Everyone’s talking about the first few episodes of Stranger Things season 5, and if you’re also suffering psychic torment at having to wait weeks for the next batch, I’d like to draw your attention to the Hellfire Club D&D Starter Set.
Sure, it won’t reveal what’s going to happen next in the final season. But it does allow you to immerse yourself in the world of Stranger Things until then, with a bespoke, beginner-friendly campaign based on Eddie Munson’s own Dungeons & Dragons sessions for the Hellfire Club (currently $39.98 at Amazon instead of $50). Unlike the normal D&D Starter Set, it’s rooted firmly in the Stranger Things world, and everything about it is ‘in-universe.’ That means you’ll find hand-written notes from Eddie himself to our heroes, props like the Hellfire Club member’s photo, and character sheets created by the likes of Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. While it uses the new rules for one of the best tabletop RPGs, it also focuses on a more old-school aesthetic befitting the 1980s. That makes it incredibly nostalgic swords-n-sorcery fare in its own right.
I’ve been digging into this pack myself and, as someone who adores both Stranger Things and D&D, it’s making my nerd heart very happy. While it doesn’t necessarily continue or kick off the Vecna campaign we saw play out during season 4, it’s pitched by Eddie through in-universe notes as a good starting point for Dustin’s first try as a Dungeon Master once Eddie has graduated school (eesh, little did he know). These are all themed around Eddie’s homebrew world of Greyhawkins (a double reference, thanks to the Stranger Things town, but also the D&D setting of Greyhawk), but someone’s clearly let slip about the Upside Down because some very familiar monsters have been included in the line-up as adversaries. Maybe Dustin, Mike, or Lucas passed them off as their own creations? Either way, it’s a fun method of getting Upside Down shenanigans into play without it feeling forced.
Just like the ‘standard’ beginner box (which I think might be the best D&D Starter Set we’ve ever had), this has an abundance of user-friendly tools to help newcomers get going. Hand-drawn maps and tokens that look like Eddie made them using Sharpies are included to visualize combat; there are monster cards for easy reference, and you get item/spell cards to use rather than having to remember all those stats off the top of your head.
My favorite feature would have to be the adventure booklets, though. These have been weathered and made to look like official ’80s-era sourcebooks, so they absolutely look the part. This is true of the entire pack, actually; it really doesn’t feel like a cheap tie-in with a slap-dash Stranger Things overlay. A lot of thought and care has been put into it, and I’m totally in love with that original art style present throughout.
I’m a fan of how it takes you through how to run and play sessions step by step too; D&D can be intimidating to get into, but not here. Because it’s so accessible, there’s an argument to be made that it could be a good game to add to your collection this Holiday season…
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