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What You Need to Know:

• Heroes of the Borderlands released on September 16, 2025, and includes 200+ game cards, 270+ tokens, and 18 poster maps – one of the biggest D&D starter sets ever released.
• The modular character system lets you mix-and-match tiles to create your characters in minutes, no experience required.
• The game features three separate adventure booklets with over 60 hours of gameplay potential, giving players and DMs plenty to work with.

The wait is over! D&D’s most ambitious starter set is out, and we’ve got your complete breakdown on what makes Heroes of the Borderlands one of the genre’s biggest releases ever.

This is more than just another starter set to pick up and play. D&D has reimagined what a starter set can bring to the table, integrating learn-as-you-play elements that help anyone jump into a session quickly.

Priced at $14.99 (digitally on Roll20), is Heroes worth the price tag? What’s different about this starter set, and what we expect to see out of the box?

What Is Heroes of the Borderlands?

Heroes of the Borderlands sets the adventure in one of D&D’s most iconic locales – a remote frontier fortress standing between civilization and the untamed wilderness.

The game isn’t tied to any specific D&D world like the Forgotten Realms or Eberron. Instead, Heroes exists in its own borderland where you can drop into any campaign setting quickly.

The setup of the game is classic D&D – you and your fellow adventurers arrive at the Keep, a fortified outpost where merchants and soldiers gather with travelers before they head off into the unknown. 

The Keep acts as your home base, a place where players can gather, rest, and resupply before venturing out to uncover the latest rumour or mystery. 

The Caves of Chaos

A few miles from the safety of the Keep lies the Caves of Chaos, a honeycomb of caves that are carved into the canyon. You’ll discover that a number of tribes and factions have claimed the caves, and they’re itching to gather and overtake the Keep (and the world beyond).

But in Heroes of the Borderlands, these tribes don’t exist just to be slaughtered by mighty heroes. Each one has its own agenda, and players can use a variety of skills and methods to build unexpected alliances or take part in subterfuge to keep the hordes at bay. This opens up a whole host of campaign options for DMs to create for their parties. 

Your Role In Heroes

Players in Heroes of the Borderlands aren’t “chosen ones”. Most of the time, they’re bands of adventurers who happened to arrive at the Keep at the right (or wrong) time! The Keep needs heroes, and you might just be the next in line.

The game comes with a wide variety of story directions, where parties will take part in a number of potential scenarios:

• Military defense (fortifying the Keep against invasion)
• Diplomatic maneuvering (playing the tribes against each other)
• Archaeological exploration (uncovering why these caves attract evil)
• Economic development (establishing trade routes and clearing threats)

New Feature: Modular Character Creation

Many D&D vets will remember hours of flipping through rulebooks to build heroes. But with Heroes of the Borderlands, players use physical tiles that actually slot right into the player board. 

Want to be an elf wizard? Just grab the elf tile, the wizard board, pick a background tile, and you're ready to play in under two minutes.

The player board is there to track everything you need for your character’s play and development:

• Hit points with physical tokens
• Spell slots you can physically spend
• Equipment cards you actually hold
• Clear progression paths to level 3

Heroes introduces a unique, tactile approach that lets new players get into the game without drowning in character sheets or rulebooks. Think Settlers of Catan, but in the D&D universe.

What’s In The Box?

Let’s talk about components, because Heroes delivers more physical content out of the box than nearly any D&D starter set ever built.

Adventure Content:

• 3 distinct adventure booklets (Combat, Exploration, Roleplaying)
• A quick-start guide for getting started fast
• A Play Guide with expanded rules 
• Other content based on the classic Gygax Keep on the Borderlands module

The three-adventure booklets allow players to learn as they play, so instead of a single, linear story, you can work through three unique gameplay styles:

1. Combat Booklet: You can quickly learn how to navigate tactical movement as well as resource management as your team delves into the dungeons and encounters monsters.
2. Exploration Booklet: This booklet helps players master the hex-crawl system and discover all there is to see around the Keep and Caves.
3. Roleplaying Booklet: You can learn how to create and build your character's personality through all types of roleplaying: social encounters, negotiations, and even moral choices.

Character Components:

• 8 illustrated player boards (2 per class)
• 4 core classes: Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard
• Modular character tiles for species and backgrounds
• Level progression to 3rd level with subclass options

Game Materials:

• 200+ cards (spells, equipment, magic items, NPCs, monsters)
• 273 punch-out tokens for tracking everything
• 18 fold-out poster maps with grid lines
• Combat tracker for initiative
• 11 polyhedral dice (including 2d20 for advantage/disadvantage)
• 5 immersive handouts (tavern menus, shop catalogs)

The Keep On The Borderlands Opens Its Gates On September 16, 2025

Heroes of the Borderlands is one of D&D’s most ambitious starter sets to date. But it’s not replacing the Player’s Handbook – it’s creating a new on-ramp to the game that gives old and new players something fun to experience.

We like to think of it as a combined game and how-to gameplay guide. The components alone would cost more if bought separately, and the adventure content offers genuine replay value through different approaches and character combinations.

Will you join the Keep’s defense? You can order Heroes of the Borderlands now and get everything you need!