Idea regarding D&D Minis

[Yuan-Ti]

Okay, bear with me on this one. Just a thought...

Morrus is reporting that he has heard there was a meeting regarding a true D&D mass-combat mini system to replace Chainmail. Good. About friggin time, if you ask me.

Here's my thought. WotC is outsourcing all kinds of business right now (or Hasbro is, anyway), so why not the mini game? They should put out bids with major, established mini companies and take the best offer/business plan.

Now, I know a lot of people hate Games Workshop (because they are successful?), but why not those guys? They've got experience. They have proven successes. They make nice minis. Of course, some other company might have a better business plan for a D&D combat game so it wouldn't necessarily end up GW, but I bet they would be interested in the market potential.

WotC would have to stipulate, of course, that the game be d20-based to make it D&D compatible. Some mini company would be free to come up with a great game system, with instant name brand recognition and WotC/Hasbro could sit back and collect royalty checks.

Whatchya think?

 

[smetzger]

GW or anyone else can do this already via the d20 logo and not pay royalties to WOTC. The only restriction is that they cannot put the d20 logo on the miniatures.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Now, I know a lot of people hate Games Workshop (because they are successful?), but why not those guys?

Salutations,

1) GW has a history of starting games outside of their main product line, and then just stopping support for them - regardless of how popular those lines are with customers.

2) I think their miniatures look bad, for the most part.

FD

 

[Yuan-Ti]

GW or anyone else can do this already via the d20 logo and not pay royalties to WOTC. The only restriction is that they cannot put the d20 logo on the miniatures.

I did not know that. I thought the OGL excluded miniatures.

But anyway, what makes this idea more attractive is that they could put D&D on the minis.

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

Blah, who needs more overpriced GW minis?

If they'd outsource mini production to Rackham then maybe I could get a few of their minis without having to import them.

 

[Yuan-Ti]

Re: Re: Idea regarding D&D Minis

Salutations,

1) GW has a history of starting games outside of their main product line, and then just stopping support for them - regardless of how popular those lines are with customers.

2) I think their miniatures look bad, for the most part.

FD

1) Yes, I know. Their various skirmish lines are at the top of my list. But I think a D&D license would be very different (especially because WotC would put it in the contract).

2) Really? I always thought they were the best on the market back in the day (1988). Yeah, okay, you caught me. I am not the mini-freak I was in high school. But who has better minis these days?

 

[Gothmog]

2) Really? I always thought they were the best on the market back in the day (1988). Yeah, okay, you caught me. I am not the mini-freak I was in high school. But who has better minis these days?

IMO, the best minis out there right now are Reaper minis. They have amazingly good character minis, which aren't overly stylized and have great facial detail (especially the ones by Sandra Garrity). They are expanding their creature range too, and already have in production a large number of unusual/rare creatures. And best of all, they are about 1/2 the price of a GW mini!

Check out their website:

www.reapermini.comwww.reapermini.com

 

[Yuan-Ti]

IMO, the best minis out there right now are Reaper minis. They have amazingly good character minis, which aren't overly stylized and have great facial detail (especially the ones by Sandra Garrity). They are expanding their creature range too, and already have in production a large number of unusual/rare creatures. And best of all, they are about 1/2 the price of a GW mini!

Check out their website:

www.reapermini.comwww.reapermini.com

Cool! Then maybe they should be the ones to take up the D&D Mini banner!

 

[kengar]

I'm not so worried about mass combat rules or a skirmish game system, but I like having minis to use in normal play.

I concur w/Yuan-Ti; Reaper minis looks great. I have to say that 4 times out of 5 when I'm looking for a character mini, -or one for a unique monster- I find something great in the Reaper line.

Now, to be fair, I do use GW minis a fair bit, but mostly plastic orcs & goblins, etc. You can buy a box of bits for USD$20-30 that gives you about 20 critters to use in tacticals. The WarHammer Fantasy orcs don't really look that much like 3e orcs, but who cares? They players know that when they see 8 big green Boyz with spears and cleavers, it's Orc-Smackin' time!

GW would be a good manufacturer to contract with because they've got the operation that can make generating and distributing plastic minis affordable (the money is in the mold, so unless you can churn out -and sell- a LOT of plastic, it's not worth it). They are not so great IMHO because they aren't known for their follow-through -as has been mentioned before.

Whoever does it, I'd like to see something like what I had originally hoped Chainmail would be; a line of 3e "compatible" minis with a good assortment of Character minis, some decent "Big Baddies" like dragons and affordable "fodder" (orcs, etc.). The Chainmail sculpting was great, no mistake, but I'm sure it had something to do with the prices. I would be willing to see less elaborate models with more variety and cheaper prices. Whether this means "Bit Boxes" of plastic guys, who knows?

..and I want a pony, too!

PS: It's nit-picking, I know; but I wouldn't mind seeing 25mm scale instead of 28. It's irksome to have 2 minis of the same creature from 2 different lines & have one look a foot taller than the other. *shrugs*

 

[Tewligan]

PS: It's nit-picking, I know; but I wouldn't mind seeing 25mm scale instead of 28. It's irksome to have 2 minis of the same creature from 2 different lines & have one look a foot taller than the other. *shrugs*

Apparently, 25mm is on the way out. When I was watching a sculpting demo at Origins, someone (I think Sandra Garrity, but don't quote me...) was saying that there pretty much isn't any more 25mm - it generally ranges from 28-32mm, depending on company. Also, there's apparently no definite standard between companies - some measure from foot to eyes, others measure from foot to top of the head. But, whichever, minis are definitely bigger than they used to be - figs I have from the early to mid-80's could ride on the backs of the current models, Master Blaster-style.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, I'll chime in on the good/bad GW mini question. I think their minis are much more "cartoony" than most other companies'. Not bad, just a lot more exxagerated. It's a matter of taste, I guess.