Hi all,
This board and therpgenius.com are both fabulous resources for Shackled City DMs, so I thought I'd turn here for advice.
I am about to run my first D&D game in many years, and I'd really like to do it right, with props, handouts and miniatures. It's the minis that pose a problem for me. I only have a handful of figures representing PCs in the few games in which I've played the last couple of years.
What are the best ways to acquire minis for the SCAP? We'll be starting in January. I suppose I could go with some of the counters that are available from therpgenius.com, but they're difficult to move around on a dry-erase grid without disturbing all the lines. I really don't have time to paint a bunch of lead, so the pre-painted plastic minis that I can throw in bags seem to make the most sense.
Thanks for any suggestions!
A reasonably complete set of the Commons from the D&D miniature sets should take care of a lot of your general needs. One of my PCs has almost complete sets for every line that came out and it usually contains enough for my monsters and for my PCs to have choices for their minis.
You might look at the Critter Packs from Paizo:
http://paizo.com/store/games/miniatures/tradableMiniaturesGames/dnd/critter Packs
And I believe you can get individuals from Paizo, too:
http://paizo.com/store/games/miniatures/tradableMiniaturesGames/dnd/singles
It doesn't have everything you need (like the Cryohydra) but it has some good stuff.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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So far I've done a decent job of collecting miniatures by relying heavily on the D&D minis--buying random boosters and the common singles but a few key encounters still require me to hunt down special pieces.
For example:
Orbius and the Umberhulk would have been cost prohibative in the extreme. Fortunately I had an old Grenadier Beholder from the days before only WotC could produce them. the figure is a little small but I mounted it on a poker chip (same size as large base) and called it a day. For the umberhulk I picked up a Hooked Hulk available here it's a bit big but it'll work and it's not $75+.
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Buying all the right figures - particularly pre-painted - could get very expensive. I started off trying to draw from my own and my brother's extensive collection of metal and plastic minatures, but kept having to buy new ones to represent more unusual monsters, and when you are buying the figures for them you start to realise there are really quite a lot of unusual monsters!
What Ive been thinking of doing is mounting counters or copied pictures from the MM of the monsters to carboard or plastic bases.
I'll tell you what would be cool though, if someone came up with like a "minatures library" or rental service, you could just borrow the ones you needed for a particualr game!
If you can get them on the cheap, single miniatures from Paizo (or Ebay if you're willing to risk it) is the way to go. Buying booster packs in the hopes of getting what you're looking for (or something you could use anyways) is also a good way. For the expensive single miniatures, I would compare to a similar metal mini to see which is more cost effective. The paint jobs on the plastic D&D minis are not amazingly detailed, so a quick coat of two or three colors would usually be enough for a metal mini to fit in.
I've been DM-ing for years so I have a pretty extensive miniatures collection. For things that aren't hugely important in the campaign (e.g the cryo-hydra) I just used a 'representative' figure like a dragon. I've bought some pre-painted WoTC miniatures from online auction sites. There's also a business in my country that sold individual figures. I bought quite a few common figures - kuo-toas, orcs, gnolls, bullywugs and they cover most humanoid encounters. For really important characters I usually convert or find a miniature. I made a Tongue Eater miniature (but turned him into a were-boar since I had a boar head). I converted a miniature for the red-haired female warrior/priest from the Ebon Triad, I painted an old dragon up as a black dragon for Dhorlot as he was a recurring villain the PCS kept running into. I too had an old grenadier Beholder who became Orbius. I used to get rid of old miniatures but always hang onto them now in case I need something for the future. My players really like it when I put a miniature down and my description of the character matches. With a few NPCs that became well-known (like Dhorlot) the arrival of the miniature on the table was enough to build up fear or outrage amongst the players.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I appreciate it.
eBay can be expensive for the more common singles, since shipping costs add up quickly. I'll probably use eBay to acquire minis like the Beholder, which I can just resell after the campaign.
Sites like www.miniaturemarket.com, www.iconusa.com and www.battleworks.net seem to be the way to go for common singles, and some offer packs with up to 150 minis.
A friend gave me Fiery Dragon's Counter Collection - Digital for Christmas, and that's definitely going to be helpful to fill in for minis that are either more difficult or too expensive to source.
Best wishes to all for a Happy New Year!
Some sellers on ebay (auggies is one of my favorites) offer unlimited singles with one low standard shipping charge, so you don't need to pay a separate shipping charge for every single mini you buy. I think their current shipping charge is $3.50 total, no matter how many minis you buy.
Some sellers on ebay (auggies is one of my favorites) offer unlimited singles with one low standard shipping charge, so you don't need to pay a separate shipping charge for every single mini you buy. I think their current shipping charge is $3.50 total, no matter how many minis you buy.
Thanks, zoroaster. I picked up 33 minis for the first chapter from Auggie's, all for less than $22 shipped. Shopping for more now...
Some sellers on ebay (auggies is one of my favorites) offer unlimited singles with one low standard shipping charge, so you don't need to pay a separate shipping charge for every single mini you buy. I think their current shipping charge is $3.50 total, no matter how many minis you buy.Thanks, zoroaster. I picked up 33 minis for the first chapter from Auggie's, all for less than $22 shipped. Shopping for more now...
Out of interest, what minis did you buy for what creatures? I was looking at using minis for when I run the SCAP so it would be interesting to know what minis everyone else is using.
Olaf the Stout
Out of interest, what minis did you buy for what creatures? I was looking at using minis for when I run the SCAP so it would be interesting to know what minis everyone else is using.
Here's a list of what I've sourced so far:
Qty NPC/Creature - D&D Mini(s) Chosen
1 Assassin, Jil - Doomguard
1 M Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter, Fario - Wood Elf Ranger
1 M Half-Elf Rogue/Cleric, Fellian - Free League Ranger
1 Choker (sm. humanoid w/tentacles) - Choker
1 Grell (floating brain w/ tentacles) - Grell
2 Dark Creepers - Dark Creeper
6 Hobgoblins - Hobgoblin Archer/Hobgoblin Impaler/Hobgoblin Warrior
3 Goblins - Acheron Goblin
1 Hobgoblin Sergeant - Hobgoblin Warrior
1 Male Ogre - Skullcrusher Ogre
1 F Human Rogue - Shadowdancer
1 M Human Cook - Tavern Brawler
1 M Human Cleric 2, Ruphus Laro - Village Priest
1 Medium Spider - Spider of Lolth
What about Kazmojen and the automatons?
Olaf the Stout
Out of interest, what minis did you buy for what creatures? I was looking at using minis for when I run the SCAP so it would be interesting to know what minis everyone else is using.
Olaf the Stout
I've been trying to match all the monsters/NPCs in the SCAP to appropriate minis, mostly D&D ones, but I occasionally use a metal one if I can't find a good D&D one. Sometimes I resort to using tokens (from rpgenius) printed on cardstock. Here are the D&D minis I used for the first two adventures (my party just started the second, so I haven't looked beyond that yet):
Life's Bazaar
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Beholder - Deathknell 32 (my most expensive mini, because I just had to have one)
Choker - Aberrations 47
Dark Creepers - Underdark 42
Lemures - Giants of Legend 34
Dire Rats - Giants of Legend 30
Dread Guard - Archfiends 31 (even though it's Medium)
Pylrak - Underdark 35 (duergar champion)
Keygan - Harbinger 28 (Nebin, gnome illusionist)
Goblins - Dragoneye 32 (goblin warrior)
Grell - Deathknell 35
Fellian - Angelfire 18 (elf swashbuckler)
Fario - Underdark 15 (elf stalker)
Maple - Giants of Legend 19 (Lidda, adventurer)
Kazmojen - Underdark 1 (battle plate marshal)
Hobgoblins - Aberrations 27 (bladebearer hobgoblin)
Zarkad - Giants of Legend 32 (hobgoblin sergeant)
Prickles - Harbinger 39 (barghest)
Ruphus - Aberrations 4 (cleric of St. Cuthbert)
Street Thugs - Harbinger 66 (human bandit)
Monstrous Spider - Underdark 57 (spider of Lolth)
Xukasus - Dragoneye 56 (ogre ravager)
Drakthar's Way
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Drakthar - Dragoneye 46 (I didn't want him to look too different from a regular bugbear)
Lemure - Giants of Legend 34
Dire Bat - Underdark 44
Orak - Aberrations 2 (anvil of thunder)
Xoden - Aberrations 7 (hill dwarf warrior)
Goblin Adepts - Deathknell 34
Silent Wolf Goblin - War Drums 40 (Snig, worg rider) if mounted, otherwise Aberrations 43 (silent wolf goblin) and Harbinger 80 (worg)
Goblin Skirmishers - Dragoneye 31
Goblin Sneaks - Harbinger 42
Half-Orc Mercenaries - Harbinger 74 (orc spearfighter)
Chorlynder - Aberrations 12 (adventuring wizard)
Jil - Underdark 12 (slayer of Domiel)
Wererats - War of the Dragon Queen 39
Kallev - Harbinger 76 (tiefling captain)
Shocker Lizards - Harbinger 19 (crested felldrake)
What about Kazmojen and the automatons?
Olaf the Stout
For Kazmojen, I think that the Duergar Champion is acceptable. The pulverizers are more difficult to match from the D&D minis, with the Hammerer being the only thing even close. I'll end up sourcing minis for those from a completely different source, I imagine.
What are people using for the Skulks in the first chapter?
Olaf the Stout
Yeah...there just aren't many good choices when it comes to picking a mini for the skulks. I went cheap and selected the ghast.
What are people using for the Skulks in the first chapter?
Olaf the Stout
Hey there:
I used the Kenku Sneak from the Deathknell expansion. I thought that they worked with the cloaks and all. And they were fairly inexpensive, which is a good combo.
-Lisa
What about for some of the other encounters Lisa? Is there any chance that a suggested mini list could be put together for SCAP or is that asking for a bit much?
Olaf the Stout
CEO
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What about for some of the other encounters Lisa? Is there any chance that a suggested mini list could be put together for SCAP or is that asking for a bit much?
Olaf the Stout
Hey Olaf:
I would love to have the time to put together that list, but I just can't seem to find the time and my staff is busier than I am! I would be willing to tell you what I used to particular creatures, but really don't have the time to do it for the whole SCAP.
-Lisa
What about for some of the other encounters Lisa? Is there any chance that a suggested mini list could be put together for SCAP or is that asking for a bit much?
Olaf the Stout
Hey Olaf:
I would love to have the time to put together that list, but I just can't seem to find the time and my staff is busier than I am! I would be willing to tell you what I used to particular creatures, but really don't have the time to do it for the whole SCAP.
-Lisa
No problems Lisa. I appreciate the effort that all of the people at Paizo make to post here in the first place. I think I'll start a SCAP minis thread and ask everyone what minis they used for particular characters and monsters on a chapter by chapter basis. Perhaps you could post to that thread if you find the time.
Thanks,
Olaf the Stout