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View Full Version : Where can I actually but D&D?



TheShadowSon
2013-06-01, 10:55 AM
I'm really interested, but all I seefor sale on the Wizards site are collector's sets, Dungeon command and those (no offence) stupid card-cutout D&D games. I have this set and it's literally called the "basic beginners D&D set", I bought it off Amazon about 4 years ago and it contains a blue dragon, 4 heroes, a minotaur/demon, a harpy, a black winged demon, two tiny awesome little goblin minis and a skeleton, I believe that is all. It also contains boards to play on that are very detailed, the minis are very detailed and painted, they look fantastic! I can't seem to find this set ANYWHERE, or any others like it! I have been watching the PAX D&D games with Chris Perkins, Wil Wheaton, Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik and Scott Kurtz, the minis they use look exactly like the ones I have, painted, 3d and cool as hell! Where can I buy these kind of minis and sets? I really don't want collectors edition (no boards etc and I'm not a collector), Dungeon Command (no dice) or cardboard cutouts (I'm awfully OCD when it comes to miniatures and games like D&D).

Thanks for any help :smallsmile:

MukkTB
2013-06-01, 11:03 AM
Ok, wait. Do you want a rules set or miniatures? You don't actually need miniatures to play D&D, they just help, in some editions more so than others. If you need a ruleset beyond the basic set then you're also going to have to decide what edition you want. 3.5 and 4E are the major contenders. 4E is more balanced, 3.5 is a bit better for simulationism and world building.

TheShadowSon
2013-06-01, 11:07 AM
Ok, wait. Do you want a rules set or miniatures? You don't actually need miniatures to play D&D, they just help, in some editions more so than others. If you need a ruleset beyond the basic set then you're also going to have to decide what edition you want. 3.5 and 4E are the major contenders. 4E is more balanced, 3.5 is a bit better for simulationism and world building.

Either to be honest and I know I often Roleplay over skype with friends but we are looking into miniatures. I'd also be looking mostly into 3.5E but I don't mind which edition.

MukkTB
2013-06-01, 11:31 AM
You can legally get the core rules online for free. If you want a physical copy, this is what you need for 3.5.
http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Dungeons-Dragons-Players-Handbook/dp/0786962461/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1370103457&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=d%26d+3.5+players+handbook
Scroll down to the part where it says "frequently bought together." You want the players handbook, dungeon masters guide, and monster manual. Thats the 100.93$ deal.

Alternatively you can do pathfinder. Its an offshoot from 3.5 when wizards abandoned that edition to move on to 4E. It has some problems and some good parts, to the point where I wouldn't claim it was a direct improvement on 3.5.
http://paizo.com/products/btpy88yj?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Core-Rulebook
It is 50$ cheaper. You don't get the monster manual, but its easy to look monsters up on the paizo prd. In fact you son't need to buy anything if you want to play pathfinder. All the stuff is available free here:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/
The only reason I would suggest buying a book despite having everything free, is because the book puts everything in context. The PRD includes the rules, but none of the fluff that would be found surrounding them and giving them context in the book.

So that should set you up. Now I don't know anything about miniatures, so I suggest you change the title of the thread to:
"Whats the best place to get D&D miniatures?"
That will draw the right kind of attention. To be honest I would be interested in knowing what people thing. I need to pick some up somewhere.

Gamgee
2013-06-01, 12:04 PM
I recommend Pathfinder.

Marlowe
2013-06-01, 12:36 PM
You don't need specific dnd Miniatures. Just look for wargames figure manufacturers that do fantasy figures in a scale you feel is appropriate. 72-scale (aka, a 25 mm or one inch for a mini that's supposed to represent a 6-foot figure) is the tradition. However, Wargamers since the 70's have been edging more towards a 15mm standard scale, which is a lot easier to fit on a small grid.

There's also this silly company called Games Workship (GW) in England that insists on doing everything in their own 28mm "Epic" scale, basically so that everyone who plays their game also has to use their models, rather than buying from cheaper firms. It must have worked because other manufacturers have followed their lead. Interestingly, they reverted back to standard 25mm for their "Lord of the Rings" range.

We tend to use GW minatures back where I call home, because they're the only thing available locally without worrying about things like "exchange rates", "bank drafts and associated fees", "Postage and Packaging", and "customs". But this has led to strange thing like GW Dark Elves being accepted as the default "Human" minis because the GW humans are so ugly.

I'm years out of date about this sort of thing, but please google firms like Reaper, Harlequin, Ral Partha. I'm sure others will be able to make more modern suggestions.

Note that although it should be plain that I don't have a high regard for GW, their kitset plastic boxsets ("Regiment" boxes) are really fun. You could kitbash an adventuring group plus a lot (a LOT) of mooks out of them without much trouble and with a lot of enjoyment if you bought a few with variety.

Glimbur
2013-06-01, 02:05 PM
If you're on Skype, you might have better luck with one of the online role-playing aids. Try MapTools as an example; there are other programs but that's all I can think of at present.

It has a board, which lets you put tokens down, move them around, measure distances, draw areas of effect, and so on. Like a real board, but I find it easier to understand.

It has a die roller, so you can roll a d20 and show everyone. If you aren't afraid of writing some (very simple) code, it can roll your longsword attack at the push of a button, complete with damage.

It can store information in the tokens, so that the DM doesn't have to ask 'what's your AC?' Or, more importantly, 'what's your spot check?'

It can do other stuff too, but the basic functionality is pretty simple.

JusticeZero
2013-06-01, 02:38 PM
I'd go with Pathfinder here. Not because it is "better", but because it is more accessable. It's more or less the same game, but one, it's still in print and two, there is a LOTmore available online for free. (Ihave bought a thing or two from the web store, and specifically turned off my ad blocker for d20pfsrd.com so I don't feel boorish. Game designers need food too.)
AS for running online, that's what i've been doing with decent success. We're using a Ventrilo server a relative offered me room on for the talking, I have all the character sheets, initiative charts, and a spreadsheet i'm using as a battlemap on Google Docs, and we use a room at rolz.org for all our dice rolling. Chat etiquette takes getting used to but works well, and people seem to move quickly. So far just 4 players, but i'm hoping to dig up more people.