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View Full Version : what set of minatures should i get



de-trick
2007-05-31, 10:31 PM
i have been playing normal dnd for a year and my group has decided to use minatures to show battles and a couple of my group members are going to a con tomorrow and i need to get minatures. Ihave $26 canadian and i need to get a box of minatures
any suggestions

warty goblin
2007-06-01, 12:03 AM
hmm, I don't know pewter miniautes at all so I can't help you there. If you want the pre-painted official D&D line from WoTC, I'd suggest buying singles off of ebay or similar, as then you can get exactly the figures that you want, albeit possibly for slightly more money.

If you'd rather just buy a box (and for Cad. $26 that's all you can get) I'd suggest the Wardrums starter set, which has maps as well as the most miniatures you can get in a box for your budget. It also has rules for the skirmish game, which I find to be a lot of fun. If you don't wanna spend money on all of that paper, then I'd say go for the Blood War expansion, which is one of the best ever, and the second most recent so it should be easy to find. For a slight expansion of your budget, you could swing two boxes, and almost likely double the unique miniatures as well.

Hope this helps.

NotCC
2007-06-01, 08:27 AM
With only 26 bucks you don't have many options. Most single figure pewter miniatures are $4-$10 US for almost all the sets I use. Some companies sell blisters with 5-10 mini's per for around $20. Box sets with more than 6-8 mini's are almost never found under $30.

Even the pre-painted plastic DnD miniatures are $7.95 a booster pack. I haven't bought any of these but I think Depending on the set you buy they come with 5-8 mini's per box, depending on size. (Someone may corect me on this.)

Most cons/game stores I've seen have tubs with random Opened mini's and if your looking for quantity over quality this would be the way to go as from what I've seen the random tub mini's usually cost less than a dollar each.

I personally love the mini's from Rackham: Confrontation. They are a little more than thr Ral Partha lines and Warlord but I have yet to be dissapointed by the set. So far all the Mini's I've bought are all super detailed and all fit together right on the first try with no modification.

Closet_Skeleton
2007-06-01, 08:43 AM
I personally love the mini's from Rackham: Confrontation.

Those ones are incredibly expensive so I only have two of them.

I usually use Reaper minatures or Citadel minatures but I've been collecting for almost half my life so I don't have any advice for spending Canadian $26.

Amphimir Míriel
2007-06-01, 08:52 AM
I find that nothing beats your imagination... My official policy is that players are welcome to bring any 28-30mm miniature to represent their character, but no one has taken that option as of now.

In part because, as you have discovered, getting into the collectible-card/mini/thingie-game is expensive, and also because those players who did look for minis at our local game store could not find any that even remotely resembled their characters...

For instance, I believe there are no Half-Orc females in the whole D&D miniatures game, no matter which class

So we continue playing with glass beads of different sizes and colors to represent the characters and whatever monsters they face (they haven't yet faced anything beyond size Large, but I am planning to make up one with play-doh if they ever do)

Advantages of the Glass Bead approach

1- Inexpensive: in crafts shops you can get them by the pound

2- Iconic: They force you to use your imagination and let you focus on the game, not in posturing the mini. Or do you need realistic miniatures for Professor Plum and Miss Scarlet when you play Clue?

3- Drop-them-on-the-mat: I find it really fun when I am running an encounter and I just drop a fistful of green beads in the corner as I say: "Then, as you turn on that cavern tunnel, you see a horde of goblins, howling as they see you and preparing their spears and bows"

Druid_lord
2007-06-01, 09:21 AM
You could use Ebay. I got about 50 unpainted lead 80s AD&D Forgotten Realms minnies for a ridicoulus good price,

Were-Sandwich
2007-06-01, 09:26 AM
Its a pity GW's models of goblins and such all look so damn stupid. Otherwise, they'd be a good way of getting lots of low-level swarm enemies. But they're

a)expensive

b)goofy looking.

Person_Man
2007-06-01, 09:34 AM
I suggest you save a little more money.

I bought a Heroscape box set for $40 a while back, and it has served me very well. It came with a bunch of different miniatures, plus plenty of stackable terrain.

You can also just troll ebay for a while until you find someone selling a lot of miniatures. Its not unusual to find someone selling a lot of mixed figures or an army of some kind for $40-80, cheaper if you don't mind unpainted figures. Though after years of gaming, I've found that using painted figures gives the game a much better feel, and I'm too lazy to spend the time needed to paint them myself, so I would suggest waiting until you have enough money to buy a painted lot. You should note that figures for popular games (Warhammer, AnythingClix) tend to be more expensive then random historical figures.

Also note that you want to try and only buy 25mm figures, as that's what most maps and terrains are scaled to.

MaximumTaco
2007-06-01, 09:39 AM
Honestly I think the Wizards D&D minis are great. I've bought about six boxes over the past couple years, and despite the fact that there's a random selection they've turned out great. There are enough "close to's" for PCs, and for monsters even if they don't match at least you can get vaguely close, and many non-Medium based models are included too. You can't beat the detail and colour of the Wizards stuff without a ton of work on pewter, and they really do look great, especially the new ones.

Hope you check 'em out - by the way, your local gaming store will often have singles of the Wizards minis left over from the people who actually play the game. If you're able to find a "common" mini that looks like what you're looking for, you can have a good representation of your character for a buck or two, tops.

Good luck!

TranquilRage
2007-06-01, 10:10 AM
A very slightly OT question but...

Does anyone know of any good software that allows this?

I used to love D&D, but I have been unable to play since moving to the middle of nowhere. I have been putting a package of software together* and all I lack is a flexible method of displaying 2D graphics on uploadable maps, with either a hex or grid.


* Character sheet templates allowing multiple logins (for G/DMs and players,) dice rolling pages etc all database and web driven. IRC can be used for communication with a bot that can interact with the PHP stuff.

warty goblin
2007-06-01, 11:19 AM
>>snip<<

For instance, I believe there are no Half-Orc females in the whole D&D miniatures game, no matter which class

>>snip<<


Sorry to nitpick, but there is in fact one female half orc in the DDM line- the Cleric of Kord from Archfiends. In fact all of the core races are represented by at least one figure of each gender now I believe.

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-06-01, 11:35 AM
I primarily use the D&D Miniatures line, but this is also because I happen to play that game as well with some of the people in my group, so we have hundreds of the randomized miniatures to choose from at any one given time. We've also bought singles of particular figures from hobby shops for primarily roleplaying purposes, and have a very limited selection of pewter figures. If you want ease and quantity, D&D Minis will certainly overpower stuff like Reaper which both costs significantly more per (non-rare) figure AND requires painting. However, locating appropriate miniatures from D&D Minis will require either a hobby shop that sells them individually or e-Bay. As for pewter figures like Reaper, they're much more customizable, durable, and given a good enough talent for art, will look better then D&D Minis.

But since you're extremely low on funds, go with D&D Minis. You can afford a bunch of the common/uncommon pieces for a fraction of what it would cost to just get pewter miniatures for the party only. If/when you get more money, consider investing in pewter for your party members and important NPC's.

I hear Warhammer works well for miniatures, but that's expensive to the point of being insane unless you already have them.

Bassetking
2007-06-01, 01:01 PM
A very slightly OT question but...

Does anyone know of any good software that allows this?

I used to love D&D, but I have been unable to play since moving to the middle of nowhere. I have been putting a package of software together* and all I lack is a flexible method of displaying 2D graphics on uploadable maps, with either a hex or grid.


* Character sheet templates allowing multiple logins (for G/DMs and players,) dice rolling pages etc all database and web driven. IRC can be used for communication with a bot that can interact with the PHP stuff.

http://gametable.galactanet.com/

Java-applet Whiteboard Grid-client. Fantastic for online play.

Driderman
2007-06-01, 01:17 PM
I'd have to suggest the D&D minis as well, but I'm biased since I'm a huge fan of the game.
A wardrums starter set would be a good start for the maps and such. Otherwise I suggest Blood War or War Of The Dragon Queen. Of course, it depends on what you need, thematically.

Honestly though, anything goes. The miniatures are just there for representing characters, it doesn't really matter what they look like.
I remember one Star Wars D2o game we played where we used Epic miniatures. My soldier was represented by a chaos marine and our scoundrel captain was an eldar of some sort. The enemies were always represented by orcs or goblins and major villains were usually represented by the horrid pink space marine figure :D

MaxMahem
2007-06-01, 03:25 PM
I use a funky combination of D&D Mini's, Heroclicks, and Battletech clicks. The Battletech vehicle clicks come in 2x1 squares which make them great for horses and the like, while nothing makes a more fearsome Stonegolum then an Agromech!

I like the D&D mini's, but my local shop doesn't sell them individualy, and I have the worse luck in drawing them. I want mini's like "fighter" "rouge" "wizard" "goblin" "orc" "golem", you know the classic D&D monsters. Instead I get weird crap like "war-apes" and "deathlocks." Maybe I'm just buying the wrong sets?

Zel
2007-06-01, 03:54 PM
The D&D minis are pretty good for a minimum of work. You can get some great deals on ebay or online card/comic stores as long as you're not picky about the rarity. For example, I bought a complete set of Deathknell commons/uncommons for under $10. Many people are basically throwing these away since there are so many of them, you can buy the common minis for less than it costs to ship them.

de-trick
2007-06-01, 04:36 PM
i got a underdark boosterpack

TranquilRage
2007-06-01, 06:24 PM
http://gametable.galactanet.com/

Java-applet Whiteboard Grid-client. Fantastic for online play.

You sir, are a scholar and a gentleman. You are also made of refined winnium.

My thanks.

warty goblin
2007-06-02, 11:05 AM
i got a underdark boosterpack

An excellent choice- Underdark was one of the sets I never got enough of. What'd you pull?

de-trick
2007-06-02, 12:31 PM
im not sure of all of them because my friend whos picking them up trying to annoy me
but i do know i have a half fiend ogre