James Finger

Heroes of the Borderlands, D&D’s new Starter Set for 5e24 is out, and it is MASSIVE. It is easily the best designed beginners tutorial I think the game has ever seen, and with D&D being such a complex and customisable experience, that is a great thing. But despite its girthy size and hefty weight, this mighty tome of a box set is still missing 3 things which I think would have elevated it from a 9 to a 10 out of 10  experience. So what are they are how can we fix it?

The Level 1 enchantment “Sleep” is one of those spells that everyone “wants” to use and seems like a great idea… but in the 2014 rules, after players hit Level 2 or 3, it was usually the caster that fell flat as opposed to the targets. Mechanically, it has been completely overhauled in the new rules, so let’s see if this classic crowd controller is still a snooze fest or if the fantasy that is a good night’s rest has finally come true.

There are only two cantrips in the 2024 PHB that hail from the school of Abjuration, and both have had some decent changes from 2014, making them better value for your action economy, but sadly still bearing a fatal flaw, which we’ll examine in a moment. The two spells in question today are Blade Ward and Resistance. As Abjuration spells, both of these cantrips are defensive options, with Blade Ward focusing on physical damage and Resistance on saving throws. Let’s get physical first!