Chiming in on the D&D minis (merged with "anyone buying the new Mini's?")

[Olive]

[/list]On the negative side I have only a couple problems:

• Too many crested felldrakes. I don't care about human commoners, goblin sneaks, or wolf skeletons. I can see a use for a scythe-wielding horde, a goblin horde, or substitute skeleton figures for an undead horde. But felldrakes? They're not even in the Monster Manual! I suppose I could use them as Small green dragons, but how often do you need a dozen of those? This is kind of nitpicky, I understand.
• I don't believe the distribution of rares/uncommons is equal. I could be using too small of a sample set, but I do have almost 350 figures, and I have lots of some rares, and none or one of some uncommons.

These I agree with, particularly the crested felldrakes. Some one at WotC is obsessed with them. Just wait: those bat guys will be the next big think!

I'm also a little concerned about the distribution. How can I have 4 hellhounds and no wolves? I haven't bouht nearly as many as you, but it seems a bit wierd that I've got as many human brigands, crested felldrakes and hell hounds as I do...

 

[MerricB]

Justinian really hasn't bought that much. 30 boosters and 2 Entry packs? Thats 32 rares, 100 Uncommons and 140 Commons. Consider that there are a total of 27 rares, 33 uncommons and 20 commons in the set, the figures are (on average): 1.18 of each rare, 3.03 of each uncommon, and 7 of each common.

Random distribution DOES cause oddities, and to have one uncommon not yet found is unusual though not impossible from that many packs - indeed, there's a 4.6% chance that such will occur.

To combat such random distributions, trading is the answer. The likelihood that TWO people have the same distributions is slender indeed!

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

I don't care about human commoners, goblin sneaks, or wolf skeletons. I can see a use for a scythe-wielding horde, a goblin horde, or substitute skeleton figures for an undead horde. But felldrakes? They're not even in the Monster Manual! I suppose I could use them as Small green dragons, but how often do you need a dozen of those? This is kind of nitpicky, I understand.

I quite agree, though. Felldrakes are in Monster Manual II, introduced after they made their debut in Chainmail. I didn't like them in Chainmail either.

OTOH, some people really like them. Go figure.

Cheers!

 

[Olive]

To combat such random distributions, trading is the answer.

If only anybody wanted the felldrakes.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I decided I needed some more generic mooks for my game, and preordered a couple of boxes from Amazon. Still waiting ...

 

[Mercule]

OneRest assured, the mass combat rules in the Miniatures Handbook (due out in about a fortnight) do not use a grid - you don't have to burn that ruler.

Huzzah!

Well, that just earned a sale. The book, that is, not the minis -- those are still a maybe. Minitures wargaming is an expensive hobby to get into and I learned a long time ago to be content with chits instead of figs.

 

[Olive]

Here is a list of people from ENWorld who want to trand stuff and links to their maxminis trade lists...

 

[MerricB]

If only anybody wanted the felldrakes.

Well, just collect up a large number of them and use them as caltrops or similar...

Mind you, I wonder if felldrakes being easily available will make them more common in adventures that DMs design for their players?

Cheers!

 

[Olive]

Mind you, I wonder if felldrakes being easily available will make them more common in adventures that DMs design for their players?

It's not even that I hate the idea of the felldrakes (although I do prefer my dragons to be true dragons)...

I just don't need 10 of them.

edit: made it clearer...

 

[MerricB]

Huzzah!

Well, that just earned a sale. The book, that is, not the minis -- those are still a maybe. Minitures wargaming is an expensive hobby to get into and I learned a long time ago to be content with chits instead of figs.

Tell me about it - these minis are finally at a price point where I can get them (and the Orc and Outlaw Warparty non-random sets will do a lot towards getting the big armies I need for the mass-combat game). I really hope the Miniatures Handbook mass combat rules are (a) good, and (b) don't require 10,000 figures to represent the Helms Deep battle in the Two Towers movie. I detest 1:1 scale for large battles - they're no longer "large".

I really should get Cry Havoc so that I have a back-up.

Cheers!