The Young Adventurer's Guides: DnD 5e Kids Book Review
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- Young Adventurer's Collection (softback): bit.ly/YoungAdv...
Monsters and Creatures (hardback): bit.ly/Monsters...
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Young Adventurer's Collection (softback): bit.ly/YoungAdventurersCollection
Monsters and Creatures (hardback): bit.ly/MonstersandCreatures
Beasts and Behemoths (hardback): bit.ly/BeastsandBehemoths
Warriors and Weapons (hardback): bit.ly/WarriorsandWeapons
Wizards and Spells (hardback): bit.ly/WizardsandSpells
Dungeons and Tombs (hardback): bit.ly/DungeonandTombs
I feel like these books are better than the original manuals but in the end nothing special at all, I can say that this type of book is equally appropriate to an adult, in the end, these are little manuals with notions missing in the game that would justify the price of the manual, as now 5e are just a bad product for the price 150$ for three books and you have more fun and better inspiration from OSE or even Basic Fantasy
Thank you for the high praise on the series! As you mentioned in your review, these guides are a labor of love for our whole team. They're built off the narrative structure and elements I've found have worked really well to bring new players, young or old, into the hobby.
See my comment above. I'm so glad to have found these for my daughter. She's grown up watching us every other Saturday as the big guys played DnD, and would be my roller when I was on a bad kick. Me being a DM dad, she grew up with DnD and has always wanted to play with her friends. Now, maybe with these books, she can convince them. She has all the Endless Quest style DnD books, and loves the art and stories. Thanks for making this happen.
With kids in mind, they 100% stimulate the interest and imagination. I am sure that the age group aimed at will flip through these daily and adventures will flow forth. @questing Beast, you give a great review.
Ooh neat to see you here. My kids love these books! So evocative, very well done!
But without any numbers or stat blocks, how would any of these be useful?
I ran the original Ravenloft module (from the early 80s) as my first module when I was only 10 years old. But I understood ... well math.
So by removing all the numbers, how is any of this useful?
As a kid I wasn’t exactly great at convincing others to play dnd, but I spent countless hours flipping through the Monster Manual. Little me would have adored this book!
We picked these up for my daughter and she loves them! She's even recopied whole sections into a notebook so she could "memorize" the content. She's going to be a boss DM some day. :-)
@@House_Of_Cards_ uh, I'm not following. Why?
That is too precious.
My party is comprised of a bunch of middle aged men now with kids that are just old and interested enough in watching dad play DnD that these books would be great to introduce them into play with. The old Dragon magazine used to have articles in it that covered aspects of game play as these books do. I really appreciate detailing the “soft” aspects of game play including ecology of critters, spell effects and non-standard usage, and how to dungeoneer.
Now all I need to do is convince my wife these are appropriate for my 4 year old
He will grow into them
@@RLBndR She but yeah
@@OldSchoolGM94 I got them for my daughter, starting when she was 5. Go for it!
Not really 😂
@@Stone_Orchids are you okay?
What I like about the art is how dynamic it is, and how it tells a story. The art in the Monster Manual et al. can seem a little flat, like they're posing for their portrait. The main 5e books also tend to depict monsters in only one "mode": menacing. These books do have their menace, but because they're intended for kids, they're not going to make them look like gore-drenched horrors. Paradoxically, that means the monsters are "allowed" to display more personality. The orcs can look comically bumbling, the goblins can look sly, etc.
Another way to look at it is that in the normal 5e monster books, the illustrations are serviceable and utilitarian. Meant to look good, yes, but mostly there as a reference. You don't read the main books for the art, you read it for their stat blocs. As media meant for children - who have less reading proficiency and no interest in stats - these books live and die on the strength of their illustrations. The lack of detail is made for easy comprehension for young audiences, and they make up for that sparse detail by having motion and emotion and a built-in narrative or mood.
So I don't see the simplified art as a minus, because it's not a failure to make good art. It's the artists having different goals.
One of the best things about WotC buying D&D... the art has always been great, but with Wizards' unlimited coffers, it can only get better!
Wow, these books look very well laid-out. Almost like recent (mature) OSR products. :)
I think they might be nice to have around for inspiration even if you're an adult. In fact, I might order them for myself to enhance my OSE collection since without stat-blocks and explicit rules the books seem quite system-agnostic and otherwise I wouldn't buy most 5E related stuff.
I actually prefer these to the official books. The format is MUCH more fun to read!
Questing Jim Zub has done the D&D comics that some coincide with some of the 5e adventures. The Publisher is IDW and worth a look if you like D&D and comics. So far releases are D&D: Legends of Baldur's Gate, Shadoes of the Vampire, Frost Giant's Fury, Evil At Baldur's Gate. They also have the characters Minsk and Boo. Also worked on Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons.
“Kids love flipping through this books”
I can certainly attest to that. Before I became very familiar with D&D I remember seeing in middle school 3 kids at a lunch table flipping through the 3.5 MM, marveling at one of the dragons. It stood out to me at the time and it was only later when I realized what they were exactly flipping through.
When I was a kid I picked up an old monster manual from a garage sale. The jargon was miles over my head but the pictures were so amazing. I think it would have been 2e
I would have LOVED these as a kid.
Bought the full set for my daughter who was 9yrs when we started collecting them, and she loves them, uses them to look up tactics for monsters she thinks will be in an adventure, such a great buy and really well laid out and easy to read for young D&D fans. I really appreciate them not including stat blocks.
Challenge: write an RPG using only rules and setting elements extrapolated from these five books. It might be interesting to see what isn't in there.
Thanks for this review. I'm going to pick these up for my 7 year old daughter. I've been running the old B9 Castle Caldwell module for her using OSE and she's loving it. I just purchased Knave by the way and I'm impressed with how you designed it to be so compatible with old modules like B9. I'm planning on running a session for my daughter using Knave (with OSE monster stats) this weekend.
I startet buying them (the German translations) for my son who really should practice reading more. And it worked. He reads them without complaint and wants to discuss certain classes or monsters with me. Now I am waiting for the translation of Beasts and Behemoth.
On a general subject, I know that nothing sparks a child's imagination quite like a big book full of fantasy creatures, locations, and the like. Some of my favorite books from my childhood were books like The Book of Dragons & Other Mythical Beasts (by Joseph Nigg) and The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were (by Micheal Page and Robert Ingpen). Books with evocative descriptions and rich illustrations.
Wouldn't it be all the better if such a book also told the child "YOU could go on adventures like this, and here's how"? This is why I think these books are so great.
I wish that these books had a light, freeform rules system that could serve as an alternative Basic Rules in the same way that the first generation of White Wolf Introductory Kits had a very simplified set of rules that was quite distinct from the full game but usable in its own right. I was fascinated by the D&D Tiny Adventures facebook game when it came out, not because it was an amazing game to play, but because it was such an intriguing distillation of D&D down to simple rules and short but evocative snippets of text. There really was the promise of a minimalist D&D played at the table lurking somewhere within this game that could have been developed into a great casual intro to the D&D experience.
Nice review! I've really enjoyed these books with my family. I love the dungeon-building section of Dungeons and Tombs too.
These have information you can't find anywhere. My kids loved them.
I was on the fence about getting these for our nieces and nephews, so thank you for the flip-through. Definitely getting these.
Jim Zub has been writing the official D&D comics for a few years now as well as the new Conan comics.
Saw this video on Monday, bought the softcover books that evening - they were delivered the next day and left them out after school. My 4th and 2nd grader picked them up that evening and now we are playing a game on the weekend!
Great video for making we aware of these books!
Been eyeballing these for a bit, seems perfect for my nieces
Bought them all, no regrets, I read these more than I read the PHB/DM/MMs for 5th Ed.
Just rolled my 12 year old daughter up on Sunday, and so now she has ability scores, and my copy of the PHB. Printed out some character sheets and sat her down to discuss what kind of character she'd like to play. She honestly doesn't know, but is leaning toward Half-Elf Cleric. So.... with her birthday on the 10th of Dec, she's getting these books as well as her own copy of the PHB to help her out. Her dream is getting all her friends together for a sleepover and me running the Game till they can figure out how to do it on their own. With these books, many questions can be answered in order of her interest and her dedication to the game. Glad to have found them to begin with, but after your review was when I decided to buy them.
lol, well good timing with this! I just ordered the box set for my little girl. 😁
I saw these and was like how do these look better then the core rulebooks? Seriously the cover border alone is such a good idea for quickly find what book you need (just by based on color)
The stitched binding is huge. Big disappointment the main 5e books are glued only.
Definitely gonna pick these up for my 22 year old me
Thanks for doing this flip through on the Young Adventurer's Guides. I have considered picking them up for my 12-year-old, but wasn't sure about the content.
Honestly, I found the majority of the art amazing.
This is exactly what I need to help introduce my nephews to the game and pique their interest! Thanks :)
As an adult I love these books and pre-ordered the new upcoming Dragons and Treasures one as well. They are so neat. Lovely work.
Just what I needed to know, as I've been considering this as a gift to one of my players - her eldest has commented a few times about she will get to play also.
Thanks for a look at these books. I didnt know they existed and have mostly been playing Pathfinder 2E but these seem like they might be a big help for me even as an adult DM. Stat blocks are great too but a flavour of the thing in world is so useful for imagining a place. I already know im remembering that Barkskin tip, if any of my players use something like that in a forest they are totally getting a stealth bonus.
Wait till the hardcore FKR folks take this with the "all books are games" and we go full circle
I just bought these for my grandson. Used the link hope you get the kickback. Love your reviews.
Reminds me off "Old World Bestiary" from Warhammer RPG.
The first part of the book contains information for each monsters divided into three different perspectives: common view, the scholar's eye and the monster itself - meant as an inspirational tool or content you can directly put in your handouts or read to the players; reading through that section really gets you immersed in the Warhammer Grimdark fantasy world. The actual mechanics of how these monsters work in the game are at the back, compressed into 40 pages or so.
Comparing this with the 5e monster manual is a good case study of the left-right brain theory in usability design - the idea that the human brain can be both great at being "imaginative" and "analytical" but it really struggles when you presented with both types of information at the same time; so these 5e books are always trying balance flavour and analytical data on one page but it's actually results in books that are neither particularly enjoyable to read or good at finding information. If you read a book that only focuses on one thing like these books, or divided into two sections like WHRPG OWB, it's so much better.
This books are great for kids! (and for me:)) I both first ones in 2019 I think when my son was 4.5 and since then it is always around and we look and read from the books all the time. Also, not having almost any stats the book is a fluid read focusing on lore, setting and roleplay. The monster section is great when explaining what to do/not to do when encountering a monster. Great fun for my son.
Absolutly the best books for 5th ed I had the softcovers but also got the boxed hardcovers. One of my favorite rpgs.
My girls are 7 and we play a homebrew version of D&D, based largely on Professor Dungeonmaster's recommendations, but I'm really glad you are covering these! One question - I notice that the box set of four is soft cover and has different titles (Monsters & Creatures instead of Beasts and Behemoths), etc. Are they still the same books and content?
Beasts and Behemoths is a separate book. I think it was the last in the series and wasn't included in the box set.
Was actually eyeing this fora while. Just used your links to buy these. Thanks!
Thank you for the overview. It looks very simple but still fun and informative.
It reminds me a bit of how early D&D players were encouraged to avoid learning the rules and letting the DM do that stuff.
My kids love these...
5:16 I see they believe in the right to arm bears.
Holy god, the art's are AMAZING
Gorgeous, would love this in German for my kid but alas.
I was about to buy the whole collection for these until you said there are no stat blocks for any of them. Thanks for telling me this - so i don't make the mistake of buying these and giving anymore money to WotC.
I have all these books and they are pretty good at what they do.
I own a couple of these. Super cute for kids.
Looks like an awesome gateway drug! I had missed these books entirely.
for young ??, im 33 years old and i think that would be my next purchase :D
The image at 15:22 reminds me of the cover art for the first Undermountain boxed set for AD&D 2nd Edition. Potential homage?
These are really good books for a different game.
All D&D material is written from an in-game perspective if you assume that the setting is Order of the Stick.
Great Vid, Was wondering whether this would be worth getting for my 7 yo actually seeing to books inside I've decided yes. so thank you for the information.
great thank you!
Question: you reviewed five books but the pack comes with four books. why is that?
It makes me want to use them in a FKR style game.
I thought I was so weird and “a shame to the dnd community” when I liked these more then the other books but I’m glad people feel the same
I wish every rpg book was in this or the OSE size.
Agreed 100%. OSE is my first non-5e rpg book and the size of the book is one of my favorite things about it. Throw it in a backpack, hold it in one hand during play. I definitely prefer the digest size.
Whoa! I am trading in my player's guide for these.
I love these books. My kids do, too!
Isnt it actually what we OS lovers want to play in its definitive form?
These books look cool. I don't have a need for them. I really like is the size and shape and construction of the books!
44.00 for the box set here in Canada.
I got ripped off too. Just gotta find a better price. It's out there most assuredly.
Any opinion on the Endless Quest series of books?
If you ask me, 5th edition is what have saved Dungeons & Dragons and placing it on the foundations of Forgotten Realms is epic. I hope they will expand the 5th edition with modules forever and never try create a new edition. The 5th edition is by far the most inviting approach to play Dungeons & Dragons, giving DM's so many options to add or remove rules that they dont find suited to their gameplay. 4th edition almost killed Dungeons & Dragons, now with the 5th edition it thrives like never before world wide.
So these are still worth getting despite the DnD One release?
Absolutely, they are completely system neutral
How useful would these books be for say OSR or even non-DnD rulesets? I am intrigued by these books but I am unsure I want to dive into the convoluted current DnD rules. I had stopped playing at the dawn of 2e even though I continued to buy and digest 2e manuals and handbooks.
For OSR and non-D&D? Not terribly useful, I would think. But personally, I treat these as resources to “steal” ideas from. And since these books don’t have any rules in them, that makes it easier to yoink. 😀
Great stuff friend 👏 👍
So basically it is the children's version of dnd core rules?
These books also seem useful for adults who have no idea what D&D is.
im getting rid of combat all together - i get some loot, i take an ongoing negative effect - then move on to exploring and experiencing the world, story, and lore...what's the point of combat if you're supposed to almost always survive it, get free loot, and take almost 0 dmg - it's as bad as a videogame
Amazing.
Much as I hate to espouse anything WOTC at this point, there's also one called Dragons and Treasure now....
If you like fantasy comics/stories I strongly recommend picking up some of Jim Zub's work. Skullkickers is really fun--I've read just the first volume (www.skullkickers.com/) but really enjoyed it. I've also read a good chunk of his run on the Pathfinder (www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Vol-Dark-Waters-Rising/dp/1524104213) comic and it was also really, really good. I haven't read his D&D comics but I feel like they are also super high quality.
I've been considering getting these for my kids and this review convinced me that I should!
I got paperback
15:19 You said, "BEASTiary." The word is "BESTiary."
So for someone that knows absolute nothing about the game, never played or anything these books are a pretty good start for even older folks?
For the general feeling, creativity and overviews, yeah. Definitely still start with a Player's Handbook, even if it is one for the whole party.
Best D&D book for kids has always been, and will always be, 1981's Basic set
Ok boomer
@@benvoliothefirst Gen X, but your objection is noted (and discarded) LOL
I bought a couple on a whim on Amazon about a year ago. They are no an RPG. Lore wise, art, stories, they are great. But you cannot run D&D with these. Sent them back. Wothless to me as a GM honestly.
D&D 5e is the most popular tabletop rpg yet has some of the worst organisation and layout in it's books. I won't buy any of them on principle. These books however look like a gem for kids.
I'm sure you have an affiliate link relationship but I'd rather see links to bookshop.org so I can support my local book shop rather than giving money to Jeff Bezos
Well, local bookshops don't support youtubers 🤷♂
Are genders removed?
The artist(s) who illustrated the book have obvious technical skill. However, I dislike the art. Wizards would be better served, I think, if they got away from their reliance on digital art, and adapted a more eclectic style for their books. Everything looks very samey with its veneer of electronic fuzz. The art is, in a word, forgettable.
I do like old-fashioned physical media better than digital most of the time.
@@richmcgee434 I agree that there will be a sense of nostalgia associated with these images for those who start on them. Beyond that though, the digital art that Wizards manufactures is extremely unvaried, even monotonous. While I respect the artists' skill, the majority of the art is very safe and expressionless, and therefore uninspiring. It leaves little impression except for, as you correctly pointed out, those who are seeing for the first time.