How come no reviews on WOTC Mini handbook
- Thread starter DarkShiv
- Start date
EricNoah
Adventurer
DarkShiv said:
Someone has to buy it, read it, ideally play with it a bit, and then write a review. That takes some time.
I have a review copy but then I never do reviews. I can tell you that it didn't change my mind about wanting to "play miniatures" (I didn't want to before, and I don't want to now). It does have some stuff (base & prestige classes, feats, spells, and monsters) that might be useful for traditional tabletop RPG playing but not enough, probably, to warrant buying the whole book if you're not going to play their miniatures game. It is essentially a crossover product, something to lure traditional tabletop RPG players into reading the minis rules and trying to get them to buy/play that.
bardolph
First Post
I've only skimmed through it in the store, but it seems that, with so much emphasis on "buying armies" (with points, not gold), that it's intended more to be a stand-alone product, rather than an enhancement to a role-playing game.
I would recommend Cry Havoc if you want mass combat rules for your D&D campaign.
However, if you're into tabletop wargaming, and want to use d20 rules, I think D&D Miniatures can fill that gap.
I would recommend Cry Havoc if you want mass combat rules for your D&D campaign.
However, if you're into tabletop wargaming, and want to use d20 rules, I think D&D Miniatures can fill that gap.
pogre
Legend
DarkShiv said:
Frankly, I have two reasons:
1. Writing a decent review is a lot of work; and
2. What I want from this book is probably far different from what you are seeking.
I probably will use very little of the extra roleplaying crunch in there - on the other hand, I think the mass combat rules are perfect for integrating into a big campaign.
Tom Cashel
First Post
EricNoah said:
Crothian said:
Yeah, seems a bit of a waste, now doesn't it?
trancejeremy
Adventurer
DarkShiv said:
Buy me a copy, and I'll write a review of it for you.
I did recently review the basic game.
EricNoah
Adventurer
Tom Cashel said:
And yet the review copies keep on flowing. Weird isn't it?
In the old days I never felt comfortable with the idea of my positive review unduly helping a product sell, or my negative review having an undue negative effect. Nowadays ... well, it's hard work to write a good review and I'm not really up to the challenge, I don't think.
Psion
Adventurer
I'm wondering why they don't send me review copies but send you copies (shrug). I know your the big kahuna and all, but isn't the purposes of review copies, well, reviews?
But mabye I'm just silly...
Edit: No time to write a review for things I bought myself, but I will say this: it has some decent RPG material, but it takes up far too little of the book. I would not use the "skirmish" or "mass" combat rules for a D&D game, as they both require you represnt/roll for each creature in the combat instead of as a unit, which to me defeats the purpose of a mass combat system. Despite this, it doesn't seem to require any less conversion than any other mass combat system on the market.
Short take: If you want to play the minis game as an ends, you might buy it.
For playing D&D if you aren't interested in the mini game, the payoff it a little low. In particular, if you are looking for a mass combat system, I recommend Cry Havoc instead.
But mabye I'm just silly...
Edit: No time to write a review for things I bought myself, but I will say this: it has some decent RPG material, but it takes up far too little of the book. I would not use the "skirmish" or "mass" combat rules for a D&D game, as they both require you represnt/roll for each creature in the combat instead of as a unit, which to me defeats the purpose of a mass combat system. Despite this, it doesn't seem to require any less conversion than any other mass combat system on the market.
Short take: If you want to play the minis game as an ends, you might buy it.
For playing D&D if you aren't interested in the mini game, the payoff it a little low. In particular, if you are looking for a mass combat system, I recommend Cry Havoc instead.
Last edited:
I'm likely to be writing a review of the MHb for www.3rdedition.org in the very near future, so here's a brief preview:
Chapter 1, Characters, pp 5-28, gives a selection of new classes, prestige classes and feats for the D&D RPG. Of particular note is the favoured soul, that takes the sorcerer paradigm and adapts it to the cleric divine spells and the warmage, a evocation super-specialist with the ability to wear light armour (progressing to medium armour at high levels). Also interesting are the Sudden Metamagic feats, a refined version of something presented as a house rule by Andy Collins. All in all, this chapter presents a lot of things that are great for my D&D game.
Chapter 2, Magic, pp 29-44, gives a number of new spells and magic items. It also introduces the "swift" spell, such as Swift Invisibility: a 2nd level Bard and Assasin spell that is cast as a Quickened spell, though it only lasts for one round. Also interesting is the Weapon of Transmutation, a magic +1 longsword that transmutes after it first strikes a creature so that it ignores that creature's Damage Reduction - no matter the type. More good material for the RPG here.
Chapter 3, Monsters, pp 45-72, has a number of new monsters. The most notable are the Aspects, lesser avatars of deities that have Challenge Ratings of about 10-12. The general rule here is "simple is good", and it's something I'm very happy to see. Instead of a plethora of special abilities, most of the monsters have only one or two: enough to distinguish them and make them interesting combatants without drowning the DM in details.
Chapter 4, Stat Cards, pp 73-82, explains the layout of the miniature stat cards and gives some sketchy guidelines for creating your own based on RPG characters and monsters. Not great, but servicable.
Chapter 5, Skirmish Rules, pp 83-126, give the expanded skirmish rules for the miniature games, including 27 basic scenarios, 9 advanced scenarios and the skirmish campaign rules (including magic item and commander advancement). This is very solid stuff if you like the skirmish game (as I do). (It also has rules for a wide variety of terrain types not yet seen).
Chapter 6, Mass Battle Rules, pp 127-162, allow you to use miniatures to fight battles with hundreds of figures on each side. Alas, it is in 1:1 scale (understandable but disappointing). The rules look fine, but I haven't yet played with them.
Chapter 7, Random Dungeons, pp 163-173, give you rules on using the stat cards to randomly populate dungeons (usually on-the-fly) and using interesting features to spice up dungeons. They're a lot better than I thought they would be. No rules on randomly generating dungeon maps exist, to my disappointment, but the rules do lend themselves to a fun game that can be played when players don't turn up and the regular session has to be cancelled. Their usefulness to the RPG is doubtful, though there'd be some things of use.
Terrain Templates take up pages 174-192; mostly reprints of Chainmail or Harbinger tiles. Colour Photocopier a must!
The book is best for those who want to play both the miniatures game and the RPG - for people like me, in fact. It's one of WotC's best releases this year from my point of view: a plethora of useful information.
However, if you only like the miniatures game or only like the RPG, it's likely to be a frustrating book.
I'll do a more in-depth review of the Minis game and the MHb in the next few days. Look for it then!
Cheers!
Chapter 1, Characters, pp 5-28, gives a selection of new classes, prestige classes and feats for the D&D RPG. Of particular note is the favoured soul, that takes the sorcerer paradigm and adapts it to the cleric divine spells and the warmage, a evocation super-specialist with the ability to wear light armour (progressing to medium armour at high levels). Also interesting are the Sudden Metamagic feats, a refined version of something presented as a house rule by Andy Collins. All in all, this chapter presents a lot of things that are great for my D&D game.
Chapter 2, Magic, pp 29-44, gives a number of new spells and magic items. It also introduces the "swift" spell, such as Swift Invisibility: a 2nd level Bard and Assasin spell that is cast as a Quickened spell, though it only lasts for one round. Also interesting is the Weapon of Transmutation, a magic +1 longsword that transmutes after it first strikes a creature so that it ignores that creature's Damage Reduction - no matter the type. More good material for the RPG here.
Chapter 3, Monsters, pp 45-72, has a number of new monsters. The most notable are the Aspects, lesser avatars of deities that have Challenge Ratings of about 10-12. The general rule here is "simple is good", and it's something I'm very happy to see. Instead of a plethora of special abilities, most of the monsters have only one or two: enough to distinguish them and make them interesting combatants without drowning the DM in details.
Chapter 4, Stat Cards, pp 73-82, explains the layout of the miniature stat cards and gives some sketchy guidelines for creating your own based on RPG characters and monsters. Not great, but servicable.
Chapter 5, Skirmish Rules, pp 83-126, give the expanded skirmish rules for the miniature games, including 27 basic scenarios, 9 advanced scenarios and the skirmish campaign rules (including magic item and commander advancement). This is very solid stuff if you like the skirmish game (as I do). (It also has rules for a wide variety of terrain types not yet seen).
Chapter 6, Mass Battle Rules, pp 127-162, allow you to use miniatures to fight battles with hundreds of figures on each side. Alas, it is in 1:1 scale (understandable but disappointing). The rules look fine, but I haven't yet played with them.
Chapter 7, Random Dungeons, pp 163-173, give you rules on using the stat cards to randomly populate dungeons (usually on-the-fly) and using interesting features to spice up dungeons. They're a lot better than I thought they would be. No rules on randomly generating dungeon maps exist, to my disappointment, but the rules do lend themselves to a fun game that can be played when players don't turn up and the regular session has to be cancelled. Their usefulness to the RPG is doubtful, though there'd be some things of use.
Terrain Templates take up pages 174-192; mostly reprints of Chainmail or Harbinger tiles. Colour Photocopier a must!
The book is best for those who want to play both the miniatures game and the RPG - for people like me, in fact. It's one of WotC's best releases this year from my point of view: a plethora of useful information.
However, if you only like the miniatures game or only like the RPG, it's likely to be a frustrating book.
I'll do a more in-depth review of the Minis game and the MHb in the next few days. Look for it then!
Cheers!
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