fed up with mini randomness...back to counters? (teeny-tiny rant)

[BlakeT]

I'm starting to get tired of the randomness factor myself. I'm even debating skipping the next set and stopping the collecting aspect of it all together. I have enough from the first four sets to last me for a while.

I skipped the Star Wars one totally once they introduced the higher level of rarity, no thanks. Money is all important to a business, so I can't fault them for trying to make more of it, but I just figure enough is enough in my life and they can get along just fine without my money.

I might, in the future, look for nice lots of commons/uncommons of the traditional monsters and grab them but until then my collection will work just fine.

 

[DaveMage]

I predict that by the end of next year that mini sales will decline.

I have ordered 1 case of Aberrations, but the more of the previews I see, the less I'm convinced that I need this set. I'm guessing that I'll probably stop buying cases with either the next set or the one after.

I think the minis look great, but I hate the randomness.

 

[Klaus]

Counter Collection: Digital is at the White Wolf storehouse, so now it all depends on WW's distribution schedule.

The latest count has 1196 jpges in the CD. Inside you'll find folders sorted by Type. While there are a few overlaps, there are over 1000 unique images.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

When I looked at Abberations I came away with the impression that there were a lot more adventurer minis than usual. Bleh! Eberron? Bleh! I was actually kinda surprised how weak the Abberation set looks to me (maybe they're not reviewing the cool ones until the release date).

I really don't like how they stick a class on an otherwise common monster to make it uncommon/rare. A perfect example is the sahuagin ranger. Could you tell by the mini? I certainly couldn't.

Finally, I think the rarity factor should be more strongly tied to how many of a particular monster the party will typically encounter. I can see Beholder being rare since you probably won't fight more than one at a time except at high levels. But when you can't get a frickken ogre or troll b/c they're uncommon/rare and bloody expensive on the secondary market, that just cheeses me off and displays poor planning on the part of WotC. I'd love to get some frost giants; I think they're one of the best-looking minis in the set. But there's no way I'm going to buy a half-dozen of 'em at $10-15 a piece.

I too think the WotC minis are starting to saturate the market.

p.s. I can't stand the artwork on those tokens. I'd rather use extra dice than use them. I'll take minis over tokens any day of the week.

 

[Argus Decimus Mokira]

"Bag o' Undead"

"Box o' Goblins"

"The Incredible Pouch of Vicious, Giant, Man-eating Rats"

"Assorted Giants". $3.99 a bucket.

Warhammer regiments might help you a little. GW is known for their inflated prices, but $25 for 20 plastic multipart zombies/skeletons/goblins/men-at-arms can definitely fill out the "goons" section of your minis collection quickly. I'd stay away from their orcs, however; GW has a very specific and non-DnD envisioning of them. 'Course they might look more like DnD orcs if they weren't painted green.

Best of luck
-Matt

 

[Jeff Wilder]

I can see Beholder being rare since you probably won't fight more than one at a time except at high levels. But when you can't get a frickken ogre or troll b/c they're uncommon/rare and bloody expensive on the secondary market, that just cheeses me off and displays poor planning on the part of WotC.

If by "poor planning" you mean "inability," I guess so.

Ogres and Trolls (and every other Large figure) have been Rare because WotC hasn't had the technology to affordably place Large models into Uncommon slots. That is changing ... Uncommon Trolls and Ogres and more are on the way.

(Large creatures will almost certainly never be Common. They just cost too much more to produce (and ship).)

 

[DaveStebbins]

When I looked at Abberations I came away with the impression that there were a lot more adventurer minis than usual. Bleh!

Not surprising since this set will also be the new starter set.

I was actually kinda surprised how weak the Abberation set looks to me (maybe they're not reviewing the cool ones until the release date).

They long ago said that this set was meant to be run in low-point skirmish games, which means no really powerful creatures. Perhaps that is why the set appears rather weak (unless you meant the overall selection of critters and the designs and sculpts, which would be a more valid complaint, even though I still disagree).

p.s. I can't stand the artwork on those tokens. I'd rather use extra dice than use them.

You do realize you were responding to the artist who created them, don't you?

-Dave

 

[Droogie]

Finally, I think the rarity factor should be more strongly tied to how many of a particular monster the party will typically encounter. I can see Beholder being rare since you probably won't fight more than one at a time except at high levels. But when you can't get a frickken ogre or troll b/c they're uncommon/rare and bloody expensive on the secondary market, that just cheeses me off and displays poor planning on the part of WotC. I'd love to get some frost giants; I think they're one of the best-looking minis in the set. But there's no way I'm going to buy a half-dozen of 'em at $10-15 a piece.

Thats a good idea. Didn't the old 1e Monster Manual have an entry in their stat block for rarity?

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

When I said weak, I meant coolness rather than actual power. I didn't know it was the new starter set so at least that makes sense.

I bought a Warhammer pack of 20 (?) zombies but it's still sitting on my shelf b/c I just haven't had time to assemble all them critters. But now that I've got a whole whack of WotC zombies, I'll probably just leave it sitting on my shelf.

No, I didn't know I was responding to the artist in question. But, heh, that's my opinion of the art on the tokens. I know one thing for sure; when players see a new mini they're like "Cool!" but when they see a token they're like "Huh?".

Glad to hear more ogres and trolls are on the way. Hopefully they won't look like cavemen this time

 

[MerricB]

The D&D Mini line is great for common and uncommon figures - but not that great for rare figures.

In general, a rare figure will cost more to acquire than it would in metal. Generally, I hope that the choices Wizards makes for rare figures are accurate. There are figures that are rare simply because they are more expensive to make - though they end up a lot more expensive for us to acquire.

Someone noted that there seem to be a lot of adventurer miniatures in Aberrations - there does seem to be, but that's a perception that doesn't take rarity into account.

Boiling down the common list of Aberrations to its essence, we get the following:

COMMON ABERRATIONS:
"Regular" Humanoids:
* Dwarf Warrior
* Elf Warrior
* Human Barbarian
* Human Warrior
* Human Warrior
* Goblin
* Kobold
* Gnoll
* Orc

Core-based
* Black Bear
* Dire Weasel
* Skeleton

Unusual
* Dekanter Goblin
* Mongrelfolk
* Myconoid
* Taer

UNCOMMON ABERRATIONS

Regular Humanoids
* Gnome Cleric (Cleric of Garl Glittergold)
* Half-Elf Warrior (Half-Elf Hexblade)
* Human Barbarian (Longtooth Barbarian)
* Human Cleric (Cleric of St Cuthbert)
* Human Rogue (Sharn Cutthroat)
* Human Warrior (Anvil of Thunder)
* Human Warrior (Dragon Samurai)
* Hobgoblin (Bladebearer Hobgoblin)
* Kobold (Kobold Sorcerer)
* Orc (Sergeant)

Core-based
* Aasimir Favoured Soul
* Choker
* Destrachan
* Ethereal Filcher
* Formian Warrior
* Sahuagin (Sahuagin Ranger)
* Yuan-Ti Half-blood

Unusual
* Bariaur Ranger
* Half-Illithid Lizardfolk
* Iron Cobra
* Mad Slasher
* Rhek

I may be wrong on a few humanoid races - I'm going more by the names than the final stats/appearance.

If I might note, human warriors and rogues are quite common opponents in my campaign (bandits, mercenaries and the like), along with the other normal humanoids. After that, I use a range of other monsters. Troll and Ogres I use more of - and they are the two figures that I wish were more common.

Cheers!