Two stupid questions

[Eltern]

I went into my local gaming store yesterday, and saw the Miniatures Handbook. My first reaction: "WTF?!"
I had never seen it before, and was just so confounded by the concept. Can someone explain to me -why- this sucker exists, other than to sell more minis, and give some new base classes?
For the record I am extremely annoyed by WotC's miniature campaign, so I started off on a bad foot.

As for things WotC does right...
The Complete Warrior. I looked in it, and it looked good. For someone who never bought any of the splat books (1. I was poor 2. 3.5 happened and I figured they're "resplat") is this thing worth buying, hands down? I skimmed through the presitge classes and they were ok but none that I specifically wanted to have right away, but there's more to the book than the pclasses. Should a gaming group have a copy of this book?

Thanks,
Eltern

 

[D+1]

I went into my local gaming store yesterday, and saw the Miniatures Handbook. My first reaction: "WTF?!"
I had never seen it before, and was just so confounded by the concept. Can someone explain to me -why- this sucker exists, other than to sell more minis, and give some new base classes?

It exists to sell minis, period. 3E was VERY miniatures friendly from the get-go. 3.5 certainly made it more so but if 3.0 did not give you any problems in that regard then I just can't see anyone complaining about 3.5 changes in that direction.

The Miniatures Handbook itself? Don't buy it if you don't like the idea of D&D as a wargame because that's what it's for. You might notice that it's still on a skirmish level because D&D probably never will translate usefully to large-scale battles. It also provides basic classes to tie the miniatures game and the RPG together to an exent, giving you reasons to invest in the minis regardless of which angle you're coming from.

Myself, I've been buying quite a lot of the minis because I've always liked miniatures, have NEVER played D&D without them (for some 25 years mind you), are less expensive than metals and require no painting or forklifts to move from point A to B, and I confess I like the collectibility angle. I bought the book for no particularly good reason since I actually anticipated that I would NOT be playing it, although I may end up using it to help teach D&D to one of my players kids.

 

[Trainz]

I agree with you 100% (OP) where it comes to miniatures, although we play with Interactive Dungeon (http://www.geocities.com/trainz_ca/ID).

The Complete Warrior however... an awesome addition to our gaming group. Get it, and just start by using the extra feats. See if you like 'em, and then move on to the prestige classes.

Awesome book.

 

[James McMurray]

Another problem with the Miniatures Handbook is that mch of what is in there is balanced from the persective of the miniatures game, not the roleplaying game. There's at least one feat in there that is more powerful than an Epic feat!

 

[Ranger REG]

I just want a full review of the new Miniatures Handbook material. Is it good? Is it bad? Can one seamlessly integrate from RPG to mass combat, which is the next evolution to running a kingdom and defending it (or expand by force).

I know most of you pride yourself to be true roleplaying fans, but then there are old-timers like us, who started with a wargaming mindset (and an eye for the "lord" level in 1st edition).

Someday, my PC will run an army, and I want a ruleset that allows me to see how my army fare in the battlefield under my PC's leadership and management.

 

[Gnarlo]

Another problem with the Miniatures Handbook is that mch of what is in there is balanced from the persective of the miniatures game, not the roleplaying game. There's at least one feat in there that is more powerful than an Epic feat!

Emphasis added. I just don't see the problem, since the title clearly states Miniatures Handbook. It would be like buying a baseball almanac and stating that the problem with it is that it doesn't have stats on football in it.