What Would You Want In Future 3.5 Products?

[Scribble]

Yes.

The essential requirements for metal miniatures are cheap rubber molds and the metal used to make the miniature. That's not too expensive, if you don't have automation you can do it at home with the right materials.

Plastic requires very, very expensive molds (were talking thousands of dollars for a mold, at least in the 80's). Miniatures that have several parts require several molds. You have to spread that cost over each miniature, which means only large runs are practical.

Because of the toxic gasses from plastic or soemthing? I'm not dissagreeing with you, I just don't know what goes into plastic molding... Seems like it would be cheaper.

 

[Scribble]

Nope.

That's my issue... I used to buy and paint minis all the time. Even bought a few reaper ones... I liked Reaper a lot.

Unfortunately I hardly have time to get my game itself together let alone paint minis anymore...

So I stick with the counter collection. It rocks.

 

[Glyfair]

Because of the toxic gasses from plastic or soemthing? I'm not dissagreeing with you, I just don't know what goes into plastic molding... Seems like it would be cheaper.

I don't know the exact terms off the top of my head, but the molds have to be made of particularly specific well wearing steel. They are very expensive to make.

The Wiki article notes:

Polyethylene and polystyrene figures are made through injection moulding. A machine heats plastic and injects it under high pressure into a steel mould. This is a very expensive process which is only interesting when you manufacture very large amounts of figures since the cost per cast is minimal.

 

[rgard]

painted?

Nope, that is the buyer's job. Crystal Caste and Dwarven Forge do produce painted, metal, non-random figs, but the figs come in boxes of 5 (Crystal Caste) and cost about $25.00 a box.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[rgard]

I don't know the exact terms off the top of my head, but the molds have to be made of particularly specific well wearing steel. They are very expensive to make.

The Wiki article notes:

That and you need a real live steel foundry/plant to melt the steel and cast the mold.

For metal figures:

You can make rubber molds in your kitchen and half a dozen single figure molds would cost you all of about $35 in rubber. Obviously doesn't include the cost of your time, cost of the ladle and casting material (metal.)

See www.alumilite.com

The rubber is good for dozens of castings before it breaks down from the heat of the molten lead/white metal.

Then you are making more molds if you want more of the same fig.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Arnwyn]

Since I asked the question of who would continue to support 3d party publishers who carried 3.5 products, it made me wonder what you would have to see in these products to make you want to buy them. New spells, races, prestige classes, what?

None of those horrible, horrible things you mention. I haven't bought a product with those as its focus in years.

Here's what would make me buy more 3.5 products:
- easily insertable (into FR, for example) city supplements (past examples include Bard's Gate, City State of the Invincible Overlord, Ptolus, etc)
- adventures (e.g. anything from Necromancer Games)
- a 'merchant prince' accessory, that exhaustively details an economic system that makes sense in D&Dland, buying/selling/profiting for PCs in a myriad type of businesses (inns, taverns, caravans, ship captains) that still supports adventuring.

That's the stuff that I buy nowadays. If I can easily fit it into FR, and it's not 'character option'-related, then I buy it.

 

[Scribble]

Maybe I'll start making little silicone dudes...

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

3.5 Al-Qadim and 3.5 Birthright.

 

[Blackwind]

I agree about the old settings: Spelljammer, Planescape, Birthright, Dark Sun. Especially Birthright - just last week I was talking to the guys at my FLGS about how totally sweet it would be to play a Birthright campaign. We got so incredibly pumped that we almost started flipping out and popping six-foot b****s right there in the store!

Seriously, though, Birthright is IMNSHO one of the coolest settings ever produced for D&D, and I only just barely got a chance to play it back then. I would wet my pants over a 3.5 hardcover.

I really don't want any more crunch books (with one exception: martial arts). Cool settings are always inspiring for me to look at. I still don't have good, comprehensive rules for politics, economics, running kingdoms, warfare, or anything like that. What I really need are tools for helping me build up my homebrew worlds, and for creating adventures. Ready-made NPCs, traps, etc. Things that make DMing easier and more fun.

There are already tons of great modules out there and although I'll never have a chance to play them, I hope that 3rd party companies continue to turn them out.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

We got so incredibly pumped that we almost started flipping out and popping six-foot b****s right there in the store!

Memo to self: Avoid Humboldt County game stores.

And do Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe and Dynasties & Demagogues handle most of your kingdom-management needs?