RPGFigures

End of an Era - Star Wars miniatures no longer produced by WotC

LegendGamesMaster — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:02:01 +0100

Well, in these hard times, WotC have officially announced they will not renew the license for Star Wars miniature figures (and the RPG stuff as well, it seems) so the last set, Masters of the Force, will be the LAST set.

Its a shame, because the figures were on the whole quite good. Every set would add a new storm trooper or droid or rebel fighter to make your collection take shape, and we were looking forward to more of the less common figures in different poses. More Tuscans, Jawas and wookies, for example, would have been nice.

Of course this also counts for the Star Wars Star Ship Battles game as well - now no longer to be licensed either. Thats a real shame as we were hoping for another release of star ships from the Star Wars universe.

You can still get hold of the more recent sets, but as stock runs down, they will become sought after by the serious collectors.

We have Star Wars singles for sale at www.rpgminiatures.com at present, so grab a handful while you still can - we will try to source some of the older sets where we can, and stockpile them for future buyers, but we can't make any promises.

Music to game with

Andy Warner — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:20:38 +0000

Over the years, I've experimented with the use of mood music in my games. In some cases it was a roaring success, in others just a waste of time. But I do recommend you give it a go. I've got a small list available on the Seeking Solis website - check it out!

For fantasy campaigns (mine was a Middle Earth game) I used music from the TV series Merlin (UK BBC) to great effect. Also used was the soundtrack from Gladiator and Conan.

A fellow GM once played a wierd CD of 'Tibetan Bowl Music' which was down right freaky. It worked very well in the game as our characters were in a wierd and haunting ruined city deap in the heart of a trackless desert... Had us all nervous as hell just listening - Chris Dalgety, if you are reading - it was brilliant!

Nightmares from the Far Realm

Andy Warner — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:59:16 +0000

Carrying on our discussion about using crossover miniatures for different games, I've been looking at some of the DreamBlade miniatures and how they could be included in a D&D campaign. You can find some on the www.rpgminiatures.com site.

I've got an idea for an encounter in a campaign that requires a sort of bound up demon. I couldnt find a decent figure and then I came across the Caged Grawlth from the Chrysotic Plague set. It's not exactly what I had in mind, but it gave me a better idea as it happens. Now I've got this unnamed horror from the Far Realm all bound up in an iron cage, squished and squeezed up into a mass of pulsing flesh, clawing through the bars with countless adamantine talons.... What the players don't realise is that this creature is much bigger than its confinement suggests, and will almost engulf the room (and them) if it gets out... whcih it most likely will!

Several things of importance in this encounter come about because of the use of a 'crossover' figure. Firstly it gave me a new seed of an idea and provided me with a better encounter for the players. Secondly, they have no idea what it is, even the seasoned Rules Lawyers have never seen it before.

I've got to get it painted up now, as its a bit drab straight out of the box!

crossover miniatures

Andy Warner — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:14:10 +0000

Shock News! you don't have to use official D&D miniatures in your D&D game! Its true you know. And even more amazing is you can use your offical D&D miniatures in other games too.

This realisation opens up a whole range of miniatures for you to use, and best of all, if you are using a miniature that your players are not familiar with, then they really don't know whats about to hit them. Often Literally!

Great games like Call of Cthulhu are limited by the lack of 'official' miniatures for them. Oh how wonderful it would be to easily source a Deep One, a Fire Vampire, or a Llygor to add that feeling of fear and menace. Sadly unless you know a good store that sells them and you can paint relatively well, you are at a bit of a loss. Thats where other miniature ranges come to the fore.

Deep Ones, for example, can be replaced with Sahuagin or Kua Toans from the Dungeons and Dragons range. Fire Vampires with Fire Bats. OK, the Llygor is a problem here - perhaps a plastic dinosaur from any number of ranges - just a quick paint job and a pair of wings from some other model and there you are. (oh, do Llygor have wings - I cant remember!)

If you want to bring some strangeness to your D&D adventure, take a look at the Dreamblade figures for something special. Therre are some really interesting ones out there. There is a Raven Queen figure that would be ideal in a D&D adventure that strays into the Shadowfell.

For those of you in Eberron, the range of machinations and warforged, though growing, is still limited. The Star Wars range has a few brilliant figures that could easily stand in for Eberron monsters.

The list is pretty much endless - experiment with crossover miniatures and bring something new to your games in the new year.

Legacy of the Drow

Andy Warner — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:29:54 +0000

I think I'm right in saying that for many GM's, the Drow are favourite bad guys. They are certainly my favourites. Dark, sinister, calculating and inteligent. The structure of their civilisations, the rivalries and machinations of their great houses, and that ever present Shadow looming over them ready to weave new threads into the web of lies, deceit and trickery the players inevitably fall into.... great stuff.

The range of drow figures increases with pretty much every miniatures set Wizards release, which is great news for people like me.

One of the great miniatures from the Giants of Legend range was the Drider Sorcerer. Now long out of print and very hard to get hold of, its a really desirable figure. The drider has been re-visited since in Desert of Desolation and lately in the Savage Encounters sets. Not as good as the original, but a worthy addition.

I love the Drow Blademaster from Desert of Desolation, and also the assassin from Demonweb, but my favourite is the Xen'drik Drow Stingblade, a Rare miniature from the Dangerous Delves set. It just oozes malice!

check him out!

Cool Miniatures

Andy Warner — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:10:17 +0000

We've been packing and shipping quite a few minitures lately, and that got me thinking... Whats the COOLEST miniature we've seen in the D&D or Star Wars ranges from Wizards of the Coast?

I've always been a Lord of the Rings fan, so when the first Balor miniature came out in the Underdark set, I was a happy MERPer.... And since thats now such a hard to get miniature, they have seen fit to produce another one, in the Legendary Evils range. I still prefer the original, but thats just nostalga....

and - your choice?

In the Star Wars set, I am a great fan of the Uggernaut from the Force Unleashed set. Just a good old miniature with character! What do you think?

Savage Encounters

Andy Warner — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:47:28 +0000

Savage Encounters is the November 2009 figure set for Dungeons and Dragons. Its a 40 miniature set of pre-painted 25mm scale plastic miniatures. This set completes several monster lines from the Monster Manuals.

Noteable miniatures are the Angel of Valor Legionnaire and the Tiefling Necromancer.

Full set lists and images available from Legendgames and RPGMiniatures.com