No, you can't. Not from merely buying the physical set. You have to buy the adventure from DDB.
It is possible to buy bundles where you get both the physical and DDB copies, but you have to do it via the WotC website and buy them simultaneously.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
They used to do a complimentary copy of Dragon of Icespire Peak and a follow up trilogy on DDB with the Essentials Kit, but they stopped. Perhaps you are thinking of that? I'm unaware of any plans to make any significant changes to the bundle deals.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
What I've done is have my players start on Stormwreck Isle then return to Neverwinter from where I'm running Phandelver and Icespire together. To make that work, I've scaled up the encounters in the latter two to account for the fact that the PCs are already level 3 by the time they return to Neverwinter.
And to make it even more fun (and complicated), I'm weaving in Tyranny of Dragons, starting with a homemade adventure to Sharruth's tomb--encountering the Cult of the Dragon--beneath Stormwreck Isle before the party returns to Neverwinter.
The two starter sets and essentials kit all work well together, at least because they take place in the same general area (and two are centered in Phandelver). Tyranny of Dragons starts farther south, so layering that on top of the others is taking a little more work.
I'd recommend the new Starter Set (Stormwreck Isle) for new players. It's a bit more linear and thus easier to prep and run right out of the box. It also has improved guidance on things like modifying difficulty to be more or less forgiving, and built-in wipe/TPK protection for inexperienced or unlucky players that I won't elaborate on here. You can either purchase it here on DDB or physically at Target or your FLGS, and grab digital maps and handouts for it on sites like Reddit that are VTT-ready.
The Essentials adventure, Icespire Peak, is solid and a lot of fun, but it's also a lot more open/sandboxy in nature. Great if that's what you're looking for, but if you're not careful the players can opt for one of the adventures that you might not be prepared for. There's also random encounters throughout the campaign area, including
the dragon flying around
that a less experienced table may not know how to handle seamlessly without resorting to fiat.
The Essentials adventure, Icespire Peak, is solid and a lot of fun, but it's also a lot more open/sandboxy in nature. Great if that's what you're looking for, but if you're not careful the players can opt for one of the adventures that you might not be prepared for.
Pro Tip: Don't end the session until the Party picks the next quest. Even if they aren't quite done with the current quest, you can still have them pick what they want do next.
For new players and an experienced DM I'd actually suggestion the Essentials Kit as it'll allow you to just run the quests as little sessions and build up from there. The main thing I don't think I've seen anyone say is you get a big stack (well sheets..) of cards explaing what the magic items are and do which will definitely help a newer player! Add to that the sidekick rules and I reckon you'll be onto a winner that way.
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I bought the box starter set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. Does anyone know if I can download the content on Beyond?
No, you can't. Not from merely buying the physical set. You have to buy the adventure from DDB.
It is possible to buy bundles where you get both the physical and DDB copies, but you have to do it via the WotC website and buy them simultaneously.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
ok ... I know there was talk about something like this happening but I guess that is something down the road! tyvm
They used to do a complimentary copy of Dragon of Icespire Peak and a follow up trilogy on DDB with the Essentials Kit, but they stopped. Perhaps you are thinking of that? I'm unaware of any plans to make any significant changes to the bundle deals.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
What I've done is have my players start on Stormwreck Isle then return to Neverwinter from where I'm running Phandelver and Icespire together. To make that work, I've scaled up the encounters in the latter two to account for the fact that the PCs are already level 3 by the time they return to Neverwinter.
And to make it even more fun (and complicated), I'm weaving in Tyranny of Dragons, starting with a homemade adventure to Sharruth's tomb--encountering the Cult of the Dragon--beneath Stormwreck Isle before the party returns to Neverwinter.
The two starter sets and essentials kit all work well together, at least because they take place in the same general area (and two are centered in Phandelver). Tyranny of Dragons starts farther south, so layering that on top of the others is taking a little more work.
starter :)
I'd recommend the new Starter Set (Stormwreck Isle) for new players. It's a bit more linear and thus easier to prep and run right out of the box. It also has improved guidance on things like modifying difficulty to be more or less forgiving, and built-in wipe/TPK protection for inexperienced or unlucky players that I won't elaborate on here. You can either purchase it here on DDB or physically at Target or your FLGS, and grab digital maps and handouts for it on sites like Reddit that are VTT-ready.
The Essentials adventure, Icespire Peak, is solid and a lot of fun, but it's also a lot more open/sandboxy in nature. Great if that's what you're looking for, but if you're not careful the players can opt for one of the adventures that you might not be prepared for. There's also random encounters throughout the campaign area, including
the dragon flying around
that a less experienced table may not know how to handle seamlessly without resorting to fiat.
Pro Tip: Don't end the session until the Party picks the next quest. Even if they aren't quite done with the current quest, you can still have them pick what they want do next.
For new players and an experienced DM I'd actually suggestion the Essentials Kit as it'll allow you to just run the quests as little sessions and build up from there. The main thing I don't think I've seen anyone say is you get a big stack (well sheets..) of cards explaing what the magic items are and do which will definitely help a newer player! Add to that the sidekick rules and I reckon you'll be onto a winner that way.