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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Jul 2007 : 05:33:07
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Ok, so I am a mini junky. When I run I want the right mini for everything, including the terrain. I love the looks on my players' faces when they sit down to a table full of great looking stuff. I'm always looking for new ideas, and the cheaper the better after spending $500 bucks on a dwarven forge set, I like to get as much as I can for as little as possible. The maximize your minis article about 3D terrain was great http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mi/20070524b and I have since been scouring Wal-Mart and local pet stores for aquarium pieces.
I have found some excellent trees, ruined columns, bridges, and caves for my upcoming campaign set in Chult. I also found some pieces of black foam at Hobby Lobby about the thickness of the D&D miniature bases that I can cut to match for size for miniatures I find from other sources, like the dinosaurs I have collected for use as the denizens of Chult. The other brainchild from this article was the use of felt, again at the hobby store I found some thin, firm felt pieces that are 12x18. I've got various shades of blue, green, and brown that can be pieced together to form water, roads, etc. A few hours with a sharpie and a ruler and I even got the gridlines on them, and I have found that they if I use the felt pieces as the base for the Dungeon Tiles it helps keep them from sliding around as much. Anyway, I just wanted to share these few ideas with my fellow DMs since it adds quite a bit to our games.
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War to slay, not to fight long and glorious.
Aermhar of the Tangletrees
Year of the Hooded Falcon
Xysma's Gallery
Guide to the Tomes and Tales of the Realms download from Candlekeep
Anthologies and Tales Overviews
Check out my custom action figures, hand-painted miniatures, gaming products, and other stuff on eBay.
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Dhomal
Senior Scribe
USA
565 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jul 2007 : 06:28:48
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Hello-
Thanks for the tips! :)
I myslef am not fortunate enough to be abel to spend that money on the Dwarven Forge stuff - the minis and the tiles will have to do! :)
I do like the felt idea tough - and will likely try that!
Dhomal |
I am collecting the D&D Minis. I would be more than willing to trade with people. You can send me a PM here with your email listed - and I can send you my minis list. Thanks!
Successfully traded with Xysma! |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jul 2007 : 06:59:00
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| Found a great gaming accessory HERE!!! |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jul 2007 : 15:34:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Dhomal
Hello-
Thanks for the tips! :)
I myslef am not fortunate enough to be abel to spend that money on the Dwarven Forge stuff - the minis and the tiles will have to do! :)
I do like the felt idea tough - and will likely try that!
Dhomal
Of all the felt pieces I got, the blue turned out to be my favorite. I made gridlines on them using a silver sharpie, and I got four pieces of the 12x18, so I ended up with a 24x48 solid blue map, it looks awesome for seagoing adventures. I can't wait to put the guys out to sea again. |
War to slay, not to fight long and glorious.
Aermhar of the Tangletrees
Year of the Hooded Falcon
Xysma's Gallery
Guide to the Tomes and Tales of the Realms download from Candlekeep
Anthologies and Tales Overviews
Check out my custom action figures, hand-painted miniatures, gaming products, and other stuff on eBay.
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jul 2007 : 15:37:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Dhomal
Hello-
Thanks for the tips! :)
I myslef am not fortunate enough to be abel to spend that money on the Dwarven Forge stuff - the minis and the tiles will have to do! :)
I do like the felt idea tough - and will likely try that!
Dhomal
I just noticed that I forgot to mention that most of the aquarium pieces I've gotten have been really inexpensive. I think every piece I bought so far has been between $3-4. I'm going to try to set up a scene sometime soon and take a picture of it, I'll post a link here so you can see how it looks. |
War to slay, not to fight long and glorious.
Aermhar of the Tangletrees
Year of the Hooded Falcon
Xysma's Gallery
Guide to the Tomes and Tales of the Realms download from Candlekeep
Anthologies and Tales Overviews
Check out my custom action figures, hand-painted miniatures, gaming products, and other stuff on eBay.
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2007 : 19:13:50
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I had a look, but I didn't see anything for those of us who still use hex grids, which provide left and right front and rear flanks, and not just the two options of "flanked or not flanked" which Wizards has foisted upon us.
When "4th edition" comes out (what shall we call it? "Edition 3.$$$" ?), I hope that Wizards returns to the hex grid system. Although locating a particular spot using the X and Y axes of a square grid is easy, it is the only advantage which I see to using a square grid in preference to a hex grid. There are good reasons that wargamers have been using hex grids for a century or more, and the current owners of D&D need to remember that its roots are in war games, not in video games. But I digress....
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Walls
Acolyte
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30 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 04:27:47
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Um... D&D is based on pen and paper and imagination and not minis at all. Pretty sure about that.
Current owners need to get rid of minis altogether. They're the root of all that is evil in the game! |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 05:18:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Walls
Um... D&D is based on pen and paper and imagination and not minis at all. Pretty sure about that.
Current owners need to get rid of minis altogether. They're the root of all that is evil in the game!
D&D actually evolved from miniatures wargames. Jeff Perren and Gary Gygax added the fantasy element to miniatures wargames with Chainmail, from which many of the rules for D&D were derived. |
War to slay, not to fight long and glorious.
Aermhar of the Tangletrees
Year of the Hooded Falcon
Xysma's Gallery
Guide to the Tomes and Tales of the Realms download from Candlekeep
Anthologies and Tales Overviews
Check out my custom action figures, hand-painted miniatures, gaming products, and other stuff on eBay.
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Walls
Acolyte
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30 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 08:11:29
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Wow, never knew that.
Either way, get rid of them! |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 17:04:10
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What are you talking about man? minis are great. 3E combat is leaps and bounds above anything we had in the 2nd edition. A character's movement type and speed actually matter now (none of that, "you see three ogres in front of you, what do you do?" Player1: "I hit the first one!" DM: "Left or right" Player2: "I hit the other one! a fresh one!" Player3: "I hit the one already damaged!")
Yeah, 2nd edition was greaaaaaaaaaaaat!  |
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Walls
Acolyte
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30 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 19:08:17
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| Are you kidding? I think mini's are the downfall of the game. They have taken roleplaying out and made the max/min players flourish. When 1ed came out it wasn't about minis. They game was based on table top playing. Some with basic D&D. 2ed was based on table top pen and paper. The return on emphasis of minis in 3ed has changed the game, in my opinion, for the worse. With minis everyone is all worried about realism in combat... in a game with dragons and magic. Ugh |
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Darkmeer
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 19:22:28
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I have to disagree that Minis are the downfall of the game (Started with DDM Harbringer, trying to collect as much of the D&D Chainmail from 01-02 as I can).
I, personally, enjoy games with HEAVY RP focus, but when combat is necessary, I much prefer to say I hit the nameless orc on x square rather than I hit nameless orc #1. This actually is easier for ME behind the screen as a DM.
So, as an aid I like them. As the ONLY focus for Min/Max-ers out there I despise them. They do speed up combat, and they make somewhat cool looking pieces on my computer desk (when my 16 month old isn't attacking it).
As to the article from WotC, the picture with the "building blocks" would be my most likely choice if one of my gaming buddies didn't have the Dwarven Forge stuff. Me, I'm just a plasticrack junkie.
/d |
"These people are my family, not just friends, and if you want to get to them you gotta go through ME." |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 19:51:55
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I have to agree with Darkmeer. I have DMed in every edition of the game, and I know in 1st and 2nd edition there were many times when it was hard to keep track of which bad guy got hit, or where the archer was and what range he was at.
Having the squares all marked off and knowing how you can move and the like also encourages actual tactical thinking. I can remember in the "old days" wishing that combat felt more like it did in the novels, where people would duck behind cover or jump off of stairs onto a foe, or something like that. Its a lot easier for people to do this sort of thing if the game is oriented around tactical movement and precise locations.
So in a way, this ends up making the game feel a little more cinematic, and giving you more stories because of how the players ended up flanking this person, or taking cover from the spells or the dragon's breath there.
And I will say I have liked the Dungeon Tiles from WOTC so far as well (haven't had a chance to use them, since Darkmeer and I have that friend with the Dwarven Forge peices).
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 21:56:03
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Walls, I understand your frustrations. However, I think it comes down to "who you game with." Back in BC, I encountered many min/maxers, but those were usually younger guys who had no interest in RPing... case in point, 80% of table time was spend arguing over the rules.
I was lucky enough to find an older (all older except one young science student who played a quiet, timid wizard/incantatar/loremaster, and I will say that this gentleman was more mature that the average gamer of his age). Then I moved here in Ontario, and immediately set upon finding new gamers. At first I tried the local RPGA scene, but I found the same types I encountered back in BC: young and not so young unimaginative min/maxers. Then I tried advertising for new gamers on the WotC boards. Lo and behold! a bunch of guys ranging from 30 to 50 signed up, with (again) one young guy who is a killer RPer, complete with spanish accents when he played his Tethyrian swashbuckler... 
One thing I found is that the tool (i.e. the edition) does not a good campaign make. The DM must avoid these no-pause whirlwind campaigns of combats, shopping sprees, and more combat. When roleplay/investigative work is required, string two or three games in a row of that stuff. When they find the actual dungeon, don't "press" them in finishing it faster. Only unblock the logjams: don't overdo it with the winks and nudges. If it takes then ten sessions to finish a level, so be it. They'll do it their way, and perhaps (gasp!) eventually one of player will emerge as a leader figure to actually "keep the others moving" at a good pace, and do the nudging for you! :)
With all that being said, D&D minis, spell templates, battlemats, etc. have done wonders for my game. I try to strike a balance betweeen roleplay and combat. Otherwise you end up satisfying one side of the table and not the other. I also love the time it saves me (back in 2nd edition I did not use minis due to the fact that I had no time whatsoever to paint them; it's not a problem anymore).
So bottom-line: pick your gaming group carefully. Don't waste time with a gang you don't like to play with. You have to be ruthless that way, otherwise you'll spend a few years with defeatists that will eventually kill the game for you. |
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Walls
Acolyte
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30 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2007 : 22:02:41
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I wish I could find players like that around here. The one guy I played with who would actually ROLE play with me (or me playing and him DMing) was the best rpg time of my life. Now he lives in Vancouver and kinda seems to have fallen into the min/max trap (you from Van?).
Now... to find good rpers in south east alberta.
I play almost exactly how you say minus minis. But I can see your point. Now... find me players. ;) |
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Kiaransalyn
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
762 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2007 : 12:38:46
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Hear, hear Walls!
I agree with your points about mini's. My own experience with mini's are that they are fun to some extent but they are not a substitute for real roleplay. As a child my twin and I used to enjoy playing with toy soldiers but the best adventures that we enjoyed came from using our imaginations.
A few years ago when Wizards launched their recent line of mini's I must admit I bought them and built up a collection. However, the randomized packs was a clear money-grab. (And I know someone will bleat about how the mini business model is based on the trading card model but that is hardly sufficient justification.) I guess they're fun if you and your friends are collecting them and you can start swapping. However, for those of us who aren't so lucky the costs of eBay and the price of postage had to added to their price.
I'm sure mini's do add a good dimension to many a game but when all is said and done they are still just an add-on. Although, Dungeons and Dragons did evolve from miniature war-games it grew into something quite unique and became something of a cultural phenomenon. Maybe PC games like World of Warcraft are "pixelated" miniatures and maybe with the continuing development of PC's and multimedia good roleplay will also move onto the web. (Assuming it's not there already.)
As a DM, I've ran many a fun game with just a pencil, some paper and two six-sided dice.
*climbs back down from the soapbox* |
Death is Life
Love is Hate
Revenge is Forgiveness
Ken: You from the States?
Jimmy: Yeah. But don't hold it against me.
Ken: I'll try not to... Just try not to say anything too loud or crass. |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2007 : 15:56:28
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| I had hoped this would be a thread where those of us who use minis could share ideas, not an argument thread over whether or not to use them. Anyway, roleplaying and using miniatures are not mutually exclusive. Minis are used for battle, which in our games is roughly 50%, could be more or less depending on the group. For my group about half roleplaying and half combat seems to be the "magic mixture" that has kept everyone happy and looking forward to gaming every Wednesday for the past seven years. |
War to slay, not to fight long and glorious.
Aermhar of the Tangletrees
Year of the Hooded Falcon
Xysma's Gallery
Guide to the Tomes and Tales of the Realms download from Candlekeep
Anthologies and Tales Overviews
Check out my custom action figures, hand-painted miniatures, gaming products, and other stuff on eBay.
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Dhomal
Senior Scribe
USA
565 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2007 : 21:28:29
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Hello-
Indeed. I like using the minis, and have not run into the min/maxing problem 'because' of them There are players who will do that with the current rules with or without the minis.
I like the greater control of where combat is going - and the elimination of "oh, I said I was moving around Last turn..." etc. What you See is what you Get.
That said - I wish I could get the minis more cheaply. :) I have started trying to set a limit to the boosters bought - and then try trading and buying individual rares (or uncommons, occasionally) online. I have a side-issue - that is more My issue than anything else - I am a compulsive collector. So - I try and get them All... so far - no set I have is at 100% - and the first one - never will be - I have only 10 commons from that set - which IIRC I bought online... One day - I will get at least One set to 100% - but not sure which one it will be first! :)
If I get any great ideas on using the minis - I will let you all know...
Oh, and Xysma - were you not the one who created the minis checklist in excell found here? Will you be updating for Night Below? I have expanded the list myself - and added some little things for myself - but the Data from Night Below is blank - as I was waiting to see if it was to be updated. :)
Dhomal |
I am collecting the D&D Minis. I would be more than willing to trade with people. You can send me a PM here with your email listed - and I can send you my minis list. Thanks!
Successfully traded with Xysma! |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2007 : 23:03:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Dhomal
Hello-
Indeed. I like using the minis, and have not run into the min/maxing problem 'because' of them There are players who will do that with the current rules with or without the minis.
I like the greater control of where combat is going - and the elimination of "oh, I said I was moving around Last turn..." etc. What you See is what you Get.
That said - I wish I could get the minis more cheaply. :) I have started trying to set a limit to the boosters bought - and then try trading and buying individual rares (or uncommons, occasionally) online. I have a side-issue - that is more My issue than anything else - I am a compulsive collector. So - I try and get them All... so far - no set I have is at 100% - and the first one - never will be - I have only 10 commons from that set - which IIRC I bought online... One day - I will get at least One set to 100% - but not sure which one it will be first! :)
If I get any great ideas on using the minis - I will let you all know...
Oh, and Xysma - were you not the one who created the minis checklist in excell found here? Will you be updating for Night Below? I have expanded the list myself - and added some little things for myself - but the Data from Night Below is blank - as I was waiting to see if it was to be updated. :)
Dhomal
Yes, that is my little project. It just so happens that the list has been updated with Night Below info and sent to Alaundo. Look for it on the next site update, which should be any day now.
By the way, I am also a little OCD when it comes to collecting I've got 757 of the 815 minis released so far. I have only two complete sets; War Drums and War of the Dragon Queen. The other sets I am missing between 1-5 minis in each set. |
War to slay, not to fight long and glorious.
Aermhar of the Tangletrees
Year of the Hooded Falcon
Xysma's Gallery
Guide to the Tomes and Tales of the Realms download from Candlekeep
Anthologies and Tales Overviews
Check out my custom action figures, hand-painted miniatures, gaming products, and other stuff on eBay.
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2007 : 23:26:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Xysma
Yes, that is my little project. It just so happens that the list has been updated with Night Below info and sent to Alaundo. Look for it on the next site update, which should be any day now.
Well met
Aye, once again Xysma's hard work bears fruit  Indeed, a site update will feature this download, which I hope to have available in a day or two. |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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Dhomal
Senior Scribe
USA
565 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2007 : 03:25:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Xysma
I am also a little OCD when it comes to collecting I've got 757 of the 815 minis released so far. I have only two complete sets; War Drums and War of the Dragon Queen. The other sets I am missing between 1-5 minis in each set.
Well - only having 10/80 for harbinger hurts. I'm at 78% if you dont count Harbinger. My closest set is WotDQ - missing 2. :) And the funny part is - one - the clawfoot - I Did get - but gave to a friend running one! and the other - the Sorcerer on Black Dragon, I actually have 2 of the Dragon magazine repaints! Oh - and a funny side-note - in Blood War - my Githyanki Dragon Knight is missing the githyanki - except for his legs... :)
Dhomal |
I am collecting the D&D Minis. I would be more than willing to trade with people. You can send me a PM here with your email listed - and I can send you my minis list. Thanks!
Successfully traded with Xysma! |
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Xysma
Master of Realmslore
USA
1089 Posts |
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Maximize Your Minis
