Alternatives to random minis

[Imaro]

This thread was inspired by the random mini thread. What I was thinking would be cool was if people made suggestions for alternatives to the random D&D minis. I know there are metal minis, buying and trading individuals and paper counters but I wanted too find other viable options. Here's one I heard about in dragon magazine

www.ochogames.com/store/products.aspx

Tell me what you think, I've decided I'll probably order some for my C&C game since the artwork has an old school feel to it and they're easier to carry than minis. Also please share any inexspensive alternatives to random minis you may know about.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Those are really fantastic looking.

Thanks for the link, Imaro (and, of course, welcome to ENWorld! )!

 

[DaveyJones]

i have some. and in fact thought the artwork is pretty well done. i was just afraid they would chip too easily.

 

[DaveyJones]

as for other suggestions.

Legos
Playdoh
plastic army men
chess, draughts, or checkers pieces
gummy bears or other candies
coins
marbles


and of course the whole creature collections too done on cardstock.

 

[Shadowslayer]

Tell me what you think, I've decided I'll probably order some for my C&C game since the artwork has an old school feel to it and they're easier to carry than minis. Also please share any inexspensive alternatives to random minis you may know about.

Actually, those are kind of neat...never saw those before.

I have something similar called Dragon Scale Counters. Same thing, except on thin-but-sturdy laminated plastic. Unfortunately, DSC is defunct now, but you may be able to find some around. I used these quite a lot before DDM came around.

You can use chess pieces and M&Ms and stuff like that...but its just not the same as having dedicated game pieces. I started painting my own metals because of DDM, and now thats pretty much all I use.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Monster Tiles -- and the 3E predecessor, Dragon Scales -- are great products, and I use them for toting necessary pieces to conventions. The problem with them in play -- especially slouch-around-the-table ultra-casual play -- is that, being two-dimensional they are pretty much impossible to distinguish from one another without a decent overhead angle.

Me, I'm still waiting for holo-chess, so someone can hack it for D&D.

 

[Shadowslayer]

...and I use them for toting necessary pieces to conventions.

They're perfect for that. The Scale Counters were so thin that you could put a collection of about 200 of them in a dice bag! Only problem is if you stick you hand in the bag too fast you might get a corner jabbing you under the fingernail. (It happened )

BTW...Good luck on the holo-chess.

 

[Rawhide]

if you want cherap figures that stand up, are easy to transport, and can easily be identfied without havin to stand above the game table, i recommmend the Stand Ins paper figures

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2198&

For $12 you get256 b&w figures you can easily color yourself to match characters and mosters. But also, 60 or so are in full color as well. plus,l they all have sperate front and back art, so its always easy to see which figure is what, and which way its facing.

any common pc type is included, with a lot of egyptian and arabic stuff, lots of non-humans, and enough mosters to run a lot of encounters.

 

[Nightfall]

Eh. While I'm not a fan of the random mini, it does have one issue down that I hate with most mini sculpts. Cost and the fact they can use D&D icons.

 

[delericho]

Get a cheap inkjet printer (but watch out for replacement ink cartridge costs - that's where the real expense lies), some fairly thin white cardboard, some sharp scissors, and the downloadable "Art Galleries" from Wizards.com for the monsters you want.

A little work with your program of choice, and you too can have all the monster tokens you need!