it, some options are laid out here.
You also have the option of subscribing to a service called DnD Insider, which will give you access to, among other things, an online character builder for the players and a monster builder for the DM with all the stuff from the books,. It costs like 10 bucks a month... but its an option that you should be aware of.
You might get some recommendations for Pathfinder, because redditors love them some Pathfinder (which is based off DnD 3.5 so if you know that, you know PF). It's a good system--I'm playing it right now--but its so complex that I have some trouble recommending it to absolute beginners in good conscience. You can look into it here. If you do go with it, I highly highly recommend a character builder like PCGen.
EDIT: Fixed some links.
Ebay is a terrible place to buy small amounts of minis. I only go there if I have a chunk of cash to drop on a big lot of minis.
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/ is generally a little cheaper than troll and toad. You can get some cheap minis even on troll and toad though, so if you're picky about some minis, then yes expect to pay more.
Fighters/Paladins/Barbarians/Rogues/Whatevers for less than $2
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1447/Anvil-of-Thunder-Aberrations/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1453/Man-dsh-at-dsh-Arms-Aberrations-Dungeons-Dragons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1475/Emerald-Claw-Soldier-Aberrations/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1478/Half-dsh-Elf-Hexblade-Aberrations-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1456/Aasimar-Favored-Soul-Aberrations/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1459/Cleric-of-Garl-Glittergold/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-2146/Captain-of-the-Watch/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1567/Cleric-of-Dol-Arrah/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1568/Dwarf-Raider-Angelfire-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1572/Spiker-Champion-Angelfire-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1583/Elf-Swashbuckler-Angelfire-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1587/Longstrider-Ranger-Angelfire-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1589/Talenta-Halfling-Angelfire-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1465/Sharn-Cutthroat-Aberrations-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1464/Longtooth-Barbarian-Aberrations-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1491/Carrion-Tribe-Barbarian-Aberrations/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-2143/Shifter-Claw-Adept-Against/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1811/Half-dsh-Orc-Spy-Blood-War/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1336/Githzerai-Archfiends-Dungeons-Dragons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1595/Xeph-Warrior-Angelfire-Dungeons/Detail -- Monk for less than $1
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1816/Soldier-of-Bytopia-Blood/Detail -- gnome for less than $1
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1842/Kobold-Monk-Blood-War/Detail -- kobold monk for less than $1
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1852/Doomguard-Blood-War-Dungeons/Detail -- female rogue less than $1
Spellcasters for less than $2
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1592/Wand-Expert-Angelfire-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1649/Wizard-Tactician-Underdark-Dungeons/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1382/Aramil%2C-Adventurer-Giants-of/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1706/Mephling-Pyromancer-War-Drums/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-2012/Blood-of-Vol-Fanatic/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-2092/Tiefling-Warlock-Dungeons-of/Detail
http://www.beholderthebargains.com/servlet/the-1949/Wild-Mage-Night-Below/Detail
There's more. They're there, if you have the patience to find them.
If you're pressed for money over minis I'd recommend get nice minis for your PCs and invest in a nice set of tokens for your bad guys. Maybe splurge on a cool mini for your BBEG, because at this stage minis are pricey if you're buying for monsters.
The Pathfinder boosters are decent and have some cool monsters. If you've got the cash, buying by the case can get you a good selection fast at better prices per mini than buying individuals. You'll have the advantage of getting a mix of PC minis AND monster minis with those. See here and here
I could go on, but if you take your time and browse, there's a lot you can find.
I use these D&D tokens.
They're (relatively) inexpensive, and you get a ton of them in the box. I can't always find exactly what I'm looking for, but I can pretty much always find something suitably close. 1 set of these has sustained me for a year of playing. They even have individually-numbered multiples for most of the creature types, and some of the more common creatures (humans, goblins, zombies, etc.) have 10 or more that you can use at once.
Omg yeah, like, the one thing they really needed to take from 4e was the combat creation. So damn simple and quick, plus each monster felt different with fluff and mechanics... Now so many monsters feel the same... Ugh.
But I have monster vault kit from 4e and I use that to make homebrew enemies.
First, I'd recommend that you keep the box and all of the components in good condition, so you can consider re-selling it once you're done with it. The Red Box seems to be out of print and is selling for far above its $20 MSRP, and if you can recoup some of the money you spent on it to buy some resources that will have more lasting value, it might be worth it (depending on how highly you value your time), since you will have little use for most of the contents of the box once you're through with the initial adventure.
Or, if it's not too late, you may want to cancel your order. The Starter Set is a relatively gentle introduction to D&D, but not necessarily the best one and certainly not the cheapest.
To prepare, you might want to read, and have everyone else read, the quick start rules. You can also have the players choose pre-generated characters from that document and print off the corresponding character sheets. The Red Box method of character creation involves running through a solo "choose-your-own-adventure" book, which you might not want to do 3 or 4 times in succession for each of your players. Note that the the quick start rules uses slightly different versions of the character classes presented in the Red Box, but the characters/systems are compatible.
You will not immediately need to create your own group adventure, as one is included with the Starter Set.
Also, as an alternative to the Starter Set, /u/Dracoprimus posted a bunch of links to free adventures. You can also choose to run one of these adventures after you finish with the Red Box.
However, neither those those links nor the Red Box will not give you the resources needed to build your own characters or advance them past level 2, nor do they contain the info a DM needs to create his own campaign, or extensively modify an existing one. For that, I recommend getting the following resources (buying some of the books used may yield a good savings):
With those three products, you have everything you need to run a level 1-30 campaign. A D&D Insider subscription can substitute for those resources to a large extent, and supplement them with tons of content, but it's most useful as a convenience and reference. I would still recommend getting the core books even if your group has a DDI sub.
On top of that, a few game aids are nice to have:
For miniatures, be warned that the Heroclix and Mage Knight minis, while useable, are mostly larger than the 1" standard width (for a medium character or creature) - this is generally not that big of a problem but if you're going with modular terrain it means they may not fit well, especially along with other miniatures beside them.
Ebay is a good choice for miniatures, especially if you have particular needs for certain things - you want that male elf archer in leather armor, or are you looking for a beholder? You can find and get them there. Here's my favorite seller for these things, shipping is definitely reasonable and the choices are expansive:
http://www.ebay.com/usr/auggest?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754
Another option to miniatures are tokens, and they are much, much cheaper. These are small cardboard circles that fit a 1" block as standard size (larger creatures will fill more, of course). The best starter set for this for a DM is the Monster Vault, but there are a ton of others as well. I suggest ebay for these for the most part, there are some that sell them by the sheet and others that sell the full boxed sets. You can get these for characters as well as monsters. Here's a link to the Monster Vault so you can see what you get with it:
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Essential-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786956313/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420725056&sr=8-2&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+Tokens
Cheapest and most versatile "professional looking" option for the map / terrain is a chessex battlemat - make sure you have WET ERASE markers, not dry erase and keep it clean between adventures. Below are links to one of their mats (there are other sizes, just search on amazon) and to some excellent markers:
http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724703&sr=8-1&keywords=chessex+mat
http://www.amazon.com/Expo-Vis-A-Vis-Markers-Colored-16078/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724703&sr=8-9&keywords=chessex+mat
Cheapest option for modular-type terrain would be tiles. These are cardboard "grids" that most often have designs on them and come in different sizes. The best starter set out there is the Dungeon Tiles Master Set - The Dungeon. It has a lot of tiles and is pretty versatile, at least for base grid options like dungeons and general floors. There are a ton of other options for them - again I suggest you look on ebay for these because you can often find used ones that are in perfect shape sold as a set, or even individual tiles if there's something in particular you need. This is the link to the aforementioned base set on amazon so you can see what it has:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Tiles-Master-Set-Essential/dp/0786955554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724907&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeon+tiles+master+set
If you want to spend more money and go with something much more dynamic, there are 3-d modular sets ranging from paper to near-stone like quality but they can cost a ton. I have a large set of Dungeonstone (www.dungeonstone.com) that I bring out and always get oo's and ahh's. But they're heavy to carry around a lot, especially if I need the whole set. Another option, that's generally slightly more expensive than dungeonstone is Dwarven Forge. You can look them up - but I only mention this in case you decide to spend more money than you want to at this point. :)
Good luck! I hope this helps.
If you play Pathfinder, then note that they put all their rules and bestiary online for free and so you can save some serious dough. You can then spend your money on things like battle mats, paper miniatures, and adventure modules. They have an upcoming beginners box that would probably be perfect for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KPv80QsBfI
If you play D&D 4th Edition, you kind of have to choose between the original line and "Essentials" line (it's very confusing). Personally I say go with the Essentials line because it is easier, cheaper, and (to me at least) "feels" more like what D&D is supposed to be like. WotC doesn't publish anything online for free like Paizo, so you'll have to buy some stuff. I recommend:
If no one wants to play a ranger, druid, paladin or warlock at first you can skip the one book and meet your $60 budget. Eventually you'll probably want to get a Dungeon Master guide of some sort. The kind of information in those books is mostly generic advice on how to run games and handle personalities, so it's possibly to buy an older used copy from the original line even though you are playing Essentials. Hell, since it's just generic advice, you could even buy the Pathfinder guide (which is amazingly well written) and use it for D&D.
In summary - I think it's easier for you to meet your budget by going with Pathfinder, since they publish a lot of material for free, leaving you to spend your money on the adventure modules which is where all the fun is anyways. It's unanimous that Pathfinder does a much better job on published adventures too, since they are a company that started off as an adventure publishing company and that is their strength. However, D&D 4e (especially Essentials) is much easier to play, but you won't have as much money left over to spend on adventures (and those adventures kind of suck).
Thanks!
EDIT: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and ummmmmmmmmmmm wat
Welp, guess I'll tell my friend not to play Essentials.
For D&D4e, I recommend starting with Essentials. Personally, I prefer 4e because it has balance and encourages working together. You can get the 4e Red Box, but it is slightly inconsistent with everything else and will only take you so far. Anyway, here's a minimal shopping list:
The Essentials DM kit is also good. With the exception of the Red Box, all 4e material is compatible across the board, so adding in new player options or DM stuff is as easy as picking up a supplement or getting a DDI subscription.
If you've never played before, WotC holds an "Encounters" programs on Wednesday evenings at local gaming stores. It is specifically designed to introduce players to D&D as well as sell their latest product. If you live in the DC metro area, I can give you some pointers on where to go, if you're interested.
If I remember correctly they produced the updated stats in the Monster Vault box.
I only ever played a couple of sessions of tabletop 4e, but I had purchased the 4e Essentials Monster Vault which looks similar to this.
One thing they have that your set doesn't is that monsters that are often encountered in groups (goblins, wolves, etc.) are numbered. It's a small thing, but it's helpful. I had a token goblin "graduate" to an NPC during a run-through of LMoP. The party had found an RP solution to the Yeemik problem, and I decided that the goblin token labeled "3" would be Yeemik's "runner" who would help set their plan in motion. Because he was no longer fodder, he was graduated to an actual mini - but the party continued to refer to him as "3" for the rest of the session.
I have this and this in my inventory, so I have LOADs of tokens at my disposal. If I don't have a particular token I want, I just pick something close to it and say "these orcs are actually drow rangers" or whatever. It's usually not a huge deal, and if you're used to playing TotM style anyway, it shouldn't be an issue at all.
Also, as a note, with some looking around you should be able to find those two book/token sets relatively cheap. Even if you're not playing 4e, the books contain lore you can use and the tokens are gorgeous and great quality.
Answers to your questions in order:
The pathfinder bestiary boxes are usually considered highly prized by many for a price-to-minis ratio.
I personally use and prefer game mash tokens as they're pretty cheap (about 60 cents a pop) and look really nice.
Sometimes you can find an old D&D 4E monster vault on sale for cheap, but that's getting much more rare these days as they've been out of print for a while. It comes with a pretty good number of tokens.
And as others have said, you can use various objects (washers, candy, etc.) instead of tokens/minis in a pinch.
Edit: in the past, i've also made some pretty good use out of fish tank glass beads.
You've purchased a setting supplement for Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition. 4th Edition (aka D&D4e, 4th, 4e) is very different to earlier editions and isn't particularly compatible with them.
There are many others in this thread recommending products and games that are not compatible with the product you've purchased, because they are different games (and thus the rules are different, in the way Scrabble and Monopoly are different). Be aware that The Shadowfell box is not compatible with non-4e games.
My suggestion is to start out with the Red Box that you've looked into already, and also the "Essentials" books -- Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, and the Rules Compendium.
After that you'd want to look into the Monster Vault box.
Each of these (including the Monster Vault box) is about $20. The MV box is well worth the money.
They kinda sell 'em on their own.
Monster Vault
If you can find the 4e Monster Vault it comes with a few hundred tokens for nearly every imaginable monster and hero. It's awesome. I prefer tokens anyway, I like my players to use their imaginations but still be able to interact on a grid.
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Essential-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786956313/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420671454&sr=8-3&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+monster
You mean die-cut cardboard tokens? If so, they did do this for 4th edition D&D. You might be able to find it for a reasonable price on somewhere like eBay.
You can print up some small pictures, paste them on cardstock, clip the cardstock to a binder clip ( http://i.imgur.com/wOg2Ln3.jpg ) and then remove the "legs" from the binder clip so that it'll stand upright on its own. Cheap and effective.
If you want an official product, you can look at
http://paizo.com/products/btpy8tj5?Pathfinder-Pawns-Bestiary-Box
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Essential-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786956313
Hey a quick question by monster vault did you mean this one?
I use one of these to carry my books in the event I need to haul my D&D stuff somewhere to run a game. The only possible issue I could see is dependent on how large a space your minis take up.
When I travel, mine contains: