Dungeons & Dragons to Release Essentials Kit With New 1-on-1 Rules

Dungeons & Dragons will be releasing a new boxed set designed specifically for new players. The D&D Essentials Kit is a new boxed set that contains a new adventure, "Dragon of Icespire Peak," along with a new rulebook that teaches players how to create their own character. In addition to containing a variety of materials designed to on-board players into Dungeons & Dragons, the adventure also contains a new set of 1-on-1 variant rules designed by Chris Perkins. The new rules will let a group of two players sit down and play D&D with one taking on the role of a Dungeon Master and the other taking control of an adventurer utilizing a set of "Sidekicks" rules.

The new Essentials Kit is designed to help with the influx of new players to the game, many of which are curious about the game having seen it played in shows like Stranger Things or through one of the many popular livestreamed shows on the Internet. Unlike the Starter Set box, the Essentials Kit is designed around new character creation instead of running an adventure using pre-generated characters. It's also designed to remove some of the obstacles for new players, such as finding and/or organizing a group of five or more players to sit down and play Dungeons & Dragons. The new box will appear at retailers like Target in addition to traditional game stores and online retailers like Amazon.

The D&D Essentials Kit will go on sale for $24.99 on June 24th at North American Target stores and will be released everywhere else September 3rd.