WotC changes how D&D mini's are going to be sold.

[megamania]

First the economy then this....


Miniature collecting is coming to a fast end. siiiigh.

 

[Klaus]

I think the focus on classes rather misses the point in this instance. For me, a mini's usefulnes isn't determined by the class it's intended to represent, but rather by the equipment it's carrying. For instance, a human fighter with heavy-ish armor, a weapon, and a shield could as easily represent a paladin.

While I understand (and to an extent, share) your conernces about the variety of minis available to represent any given character concept, I think I'll wait until I know what the minis will look like before deciding if WotC has done enough to represent a wide-enough variety of characters.

The classes serve a guideline for what to design. I just did all 128 variations for the Fiery Dragon BattleBox. When a male Fighter got sword + shield, I gave the female a two-handed weapon, and tried to invert that with the Paladins, to cover not only a wide range of classes, but of builds as well.

 

[darjr]

The last article about customizing star wars mini's has links to the 11 other articles.

The 12th article is at: Customizing Star Wars Minis 12

 

[Stormtower]

Speaking as someone who was an early adopter of DDM, and has at least one of every mini from every set, I'm not pleased by this announcement at all. My usual buying pattern for a new set is two sealed cases plus singles to fill in the missing ones off the secondary market. I know that many DMs who primarily buy for RPG utilization have a similar purchasing pattern.

As others have pointed out, this new sales and distribution model carries a significant per-mini price increase which can only be echoed on the secondary market. That's not good for virtual storefronts like Auggies (which makes me a sad panda), but it does give WotC/Hasbro more control over the market.

There's another issue here, though. As a DM, one might be initially pleased at the new semi-random distribution of the proposed MM sets. Per Merric's Laws of Minis, paying more per mini for a greater likelihood of getting the exact minis one wants is a potential draw. However, now consider the impact of 4E's emphasis on battles with multiple monsters... with only five monsters per pack, and less commons per purchase, DMs will need many more total purchases of the MM blister packs to achieve WYSIWYG results with minis on their battle maps.

Put another way... on Auggie's I can snag 25 or 30 common goblins or orcs or skellies for $.25 to $.50 per piece, and drop those minions all over my glorious 4E battle maps. But with the new distribution, the price to get those same mass-numbered mobs of common minis goes up significantly, and this is coupled with an intentional in-game mechanical emphasis on more monsters per encounter. I consider myself a free spender with DDM but even with my vast collection I find myself using proxies sometimes. With the price increase and less total common minis floating around on the secondary market, I can't see how this helps new DMs starting in the hobby; nor can I see how this decision creates incentives for existing collectors to keep buying.

The CCG-esque quality of power cards included in the boosters is also an ominous sign for future marketing and sales patterns. This is the first time I have considered weaning myself off DDM since Harbinger was announced in 2003. I could be wrong, and this could be the start of something better and more empowering for those (like myself) who primarily buy DDM for the RPG side of things... but my gut tells me this is the beginning of the end for DDM.

 

[Drkfathr1]

I think this is a big step forward when it comes to the minis, and I applaud the move. The price seems pretty fair too, so long as the quality improves over what we've seen in the last few sets.

However, I completely LOATHE the idea of collectible powers now.

Hopefully anything they do with "unique powers" will end up compiled in future sourcebooks, and not just in the online compendium.

If D&D as an RPG gradually shifts more towards the "gotta catch 'em all" mentality I'll finally stop buying into new editions! (still not fully sold on 4E, although I'm giving it a fair shake for now)

 

[Dausuul]

I so move the following; do I have a seconder?
Any DM in any situation including tournaments that bans a power* for the sole reason that the player doesn't have the original card shall forthwith burn their DMG in front of their players and resign from DMing.

* - banning a power because it's broken, or because it sucks, or because it doesn't fit the game, etc., is of course still in play.

Lanefan

I require players to have the power in print in some form if they want to use it at the table. I don't care if it's on a power card, a printout from the Rules Compendium, or a homebrew power you made up yourself, but I do insist there be a printed reference to consult on the details of what the power does. When players quote the details of a spell or power from memory (and I include myself in this, it's seldom intentional), limitations and drawbacks always seem to fall by the wayside, and the beneficial effects always seem to get a little better.

But demanding the original power card - yeah, that would be lame.

 

[Mandor]

You'll be getting 1 rare mini in 5, rather than 1 in 8.

True, yet completely misleading. I'll still be getting only 1 rare per $15. The big difference is I will be getting only 4 minis in addition to the rare where I used to get 7 minis in addition to the rare.

As Stormtower pointed out, 4e has increased the number of monsters needed for encounters and the price per monster will increase starting next year. That's a bad combination.

 

[Mercule]

Compendium or no, I see a house rule IMC where power have to be in a book or magazine to use. Power cards in mini packs == distasteful.

 

[Fifth Element]

As an example, you could have a pack of say Eladrin and Elf Rangers.
* 1 Elf Male Ranger
* 1 Elf Female Ranger
* 1 Eladrin Male Ranger
* 1 Eladrin Female Ranger

Elves and eladrin are a bad example, since they can be made androgynous enough that the male/female split matters little.

 

[Fifth Element]

I don't think this will change anything for me. I'll still buy them on the secondary market after retailers open the boxes. Although i am glad the size of the sets are smaller. 60 models a set is a TON! Hopefully it means the quality of some will be higher.

18 heroes + 40 monsters = 58 minis in the set. A bit less than 60, technically.