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My son wants a dungeon master kit for Christmas. Is there a 5e version? I know nothing about D&D and want to buy the correct thing.

He has been playing the 4th edition with his friends (it's a red box) while another group of friends who have never played before want him to teach them. He asked for the Dungeon Master's Kit but when I saw the new edition and the good reviews I wondered if I should get him that for his new group.

If I bought him the 3 new 5th edition books would that be sufficient to play the new edition or would he need anything else?

Are there miniatures included or any miniatures being sold for 5th edition?

I don't mind spending the money so long as they would be able to play.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Eva, please join [Role-playing Games Chat] as you now have enough rep. We can talk with you in real-time about the issue and try to help you as best we can. \$\endgroup\$ – Joshua Aslan Smith Dec 1 '14 at 19:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ @EvaConnolly I've edited all of our conversation from comments into your question and my answer. There is actually a very small line of plastic mini's that shouldve come out, but is only available in game shops. It might be worth checking out, such shops would also sell pathfinder plastic miniatures which would be useable to play D&D 5e. \$\endgroup\$ – Joshua Aslan Smith Dec 1 '14 at 21:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ There have been several questions here about buying minis. For example, (rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/2017/…). \$\endgroup\$ – Greenstone Walker Dec 2 '14 at 0:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ I feel kind of bad for bringing this up, but I should warn you that your son might not necessarily want to switch to 5th edition if he's already used to 4th. Neither is inherently "better" than the other; They differ, but which edition is preferable is a matter of personal taste. (Of course, many people like both, so this may well not be a problem.) \$\endgroup\$ – GMJoe Dec 2 '14 at 1:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ I concur with GMJoe; I realize you may not want to ruin the surprise, but I would strongly recommend that you ask him. \$\endgroup\$ – Harry Johnston Dec 2 '14 at 2:01
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The product you are describing is the 4th Edition Dungeon Master's Kit

This was released midway through 4th edition's release and included a book as well as some maps and tokens. Unfortunately it is out of physical print. You can buy the book only as a digital PDF here.

There is no "Dungeon Master's Kit" for 5e that has been released or is scheduled to be released before Christmas 2014.

Keyword is "kit" which generally means a book, some dice, and some tokens/figures to aid in the visual representation of play.

The 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide will release shortly

The DMG will be out December 9th. It is simply a book, a big one, covering lots of rules and providing a ton of setting and optional rules for 5th edition.

4th edition and 5th edition are similar but different

Both tell stories about heroic adventurers but the framework they use to tell these stories and engage the players is different. There is a tonal shift in focus for the rules between editions. The 5e DMG is not compatible with the 4e books.

Buying all 3 books will ensure your son and his friends will be able to play the new edition.

If you do pick up the 5e Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide they will have everything they need to play 5th edition.

There are a few official miniatures out for 5th edition currently but they are not available online.

Wizkids partnered with WOTC to make plastic miniatures for 5e, but they seem to be only available in game shops. You may want to check out a local game/hobby shop as they have these or other fantasy miniatures that he could use.

However any miniatures your son already has are perfectly usable with 5th edition.

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A similar product to the 4e Dungeon Master's Kit is the Fifth Edition D&D Starter Set, which contains an introductory adventure, rules, and supplies for playing the game. It's cheaper than a rulebook and might be a good purchase if you're not sure if he'll like the new edition.

The Starter Set will get your son started, but it does not contain enough to comfortably play the game once he exhausts the provided content (which will take quite a few multi-hour sessions).

The next step would be the three core books, which do provide everything necessary to play (except dice).

The new edition does not require miniatures, although they're fun to use. If you have a local gaming store, they may be able to give you a bunch of assorted miniatures for relatively cheap.

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