Laeral Silverhand’s Explorer’s Kit
The latest dice and miscellany for Dungeons & Dragons contains some of the essential tools required to begin your next Sword Coast Adventure. Laeral Silverhand’s Explorer’s Kit
What’s included?
- 11 dice
- 22 illustrated lore cards
- Durable felt lined dice tray
- Map of the Sword Coast
The Dice
Laeral Silverhand’s Explorer’s Kit includes 11 cool azure blue dice with silver numerals etched on. Some of the dice came with slight air bubbles and a little scratching on the silver paint, but nothing substantial. They still look great and are suitable additions to my ever-growing collection.
You get the usual range of dice with this set; one d4, four d6s, one d8, two d10s (one with single units and one with multiples of ten so you can continue the age old argument of what 0 and 00 equals), one d12 (although no one knows what this is for), and two extra large d20s.
The extra large d20s are the jewel in the crown of this set. The two die are twice as large as the rest of the dice and they have the D&D ampersand instead of numerals to indicate the 20. I used these d20s in my last D&D session and it was very satisfying to almost kill my players’ characters with an ampersand critical hit.
The Cards
The 22 illustrated cards you get inside the box make up the core of the “miscellany” here, and are super useful if you’re running a Sword Coast-based campaign like Dragon Heist
You get to find out about the key players and locations from across the Forgotten Realms. This list includes: Neverwinter, Baldur’s Gate and Port Nyanzaru, the Xanathar, Drizzt Do’urden, and Halaster Blackcloak.
The Box
The box that it all comes in is also designed to work as a dice tray. It’s felt lined to make rolling on it all the more pleasurable, and is sturdy enough to be used regularly to transport the set.
It really goes to show the thought and experience that goes into designing these products. Only a true TTRPG fan understands the satisfaction of rolling your dice onto felt. It is up there with accidentally spilling a full tin of paint on the floor in a hardware store, and walking on a rug barefoot while making fists with your toes.
The Map
I’m not a cartographer, but boy do I love a good map. I get excited when a campaign book I’m running has a pull-out map included, and the walls of my office are now full of framed maps of fantasy lands. So while the map included in Learal Silverhand’s Explorer’s Kit is good, it’s nothing new. And by that I mean I already have it, and anyone with a similarly stocked collection of D&D 5th edition publications will have it also.
It’s an 11 x 16 inch map illustrated by Jason A. Engle and Mike Schley. On one side is a map of the Sword Coast. We’ve already seen this in Hoard of the Dragon Queen
The Verdict
I really like Laeral Silverhand’s Explorer’s Kit. The dice are as good as any low cost dice you might use and perfectly acceptable for this purpose. The box is well made and, if nothing else, it’s useful as an overflow storage space for an ever-expanding dice collection. The map is small, but full of detail, and a good DM really can never have too many maps at their disposal. And the information cards are excellent—just the right amount of details and well illustrated too.
If you were looking to buy any Forgotten Realms Explorer’s Kits this season, I would certainly recommend Laeral Silverhand’s.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Laeral Silverhand’s Explorer’s Kit for review purposes.
WE ARE AMAZON ASSOCIATES
Many writers on GeekDad & GeekMom are Amazon Associates, and the links included in some of our pieces will generate a small affiliate bonus from qualifying purchases.
