Warriors & Weapons (Dungeons & Dragons): A Young Adventurer's Guide Hardcover – July 16, 2019

About a month ago my daughters asked if I would run a D&D game for them at their birthday sleepover party. As a long time gamer, I agreed instantly. Because I wanted the experience to have as much play time as possible, I got the kids together for a "character creation session." The first question I asked was "what kind of character do you want to be?" The kids responded with, "What CAN we be?" It was a good question and I quickly began to rattle off the character classes. As I mentioned Wizard some of the kids looked very excited, they all knew what a wizard was. When I said Fighter, the kids started to look a little befuddled but I said that was like a knight. By the time I reached Ranger and Paladin, the kids were baffled.Cries arose of "What are those?" Okay, the cries arising is an exaggeration, but not the question. No one knew what those were, so I said "Legolas is a Ranger and Finn from Adventure Time is a Paladin." The kids nodded at the Finn reference, but quickly asked "Who's Legolas?" I know you think I'm kidding. I am not. These were 10 and 11 year old kids, and none of them knew who Legolas was. It was at this moment that I realized that with the scattered nature of popular culture, not every kid was going have the same pop culture referents to pull from. Kids have a lot more entertainment options than when I was young, and only some of them are related to D&D.I spent the next hour or so describing the differences between the character classes and giving examples of them and answering questions. It was a wonderful experience and the kids and I both learned in the process. It also demonstrated that if D&D wanted to engage a young audience in the same way that it is engaging teens and adults, it would need a bridging product that introduced young people to "D&D Fantasy."D&D Fantasy is a very particular kind of fantasy that combines Tolkien, Lewis, Howard, Lovecraft, Hammer, and so much more. It's also an old enough "genre" that it has become separate from those original sources. D&D Fantasy has become its own genre of fantasy. This is what makes books like the Young Adventurer's Guide series both necessary and possible. Necessary because there are gaps in kids knowledge about the tropes and archetypes contained within D&D fantasy. Possible because those tropes and archetypes have come to define the game experience.What Jim Zub and his co-authors have done with the Young Adventurer's Guide books is really impressive. They have found a way to fill in the information about archetypes and tropes that kids will need to fully immerse themselves in the D&D game. They have done so in a way that is entertaining and easy to read, and that gets readers to think about what kind of characters they want to play. It's impressive and it's done without exposure to the rules.That's right. These are NOT RULEBOOKS. In an era where you can download the Basic Rules for free from Hasbro and buy Starter Sets at the store, they didn't need another rulebook. Not even one aimed at kids. What they needed was a series of books that gave young players IDEAS that will work in play. And that is what these books are.

I received the first two books in this series (Warriors & Weapons and Monsters & Creatures). These small, hardback primers are beautifully illustrated. The language is appropriate for young readers.There are no game mechanics in this book!The Warriors & Weapons book explores several aspects of D&D characters. The first section discusses 12 Fantasy Races, some familiar (human, elves, dwarfs) and others that are less well known (tabaxi, kenku).Next up is a section about 6 of the more martially-oriented D&D character classes. There are descriptions of each class' iconic abilities, such as the barbarian's rage and the paladin's divine abilities.I assume the magical classes will make an appearance in the Wizards & Spells book. It seems odd to shift them to another book, away from the fantasy races, but a huge part of D&D rulebooks have always been about magic, so it probably makes sense to do it this way.The next section talks about character backgrounds. What did they do before they set off to seek adventure? From Acolytes to Urchins and Folk Heroes to Nobles, this section briefly touches on the core backgrounds in the 5th Edition rules. There are a few pages dedicated to adding details to a character and deciding how they present themselves (clothing, etc.).Then there is a section that covers all kinds of equipment, from armor to weapons to common adveturing gear. Illustrations show the contents of some equipment packs, the relative size of different items, and so on.The book closes with some questions to prompt the budding player who might need some guideance on putting it all together. Dungeon masters might also find section useful for crafting their game' non-player characters (NPCs).Though there are no game mechanics or rules, this series would compliment the D&D Starter Box (or similar introductory set, such as the D&D Basic Rules PDF) very well.

I can't emphasize enough, this are PERFECT for young readers between 6 to 11 years, a young reader for this books is not a 15 years old new player. For teenagers (12+) wizard of the cost sell a starting kit with good reading and instructios on how this game is played. If you are a teenager you will find this book childish and innacurate, if you are an adult, start giving a try and read the masterfully design 5 Edition books.Back to the review, for younglings, this books are the door to a world of fantasy, adventure and a beautiful imagination. My 7 years old son, read and review the 5e Players handbook but the verbiage and syntax of sentencea are a little too complex for someone of his age. This books explain what different races do, what each classes performed and how to behave accordingly. In conjunction with the basic books, this "small hardcover wonders" keep it down a notch for their minds to understand and now he comprehends what he was reading before in the AD&D players handbook. Now, I have to DM for him at least 2 hours every weekend for his enjoyment and adventure thirst. A beautiful way to strengthen a father-son relation.Wizard of the Coast find a way to captivate a new generation of players and make them fall in love with creativity, imagination and fantasy gaming. I can wait for the next 2 to come out, that way he will understand better the 5e Dungeon master guide and the advance mechanics of "The World Greatest Role-Playing Game"This is a sincerest review of a Geeky father!!!