D&D 5E Tyranny of Dragons D&D minis

[Olgar Shiverstone]

This is, of course, assuming he has any interest in buying the minis in the first place. Otherwise, it's just another way to say, "Man, I really hate Drizzt, and I will take any opportunity to make it known."

I like cool minis. I have a gazillion different minis for my game, some I've painted and some pre-painted. I even -- as a result of $#*@ random packaging -- have a couple of Drizzts.

Drizzt is fine if you're a fan of his novels. I'm not, but the novels don't have anything to do with my tabletop game so I'm fine with that.. But unfortunately, the dual-scimitar drow has become so overdone as a trope I don't want to have it forced on my game.

If the photo is for a set, I will not buy that set if it contains Drizzt. I'd happily buy the set with a drow wizard or a drow fighter with a spear, or even one dual-wielding a longsword and shortsword. But I won't have dual-scimitar-wielding drow rangers in my tabletop game, so I'm not wasting my money on a product that gives me a dual-scimitar-wielding drow ranger. Yeah, yeah, buy-sell/throw-away ... call it my own little consumer protest. If they want to sell Drizzt, they can package him separately and I'll buy the rest of the set. But my dollars are not supporting continued Drizzt production.

 

[Morrus]

And that just lost them a sale.

It also probably made them 10,000 sales.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

It also probably made them 10,000 sales.

You think? I wonder, depending on the customer demographic.

There's the collector crowd, who will buy anything, so it doesn't really matter what's in the set, though I suspect there is a bump from Drizzt.

There's a Drizzt novel fan crowd who don't play D&D -- a very large group, but I suspect very few would buy miniatures (though perhaps Drizzt packaged alone). So no real gains in sales there.

There's the D&D playing crowd who buy miniatures for their game. Most probably don't care either way -- but I wonder how many actively plan to use dual-scimitar-wielding drow. Of course a drow mini can stand in for any drow ... so why make Drizzt?

I suspect that Drizzt-fans who play D&D and buy minis for their games is not a huge group, and I suspect it becomes very small if you narrow that to those who will actually use Drizzt or a simulacrum in their game.

So I suspect the target demographic is gamers who like Drizzt, or at least think a scimitar-wielding ranger is cool, and will buy a set containing that figure without the intent to use. How big is that demographic, and are they a subset of the collector group or the tabletop gamer group (understanding that there is a large overlap between the groups)?

I agree there will certainly more attracted to the product by Drizzt than repulsed by him, but I wonder how the numbers actually stack up.

 

[Morrus]

You think? I wonder, depending on the customer demographic.

There's the collector crowd, who will buy anything, so it doesn't really matter what's in the set, though I suspect there is a bump from Drizzt.

There's a Drizzt novel fan crowd who don't play D&D -- a very large group, but I suspect very few would buy miniatures (though perhaps Drizzt packaged alone). So no real gains in sales there.

There's the D&D playing crowd who buy miniatures for their game. Most probably don't care either way -- but I wonder how many actively plan to use dual-scimitar-wielding drow. Of course a drow mini can stand in for any drow ... so why make Drizzt?

I suspect that Drizzt-fans who play D&D and buy minis for their games is not a huge group, and I suspect it becomes very small if you narrow that to those who will actually use Drizzt or a simulacrum in their game.

So I suspect the target demographic is gamers who like Drizzt, or at least think a scimitar-wielding ranger is cool, and will buy a set containing that figure without the intent to use. How big is that demographic, and are they a subset of the collector group or the tabletop gamer group (understanding that there is a large overlap between the groups)?

I agree there will certainly more attracted to the product by Drizzt than repulsed by him, but I wonder how the numbers actually stack up.

I don't know any more than you do, but I suspect the number if folks who will buy a Drizzt miniature are higher than you think.

 

[megamania]

Okaaaaay......

What do we want or has yet to be made? Darksun would be nice and as a heavy Eberron based DM I would love some of that..... but what else?

Gem Dragons?
Stained Glass Golems
More 1/2 Dragon NPC/PCs?

 

[megamania]

The one problem here, and I ran into it with the early sets of Pathfinder Battles is..... how many orcs, goblins and drow do you need? I have been collecting the figures from the very start and frankly have enough goblins, orcs and drow.......

What will WoTC be bringing in to encourage my money spending on figures going to them vs. Pathfinder?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Okaaaaay......

What do we want or has yet to be made? Darksun would be nice and as a heavy Eberron based DM I would love some of that..... but what else?

Gem Dragons?
Stained Glass Golems
More 1/2 Dragon NPC/PCs?

after 7 mini kickstarters (including bones and bones 2) I doubt I need anything...

having said that what would make me spend money like a fool? well I agree with Darksun, just in general more barbaric PCs would be cool. Tiamat (Size huge or bigger) would take my money, but really the new heroforge might make this all moot...https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/heroforge/customizable-3d-printed-tabletop-miniatures?ref=users

 

[DaveMage]

Yeah, 3-D printing could really be the future of this market - specially when we can 3-d print in color.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

If you already have hundreds of mini's you are probably not the main target of these minis. They are the first minis for the new edition, which means they are going to sell a bunch of generic minis that a completely new gamer would want. So expect lots of orcs goblins and common PC minis.

I would love it if WK continues the Dungeon Command game. The lack of mention there, though, makes me sure that it's not going to happen. That was shaping up to be a great game, too.

The mention of a Dungeons and Dragons attack wing pretty much puts the nail in the coffin for Dungeon Command.

 

[exile]

I really wish that I were more excited about these announcements than I am. Years past, I would have been slavering over the new set of minis and Attack Wing. For some reason, though, I am not.

On the one hand, my lack of enthusiasm for these new products may stem from my lack of enthusiasm for the new edition. I love 4E, Pathfinder, 3.X, and I have loved all the previous editions of the game; but I just can't get excited about Next, and that is keeping me from getting excited about these new minis and Attack Wing. To be fair, I was not really optimistic about 4E either until I started playing LFR. So, maybe, hopefully, Next too will grow on me.

I love X-Wing. I love Wings of War. I've never played Attack Wing, but I understand it is similar to the others; but I can't get excited about applying those rules to dragons and fantasy fliers, and that makes me sad. I want to be excited. In ways, it feels like WotC is ripping off other companies' and their success-- going to WizKids for help with minis, making Dragon-whatever-attack-wing as a rip off of other popular games mentioned above. I say all of this, of course, knowing that the success of Paizo is based (in part) on the success of WotC's 3.X.

On the other hand, my lack of excitement may very well stem from events in my own life. I'm getting older (aren't we all). I've moved twice in the last seven years. Each time, I've left great gaming groups behind. This time (and it's early still), I'm yet to find a suitable replacement for my previous groups. I miss my diehard 4E friends in Ohio. I miss my Pathfinder pals in Central Kentucky. I play a lot of Magic now; Magic is clearly king in Eastern Kentucky. My wife puts more demands on my time, and I find myself less able to play in a long-term, meaningful campaign.

The answer too all of this? I don't know. I may keep slaving away (at what is a very demanding, yet personally and financially rewarding job). I may spend more and more time with my wife. Gaming may become increasingly infrequent. Maybe I'll even drop my Pathfinder subscriptions.

Alternatively, I may forge a new group, meet new gaming friends who are as dear to me as my old ones. Maybe my wife will join a game (or maybe the Nine Hells will freeze over-- one of the hot upper levels of course; the lower ones are already frozen, right?). I'll be at GenCon... maybe Origins... maybe even PaizoCon. Maybe my enthusiasm meter will spike through the roof.

The truth is, I don't know what the future holds. All I know is that right now, I should be very excited about these announcements, but I am not. And that makes me sad.