D&D: Inexpensive Miniatures options

Whether you are new to Dungeons & Dragons or coming back into the hobby after many, many years, you will probably want to add various play aids and accessories for your game. Right at the top of the list are miniatures. Whether you play old school or new school D&D or other similar fantasy TTRPG, maps and miniatures are an integral part of the hobby... but they are so expensive that it takes some quite time to build up a collection and then you have to paint them all. 

Fear not! There are inexpensive alternatives to unpainted plastic.

At the top of the list are Pathfinder Pawns. These are stand-up cardstock miniatures and they are pretty inexpensive for what you get. The Monster Core Pawn Box contains over 450 creature pawns. This is a huge assortment for just about any game. While $75 isn't terribly cheap, the volume of creatures included is worth the price tag.

There are generally only one copy of a lot of monsters, but common monster groups are represented with multiple copies such as goblins, orcs, skeletons, zombies, etc. A full list of the box contents are on the Pathfinder Wiki.

After the Monster Core box, the NPC Core Pawn Box should also be right at at the top of the list. Coming in at around 350 pawns, this contains a huge allotment of regular townsfolk as well as various adventurer NPCs and humanoids. You'll get Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, Goblins, Orcs, Lizardfolk, Kobolds, Ratfolk, Catfolk, anything-you-like-folk. The variety is impressive and the full list is also available at the Pathfinder Wiki.

If you think you want to start out with a smaller collection, Gamemastery Guide NPC Pawn Collection is a a very inexpensive (approx $25) collection of townsfolk, adventurers and ne'er-do-wells. This is a small overlap of pawns with the larger NPC core box, but there are also many different varieties of similar NPCs, so both NPC boxes together give a massive variety of humanoids. 

There are also several smaller pawn sets for specific Pathfinder adventure paths which can work for most games. The Giantslayer Pawn Collections contains a large variety of giants (obviously), but also some trolls, orcs, a few dragons, and a variety of other large and huge beasts. The smaller collections run about $20, so they are often a good supplement for the larger boxes.

Lest you think I'm just a Pathfinder shill, there are also other cool options. The ArcKnight miniatures company has an awesome line of flat acrylic miniatures as well as maps, and terrain details to accompany.

The ArcKnight DM Starter Set is the place you'll want to start. With over 160 beautiful acrylic standees, this collection is a great starting point for miniatures. The acrylics have front and backside art and the starter set has an awesome variety of icon foes for any D&D campaign. 

If you need more monsters in a specific category, ArcKnight sells "Horde" packs for humanoids, undead, wilderness, and dungeon dwellers. Their products are a great way to expand an existing miniature collection when you need foes that fit a particular theme.

Lastly, if you still crave 3D plastic miniatures, there are ways to expand you collection that are cheaper than others. The Dungeons & Dragons board games as a somewhat inexpensive way to source specific miniatures. Wrath of Ashardalon comes with an awesome dragon, otyoughs, bears, orcs and cultists while Castle Ravenloft has an array of different undead - skeletons, wraiths, zombies as well as kobolds, wolves, and undead dragons. 

Each of the board games comes with a party of adventurers - Fighters, Rogues, Clerics, Wizards, etc.  As board games, they aren't that bad either, but the miniatures are the main attraction. Note that they come unpainted, so you may want to spruce them up yourself.

D&D 5e: Haunted Halloween - the Sequel!

Source: Dungeon Magazine #171

It's that time of year again when spooky one-shots are all the rage! Don't miss this opportunity to run something horrific (or just a little weird) to add variety to your D&D game.  

Ten years ago, I recommended several chilling adventures for your Halloween spectacular. This year I offer a sequel nearly 10 minutes years in the making!

Nothing Unusual Here

The citizens of Mudhole are unusually fond of their miniature pigs, carrying the pigs with them everywhere... everyday... all the time. Is it a pet fad or something more sinister? A side trek for 1st - 3rd level parties where the PCs actions may actually be the worse thing to happen to this town.

Killer Kobolds from Outer Space

Leaning hard into the gonzo science-fantasy side of D&D, we come across out of this world oddities like Killer Kobolds from Outer Space. In this twist on a normal adventure, the players take on roles of hapless kobolds attempting to obey the orders of their mad Kobold Kween. Madcap escapades and brutal violence ensues. This is not your ordinary one-shot and is a excellent way for your group to let loose on the crazier side of RPGs. The art alone is spectacular and worth the cost of admission.

Serving the Squash

Surely nothing could go wrong with an other-worldly pact to precipitate a bountiful harvest, right? Right? In this adventure hapless 1st level characters find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can they save the night and the village by fighting off gruesome gourds?

Night of the Walking Dead

As noted in my original Halloween article, Night of the Walking Dead is a classic zombie horde adventure written originally for the Ravenloft setting in AD&D 2nd Edition. It now has a 5th Edition conversion. You will need both the original module and the conversion file to run this for 1st to 3rd level PCs.

Dead by Dawn

Requires Dungeon Magazine #176 and the 5th edition conversion guide. This Dawn of the Dead hommage written for D&D 4th edition is set in a ruined temple in which the PCs must hold out until dawn while wave after wave undead attack. Dead By Dawn has a 5th Edition conversion guide balanced for 3rd level adventurers. This adventure runs on a timer, and each tick of the clock gets a bit worse.

Halloween In Phandalin

For DM's running Lost Mines of Phandelver or Dragon of Icespire Peak, this Halloween adventure can slot right into a Phandalin campaign... but fear not. Even if you are not running a Phandalin game, this adventure can be placed in any small town. The adventure add a new dungeon to the town and the threat of rising undead. For 3rd to 5th level PCs.

The House of the Midnight Violet

Long-time DM's Guild contributor Jeff Stevens presents a quest to explore an abandoned house on a haunted isle. In House of the Midnight Violet, what appears to be a simple step-and-fetch quest in complicated by spirits longing to escape. Along the way, PCs will be encounter with feral cats, creepy dolls, and a demonic finale. The adventure is set for parties 4th to 6th level with scaling suggestions for less or more powerful parties.

The Haunt

From the mind of Phil Beckwith comes a trilogy of terror starting with an exploration of a haunted manor house, another creepy doll, and a nasty hag. The Haunt is for a 4th to 5th level party... with caveats.

Source: Halloween Knight 
from Reaper Miniatures

The Haunt 2

In The Haunt 2, the creepy doll is back and as bad as ever. In the ruins of a cursed, a child's illustrations paint a picture of a horrific haunting. The PCs will experience clues in the form of spine-chilling visions. Can they solve the mystery and survive? The Haunt 2 is intended for a party of 6th level... lower level PCs enter at a dire risk. 

The Haunt 3

In the final adventure of the trilogy, the evil doll's trapped soul yearns for release. Can the adventurers travel through time to prevent her hellish imprisonment? The Haunt 3 is intended for adventurers around 8th level or a more extreme challenge at 7th level.

The Haunt Trilogy is also available as a special edition Hardback or PDF bundle that includes extras such as updated maps, item cards, combat trackers, and custom papercraft miniatures!

The Liching Hour

What happens when a goblin wizard gets it into his head that the path to power lies in summoning Vecna? Well, you definitely don't want to be nearby to find out. Fight your way through cultists, undead, beholder-kin, and a newly risen lich to survive the night. For 5th to 8th level PCs.

There are so many amazing Halloween adventures on DM's Guild that it's impossible to find all the best. Please add your own favorites in the comments!

Is D&D 4e the worst edition for role-playing?

TLDR: No... but you know the algorithm rewards click-bait headlines.

As I was re-reading some of my older books, I had a re-revelation about about some of 4e least-fair critiques, one of which being that D&D 4e doesn't support role playing mechanically.

Now, to be fair, no D&D edition support role playing with very robust mechanics. It is assumed you will play out any NPC conversation with the DM and they might call for a skill roll. That's pretty much it.

But D&D 4th Edition actually adds an element of social mechanics through Skill Challenges. There may be a role-playing goal the party needs to achieve such as a negotiation which may consist of a number of successful skills checks to convince the NPC or group to help the party. The PCs may bring different skills to bear such as Diplomacy, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, or even Performance... Basically anything that might win over the NPC in the negotiation.

This could be a diplomatic negotiation, an interrogation, rallying troops to improve morale before a battle, winning a contest of wits... Basically, it could be anything that relies on the social skill of the PC's. 

Skill Challenges can also be used for physical events that require multiple checks such as a chase scene, or finding one's way out of the wilderness, but my observations are more about the role playing aspects of these challenges. I also discuss the character generation process within the Player's Handbook and how that supports the role playing aspects.

I understand 4th edition is nowhere near perfect. It certain has its flaws. But I also believe those flaws are often exaggerated because reasons. Regardless, I hope you enjoy my video observations on role playing in 4e. In future posts, I'll likely explore the absolute gems that are the 4th Edition Dungeon Master's Guides. Please like and subscribe to help me out with the algorithm! 

D&D: A Better Way to Fudge Dice

 As it happens every 6 months or so, the topic of fudging the dice comes up.

I’m probably not going to change your mind on fudging, but I stress that should be a Session 0 topic for your game. Disclose to your players what kind of game you play so everyone is in agreement.

That said, I think there is better way to fudge. Will you take a few minutes to hear me out?

B/X-5 Revisited - Redesigning 5e classes for a low power game

Hey there D&D community,

If you've tuned in to the blog over the last 10 years, you might know I've been working on a redesign of D&D 5th Edition classes to make something a little bit more like old school D&D. 

So, as my ZineQuest Kickstarter (only $3!), I've resumed this effort and am working on Warrior, Priest, Mage, and Rogue classes as well as 3 ancestry specific classes -- the Dwarf Earthshaper, Elf Warden and the Halfling Ferret. 

I thought I may find a happy medium between the very simple design of Basic/Expert D&D and today's 5th Edition bells and whistles. I talk a little bit more about the design goal in the video,, but please check out the Kickstarter here. 

Episode 13: The Finale - Running Storm King's Thunder

Another year gone by and it's finally time to put a fork in the Storm King's Thunder series. It's done. Sorry for the long overdue update. Life sometimes gets in the way. 

In this video I re-summarize the major changes I made for Slarkrethel and Iymrith and mull over the rush up to the final battle. While the battle itself was not terrible, mistakes were made and it didn't end quite as planned. What lessons are to be learned from this?  Timestamps follow.

00:00   Intro
00:40   It's been a year. Yikes.
02:00   Summary of Recent Events
02:58   Trying to wrap up the campaign in 2 sessions.
05:45   Changes I made to the Storm King adventure
07:29   Slarkrethel's Motivation
11:00   Iymrith's Motivation
12:55   Klauth's Motivation
16:00   Slarkethel's Plan
17:00   Hekaton's Rescue
21:30   Maps and Props
24:45   The massive 3D battle map
27:40   Why the battle didn't quite work
29:00   Spreading themselves too thin
32:30   Buffing up Iymrith
33:30   Splitting combat duties between the giants and PCs
35:30   The Dust Storm Lair Action
40:55   Time has run out.
41:40   Taking the "L"
42:35   The Big Disappointment
43:30   What Could Have Gone Different?
47:00   Should I have gone easy?
48:30   How It Should Have Ended
52:25   Final Thoughts
55:30   No Hollow Victories
56:40   Lessons Learned?
58:00   Outtro - Like and Subscribe

Review: Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5e

Back after a long hiatus. This week I take a look at Lord of the Rings Roleplaying (5e) and talk about how it compares with The One Ring and its 5th Edition predecessor Adventures in Middle Earth. There were some strange choices made by the designers of this RPG which I note around 14:00. I discuss Jouneys, Counsels, and other mechanics specific to this game. Chapter timestamps below (sorry about the audio delay in the middle).

TLDR: This is an excellent adaptation of The One Ring to 5th Edition mechanics. However, if you are not adverse to trying a new system, consider picking up The One Ring instead, which in my opinion captures the "feel" of Lord of the Rings slightly better than the 5th Edition mechanics.

Lord of the Rings Roleplaying - https://amzn.to/43swqrm
The One Ring - https://amzn.to/3P26I8O

Side note: I forgot to mention in the video that if you have any Adventures In Middle Earth books, do not fret. Adventures are almost entirely compatible and will likely translate with minor adjustments. Any cultures not in the core book will need some adjustments to fit the new design.

00:00  Intro
00:25  Overview of Lord of the Rings Roleplaying and The One Ring
02:00  Setting of Lord of the Rings Roleplaying and The One Ring
04:10  How Lord of the Rings roleplaying adapts 5e mechanics
04:50  Cultures (similar to Races in D&D)
07:45  Callings (similar to Classes in D&D)
08:30  How Callings maintain the lower magic feel of Lord of the Rings
    09:25  The Captain
    10:38  The Champion
    11:20  The Messenger
    12:32  The Treasure Hunter
    12:54  The Scholar
    I forgot the Warden which is somewhat like a D&D Ranger (or a LotR Ranger, for that matter). 
13:58  Some 5th Edition rules are missing from the book.
19:50  Journeys
24:12  Differences in Healing and Resting
28:20  Patrons
30:10  Counsels
31:50  Shadow Points
34:06  Differences between Lord of the Rings Roleplaying and Adventures in Middle Earth
36:30  Skill Differences
41:30  Is it a buy?
44:55  Maps of the Shire and Eriador
46:50  Outtro