Easy replacement for Minis in 4e?

[Erywin]

Heyas folks,

I am looking at options for substitutes for miniatures in the 4e game I am starting up soon, planning on running the War of the Burning Sky adventure from here. So basically, I was spoiled before I moved, in that a friend of mine had a collection of 100s of minis that we used with 3.5. Now I have moved provinces and don't have the time/money to build up a collection like that. But I love using 1" grid easel pads from Staples to draw maps on, soo easy and my group wants to use minis for their PCs. So what is a DM to do for an inexpensive alternative to prepainted badguy minis? I have looked into standies and they might be a possibility, but would love to hear more options. Thanks for the help.

Cheers,
E

 

[Scribble]

Heyas folks,

I am looking at options for substitutes for miniatures in the 4e game I am starting up soon, planning on running the War of the Burning Sky adventure from here. So basically, I was spoiled before I moved, in that a friend of mine had a collection of 100s of minis that we used with 3.5. Now I have moved provinces and don't have the time/money to build up a collection like that. But I love using 1" grid easel pads from Staples to draw maps on, soo easy and my group wants to use minis for their PCs. So what is a DM to do for an inexpensive alternative to prepainted badguy minis? I have looked into standies and they might be a possibility, but would love to hear more options. Thanks for the help.

Cheers,
E

I use the Counter Collection Digital by Fiery Dragon.

Print out counters when you need them. They rock.

I also have a set of the preprinted ones. I don't use them as much but they do come in handy for the random encounter situations.

 

[Crothian]

Some times I go on the super cheap and just use pieces of paper with names of the creatures on them. PCs are cool so they get colored paper.

Otherwise I'd use the Counter Collection especially if you can get away with printing for free at school or work or someone else's house.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

For a super cheap and fun alternative, consider using candy. M&M, Reese's Pieces, or other colored candies give you plenty of options to differentiate between critter types. Plus, your players can eat their fallen foes.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

You'd be seriously shocked by how cheaply you can get huge lots of D&D miniatures (including some of the Large-based creatures), as long as you stick to Commons and newer Uncommons.

Check eBay and Auggie's Storefront.

 

[frankthedm]

Stop by this thread

http://www.enworld.org/forum/art-ga...ainting/225315-sources-images-use-tokens.html

 

[tmatk]

Shrinky Dinks!

 

[El Mahdi]

I make my own using PowerPoint (just because it's really easy to cut-and-paste and resize), MS Paint (for the reverse side), and the pictures from the WoTC D&D Minis Galleries.

I start by making a PowerPoint slide with a 1 inch grid on it (just insert straght lines every inch using the ruler).

Then I copy pictures from the D&D minis gallery and past them on the PowerPoint slide. Resize them until they are the size you want. (25mm to 30mm is aproximately 6 ft/1 inch, or 1/72 scale - so a typical medium sized humanoid is about 1 inch tall - however I size them so they are about 1 1/4 inches tall, for reasons I'll explain later).

I'll then open Paint and paste the same picture in, then flip it vertically (under Image) and then invert the colors (also under Image). This makes an upside down mirror image that looks like a photo negative. I use this for the back side of the mini. I'll then copy and past this picture onto the PowerPoint slide just above the first picture (resize as needed).

Then just print, cut out the mini (leaving some extra at the end of both sides to fold under), tape together the tabs to form your base - and there you have a cheap, do-it-yourself paper mini. (example below)

If you want to spend the extra time, you can also tape a penny to the base tabs to weigh the mini down (paper minis will blow all over the place with the slightest breeze - i.e. a fan, a sneeze, a fellow gamer slamming their PHB shut in frustration, etc.).

I size the pictures slightly bigger than 1 inch because when the minis are finished they make a slight A-frame (which means that if the picture was exactly 1 inch, the mini will stand slightly less then 1 inch - making them noticably shorter than any real minis you may be using).

You don't have to just use pictures from the D&D gallery. You can use any picture you pull from the internet. You can get creative that way and make minis your players have never seen before.

Hope this helped. Have fun.

 

[Rechan]

We use glass aquarium beads, little bunnies, pennies, bullet casings, lego men, lug nuts, little toys, once we even used a small trophy as a set piece.

You can also get a bucket of army men and glue a penny to their base to give them sturdiness.

 

[Skallgrim]

I use the Counter Collection Digital by Fiery Dragon.

Print out counters when you need them. They rock.

I also have a set of the preprinted ones. I don't use them as much but they do come in handy for the random encounter situations.

I don't have any of the preprinted ones, but Fiery Dragon rocks! (note the exclamation point).

Their counters are awesome. To make them easier (or totally sweet), I got gridded foamboard and cut it up into 1", 2", 3", and 4" squares, to which you can then glue the counters. Make sure to use glue that isn't waterbased, so you don't warp the paper or blend the inks.

You can easily glue a different monster to each side (thus doubling your number of tokens), or glue a bloodied version on the back. When you are done, you can glue a new monster over the old (how many paragon heroes fight kobolds?).

The tokens are great just on paper, but I now use the foamboard and it is so much better. They don't blow away or shift, and they are easier to pick up. Plus, your minis always match exactly! No more "This goblin is a vampire" shenanigans.