I was over at eBay for the first time in forever, slouching through the roleplaying section. As usual I was bitching to myself about the sheer volume of D&D plastic figures clogging up the pages. But that's when I noticed something. I haven't been following WotC's minis and since I last looked they have produced some figures that might be of use to the non-dungeonpunk crowd. Here are some of them.
I love giant mushrooms in dungeons and fairy forests. They're not hard to fake on the tabletop (hint: champaign corks) and you can often find useable models at craft or garden stores, but I like the fact that WotC is branching out here beyond dudes what will hit you.
One of the great mysteries of the universe is that a treasure chest didn't appear on day one of the line. Maybe because no one thought to hardwire "get the treasure" into the DDM rules? Perhaps a dungeon door is also available and I haven't found it yet. That would be sweet.
A dead guy and a pig farmer. I may have to get that pig farmer even though I stopped using minis years ago.
Just a regular guy with a crossbow. Perfect for henchweenies.
Dudes with light sources! Though I'm not sure anyone with an actual flaming torch carries it as close to their face as the pointing guy.
Hey, some guys dealing with encumbrance! Awesome! Who trusted the goblin with the treasure, though? The guy with the bag and the lantern man above should team up. They look like they know what they're doing.
Hey, it's my old friend Fire Buddy! He's all grown up now!
Totally serious questions: Does 4e have good rules for mounted combat? If so, are they backwards compatible (i.e. worth ripping off)?
Siege equipment! Kick ass!
This is labeled a "Maug" but my first reaction to spotting this guy was "Holy crap! It's that door-busting wrecker-robot that Russ drew for White Dwarf!"
Incidentally, if you want to track down any of these minis the file name for the pic should list both the figure name and the specific release it comes from.
A final question for folks who actually follow the D&D miniatures line: Have they come out with a wizard with a pointy hat yet? Preferably with a long white or grey beard, but I'm open to other facial hair options.
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I prefer to use urbana corks when simulating diabolical fungus dudes.
ReplyDeleteI have the pig farmer and he is awesome!
ReplyDeleteDan: well played.
ReplyDeleteD&D4 didn't have any rules for mounted combat when I played it, but that was a long time ago now.
ReplyDeleteThere's a gallery of sorts for the D&D miniatures line here. It's not the most user-friendly though.
There's a figure in the Archfiends set called "Sage" who is suitably hirsute, but has a hood rather than a pointy hat.
Elminster is in the Underdark set, but while he has a pipe, he has no hat.
The Cormyrean War Wizard from the Unhallowed set has a silver-Merlin-in-Excalibur skullcap, but no pointy hat.
The Deathpriest of Orcus figure has neither hat nor beard, but I mention him as he looks just like Mola Ram from Temple of Doom.
On that note, the Skull Lord in the Demonweb set looks just like Skeletor after he levelled up in the He-Man movie.
The Doomdreamer in the Legendary Evils set has a pointy hood, but no beard.
And that's your lot, I think.
The pig farmer is very common; he shows up a lot.
ReplyDelete4e has extremely simple rules for mounted combat; you and your mount share the same three actions, so if your mount takes a standard action, you don't. Most mounts have special attacks or powers they can use when mounted by a trained rider; one of the PCs in my game has an anylosaurus type mount which can take damage from an attack which hits him, at the cost of tossing him to the ground in the process.
The Puritan/Witch Hunter was a figure I used for my ranger, long ago...
Utterly off-topic, have you ever checked out Hirst Arts Castleblocks? They have been my great money and time suck since last October...
4e has had mounted combat since the beginning but the rules are in the DMG for some reason.
ReplyDeleteNothing special about them. There are just enough rules to make mounted combat possible without making stuff up and no more.
4e has had mounted combat since the beginning but the rules are in the DMG for some reason.
ReplyDeleteThat'll be why they never got used then. Brilliant.
I have 3 of the Trapped Chest minis. I picked up the Will-o-Wisp mini as it can double as a wizard's crystal ball. Rot Grub swarm is awesome too.
ReplyDeleteThey don't have any Doors minis, but there is an Arcane Portal, but its kind of meh....
Back in the day they had a set of "Henchmen" minis by Grenadier... and I had that set (still have most of them) and the mini I used as my character for MONTHS was a dorky looking dude with a huge sack slung over his back...
ReplyDeleteFor reasons I never understood, another one of the players just HATED that mini and would complain about it whenever I used it (I wonder if he was behind it's eventual disappearance).
The pig farmer is totally great. I would totally use that as my mini... as is if I were playing a fighter. I'd cut the head off of his bill hook (converting it to a staff) if I were playing a magic user and replace it with a torch or club if I were playing a cleric.
I think I might have the same Crossbow henchman myself. Looks smiler to mine at the very least
ReplyDeleteMy DM has piles of WotC minis. I've been using guy-with-bag as my wizard in our current campaign.
ReplyDeleteThe middle torch-holder looks like Solomon Kane. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI trusted the goblin with the treasure. I mean, is a goblin really going to try and run off with it when I agreed to hire him instead of killing him in the first place?
ReplyDeleteddmdb.com for all your wotc mini research needs...
ReplyDeleteMounted combat was one of those things that was deemed 'too complicated' in 3.5 and was simplified in 4e to make it less fun.
ReplyDeleteThe rules are the same in pathfinder as in the 3.5 srd - http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/specialAttacks.htm#mountedCombat
There's rules in the 2nd edition DMG which after accounting for a lack of skill checks are basically the same except they have rules for lassoing and dramatically tackling riders.
The shroom and fire ones are my favorite. I need to boost my mini collection again someday.
ReplyDelete