As 4e approaches, I figured I would share my opinion about something I both love and hate about 3e. As a player, I tend to be a tactician, and I absolutely loved the fact that 3e strongly encouraged the use of miniatures and battlemaps. My groups bought those giant pads of graph paper and drew encounter maps as needed. One DM even started printing up or drawing freehand massive battlemaps.
Seeing the whole encounter area, and the disposition of the creatures involved was fantastic, and helpful for running the game. Sometimes we did not have minis of the appropriate size, but we always found something to use. My groups were fortunate in that there were always two or three of us with a collection of minis so that we could generally find a satifactory PC and monsters.
But with the release of the DnD Miniatures line, I felt a shift in the game. When I first saw the prepainted plastic minis, I found them rather shoddy and cheap. I even ordered the special black dragon mini just to see one up close and personal, but honestly, I still feel it to be an inferior product. To me, the plastic minis are flimsy, often poorly-painted and, well, cheap.
In their defense, I have one friend who had a massive collection of them, and they entered out most recent game, simply because they were inexpensive, and there are some that are rather aesthtically pleasing or representative of the creature we wanted to depict. By having so many present, we never wanted for monsters, and we never had to be too careful to not drop them or break them or chip the paint. I found them superior to using placeholders, like dice or plastic cases or even 2-d cutouts.
But the rise of the DnD Miniatures game, which is not DnD, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. For this separate game, only the DnD line can be used. That's fine, because it is a differnt game. But as more products come out, and as 4e looms in the future, I worry about the increasing tie between DnD Miniatures and DnD. I do not want to give up my meticulously painted lead and pewter figures (some with such detail as cavities in their teeth or underarm hair) for some generic, shoddy "accessory". Granted, one can always use their own rules, but in a shared hobby, it helps to have common guidelines and experiences.
My question then becomes, what types of miniatures do people on this board use (if any) and how do utilize them? Are there many players who play both DnD and DnD Miniatures, or are the two groups somewhat disparate? Do others share my opinion of the DnD Minis lines, or does their mass market availability far exceed their shortcomings in your games? What types of minis would you like to see available?
I have a decent collection of D&D minis ("DDMs"). I ordered most of them as singles through the secondary market because I don't like the official distribution model. I have never played the separate minis game and have no interest in learning. I got my minis to use in playing D&D. Of course, I've been collecting metal minis since the 80's, so I have a decent collection of those as well.
I like the DDMs for what they are. They're (relatively) cheap, no fuss, pre-painted, ready to go. Yeah, they are kind of hit and miss, some are well painted and some aren't. But if you want a horde of Orcs or Goblins or Troglodytes or Gnolls, they are a great solution. I prefer hand-painted, metal minis for the Player Characters and major NPCs, though. It makes them stand out more. So I will have a continuing need for both unpainted metal and prepainted plastic. (Btw, I have the Colossal black dragon, too, but I really liked it. *shrug*)
With regard to what I'd like to see in the future, I think the lack of a Rust Monster and Gelatinous Cube are really painfully glaring omissions. I'd like to see an Invisible Stalker just as a joke (just one of those black disks with the name on the bottom). They still need more PC types. I'd like to see an attempt at the various race/class/gender/weapon/armor & shield combos, even just for the PHB classes. And I think an appropriately sized Tarrasque would be really cool...
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I collected and painted plenty of the metal figures in years past as well.
Today though, with free time being pretty limited, I've become a fan of the pre painted plastic minis. Yeah, the quality is hit or miss but for what they are, they're perfect. Plus, I was never very good at painting those metal figures ...
I'm also not a fan of mixing metal and plastic. I tend to feel you should go one way or the other (no real good reason WHY I think that, I just do)
I'm actually surprised other miniature companies haven't gotten into the plastic pre painted arena. They could probably do them even better and not follow the random, collectible model.
That brings up something I've been wondering - Paizo guys: why are your Gamemastery figures still the un painted metal kind? Why don't you get into the painted plastic kind??? I'd LOVE to by from you!
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In the world before D&D minis (a long time ago, sure, but my decrepit grey matter can still form hazy images from those days) the tactical maps I used for running games often had miniatures for the PCs, one representative orc, and seven purple dice to show where the other orcs were. If we ignore the financial issues involved in getting metal minis, I simply didn't have time to paint every figure I'd need for a game.
D&D Minis changed that. It's still not a cheap fix, but it does tend to be cheaper. If I want to terrorize my players I can remind them that there's a Tupperware bin with about seventy orcs thirsting for elven blood and release from their plastic prison. I couldn't do that before. And I like doing that. A lot. :)
Do I like the collectibility factor? No. Not just no, but Hell no. Those thirty or so warforged I have will never be used, but if I need a second krenshaw or shadow then I'm off to eBay yet again. It sucks, but I'm not complaining too much. At least now I can have those figures ready to go if I need them.
In long-term campaigns I like to have very nicely painted figures for the PCs. I'll do them myself if the players don't. But otherwise? I can litter the maps with plastic people and monsters. Doesn't bother me at all.
Metal miniatures aren't going anywhere. They're a hobby unto themselves. In the vast stretches between games I've run I've still painted minis, and until I can't hold a brush steady, I always will. I'm far from alone in that.
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My gaming group is a big user of miniatures, both metal and plastic. We use D&D plastic minis for most common encounters, with BBEG's and PC's getting custom painted metals or repaints of the plastics. I sometimes custom modify a mini to represent something special when a proxy just won't do. EG. there's a pyrohydra made out of dollar store apatosaurs and a pair of octopin in my collection now.
Combined with a dry erase flip mat or tiles, minis make a great visual aid for tactical situations. The map tiles are nice, but they lack the flexibility to represent pregenerated dungeon areas (you try to map out anything from TFoE with them!).
Unpainted metal minis are great. I love them, but that's because I can paint fairly quickly and reasonably well. There are those in the world who have no talent or time for such endeavours but love to have minis for their D&D games, so the prepainted figures are a blessing to them. The breadth and depth of the DDM product line is also hard to beat and the secondary market prices are very good for most models.
There is definitely a good market for both kinds of miniature and the new virtual minature idea is interesting too. Perhaps there is a way to convert virtual minis into plastic/resin using...I dunno...maybe lasers or something. There would be a huge market for custom minis like that!
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
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I'm a big fan of the painted metal minis, but most of the players in my group use the plastic pre-painted DnD ones. The main reason is convenience - no one has the time to paint minis anymore. As we get older, our free time gets less and less and we're forced to compromise for our hobby. Hence, the prepainted minis.
The only complaint we all have is the randomness of the DnD minis. It's so hard to get one that truly represents your PC. In fact, for some PCs (Twin Dwarfs using Mauls) it's next to impossible to find them in any form!
I've never played the DnD miniatures game, and probably never will. I prefer Warhammer for huge battles, and Confrontation for skirmish battles. For a change of pace, we play War Machine as well.
As an aside, one of our players owns a comic book store and got 100 or so Tusken Raider Star Wars promos a few years back, so we use those to represent the monsters we fight during games. One of us always threatens to play a Ranger with Tusken Raider as a species enemy...
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In fact, for some PCs (Twin Dwarfs using Mauls) it's next to impossible to find them in any form!
Here's a few options from the DDM line. These sets are still in print, so you should have no problem ordering individual minis from a secondary market dealer (like Paizo) for a few bucks each.
Wardrums Warpriest of Moradin 14/60 U
Underdark Gold Dwarf Soldier 05/60 C
Underdark Duergar Champion 35/60 U