Best game pieces according to redditors
We found 196 Reddit comments discussing the best game pieces. We ranked the 93 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 196 Reddit comments discussing the best game pieces. We ranked the 93 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
The Core books with the alternate cover. It is a little expensive but boy, they look gorgeous!
Metallic dice, they're so nice and make a nice noise when they land
Giant d20. The numbers aren't balanced, but it is a nice way to decorate something with sweet D&D ref
Make your party minis in Hero Forge!
Amazon in my experience is one of the best places to buy the books when it comes to price. The books are almost always constantly on sale for 20% or 30% off.
It also depends on his role. Is he mostly just a player? An aspiring DM? Either way, if he already doesn't have it he should have the players handbook. Probably the Dungeon Masters guide, and a few others. The top books I'd say he should have (in order of priority) are probably:
There's also a bunch of other books and adventures, but these are most important. For adventures I highly recommend Tales From the Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Curse of Strahd and Storm Kings Thunder.
Now, if you want to make the gift more special, there are a few of the more prestigious (or at least cool) items.
The Rook and the Raven makes superb notebooks. I use them, my wife uses them. I highly recommend them. They are a bit pricey for a notebook, but they are well made, disco-bound so you can add pages and customize your layout, and there are pages with special prompts to help you brainstorm and organize. Whether you are a DM or player, I highly recommend them. Start with either a player diary or DM planner, then go from there. Warning, your skills order these right away. They makes each book custom from scratch, so fulfillment can take a while (sometimes 8 weeks or so).
https://shop.therookandtheraven.com/
Want to get him the books, but make it a bit more memorable? Get the Core Rulebook Gift Set with Limited Edition Covers. Very nice looking, has the players handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual with special edition covers, as well as a special edition Dungeon Masters Screen. You can find it on Amazon (see link below) or sometimes at your local game store.
Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Core Rulebook Gift Set Limited Alternate Covers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IiERDbMK8RT3K
Dice. Dice. Dice. Players and DMs alike love Dice. Especially cool or special dice. You can look around on Amazon for large sets of regular dice (Wiz Dice Bag of Devouring: Collection of 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets for Tabletop Role-Playing Games - Solids, Translucents, Swirls, Glitters, Alchemic Oddities https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rlERDbMH5C6AB), miniature dice (Wiz Dice Halfling's Haversack - 140 Mini Polyhedral Dice, 20 Colors in Complete Sets of 7, Miniature 10mm Pocket Size is Portable and Great for Travel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BWK7HVB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HkERDb6P484G7) or some sets of special material dice, like metal dice (TecUnite 7 Die Metal Polyhedral Dice Set DND Role Playing Game Dice Set with Storage Bag for RPG Dungeons and Dragons D&D Math Teaching (Shiny Black and Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CVT3RZR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GmERDbQ090HDB).
I would also check out Artisan Dice. Very pricey, but VERY nice. There are some dice from here made from ACTUAL stones like Malachite, and some even made from Bison Horn.
If he's a fan of Critical Role you should of course check out their Merch Shop. Plenty of cool items there, like apparel, maps, tankards, etc.
https://shop.critrole.com/
If he likes using digital tools at the table, you can always get him a subscription to D&D Beyond. It can be a very useful, intuitive tool.
There's so much out there, it's hard to choose. And everyone has different tastes, so its hard to make specific recommendations. If you have any questions, let me know. Getting new players more involved in the hobby is one of my favorite things. And honestly, you sound like an awesome mom. I would have loved for my mom to have supported my hobbies like this when I was younger, and it's impressive the kind of research you are doing. Hes a lucky kid.
Edit:
Just remembered a few more things. Reaper makes excellent miniatures he can use in his games, and mini painting is a great hobby he can get into. Check out Reaper Miniatures (https://www.reapermini.com/) and some sets of paints. I recommend Vallejo or Citadel for paints, but Reaper also has some nice starter kits. For tutorials, have him look at YouTube, especially channels like Goobertown hobbies, Miniac, Black Magic Craft, etc.
Also, right now Reaper has a kickstarter going on. They've done this a few times before and it's been quite successful in the past. It's going in now and will end Nov. 1st. Basically, you pledge a certain amount of money and they give you a TON of minis at a much lower cost per mini. I think the core set is like $120, but I think you get well over a hundred minis, so it's a great value. If you don't mind waiting on the actual gift (fulfillment is expected around Feb 2021?), it can be a great way to quickly get a ton of cool minis.
Reaper Miniatures Bones 5: Escape from Pizza Dungeon, via @Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reaperbones5/reaper-miniatures-bones-5-escape-from-pizza-dungeon?ref=android_project_share
Cards Against Humanity is a great dorm game as long as you're not at a super conservative college. (Apples to Apples can be substituted, too.) My friends and I played BANG! a lot. Any short, easy-to-learn games are really great to have.
In this vein: a rug or floor cushions. I lucked out with nice hardwood floors. Most dorms have linoleum. Have something nicer for guests to sit on and keep it clean. If there's room (and your roommate is cool with it, too), a couch or cozy futon will instantly make your room the best one to hang out in.
A small speaker with an AUX input, preferably Bluetooth.
My personal favorite thing in my dorm was my aquarium, which are usually allowed in dorms. A little 5 gallon betta tank is calming and a good conversation starter. Just make sure you're ready for maintenance if you do that and have a plan to get the fish home at the end of the semester.
Less fun but very important: A lamp. Dorms usually come with fluorescent lighting, like what you find in offices. It makes your room feel like a hospital. Buy a floor lamp and it's instantly 100% more homey.
I feel like this could be a future r/prorevenge and r/maliciouscompliance story crossover episode by using Monopoly money from Amazon...
I mean, if OP is comfortable giving us an address we can send this to, we could collectively crumble his economy. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be too difficult to do it on your own.
I looked it up and found the pack with the three core books and DM screen all with alternate covers on Amazon for $199.99 plus $24.99 shipping. Amazon. Says they will be available Nov 7th and arrive December 14th if you pre-order. Given the price and the shipping time, buying at an local game store would probably be your best option.
Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-RPG-Rulebook-Alternate/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540402409&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+gift+set+limited+edition&dpPl=1&dpID=51zkcYDTtuL&ref=plSrch
You are incorrect, sir or ma'am. Local game shops have been selling them on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_hbm8BbRJVC3MM
And they were even available for Pre-Order on Amazon as soon as they were announced. Soo..
Tutorial:
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6a) Use a small dot of Elmer’s glue to secure the sides together. It’ll dry clear, but means you won’t be able to play right away. Important: do NOT put a huge glob.
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Hope that helped! This method creates pretty thin minis that can be carried around in a book for easy transport! Once I get the video done I’ll post it here and on my Patreon.
Like this?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HFG969C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Couldn't resist the alternate starter set myself.
Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Core Rulebook Gift Set Limited Alternate Covers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_t5bPDbD43X1T6
I ordered these stickers and these chits
It's the Players Handbook from the Limited Edition 5e Gift Set, which contains the PHB, DMG, and Monster Manual with alternate covers. (They're otherwise exactly the same as the regular releases.)
I found this while digging through Amazon. Hopefully this should be enough!
Nice! I bought these recently https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C7PR2BJ/ and am quite happy with them. Your solution is much cheaper, but if you have $10 to spend, the little plastic holders do a great job.
Generally, I play gridless and just make a quick sketch on a whiteboard.
If for whatever reason, I need a grid (such as when running Tomb of Horrors or another TftYP dungeon), I prefer a dry-erase foldable board. (The one I currently use is a Khaosworks grid board.) Why dry-erase? Because using a wet-erase marker on a dry-erase board is more fixable than using a dry-erase marker on a wet-erase board. Why foldable instead of rollable? Because, anecdotally, foldable boards lay flatter than rollable boards.
Is this not the same?
Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Core Rulebook Gift Set Limited Alternate Covers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_hbm8BbRJVC3MM
Local game store deal for $170 (10% off on preorders), although I think Amazon offers it for a significant price jump.
Edit: Correction, they are slightly cheaper on Amazon but support your LGS.
It is part of a special edition Core Rule Book Set
Check your local game store if you can. If you don't find them there or aren't near any, Try This Boxed Set or Alternate Covers.
> they don’t even have to be good or look like the models
I've used these, they are a bit smaller than GW, but I think the cost is low enough to make up for that.
I bought a bag of these a while back. Been working really well as mooks.
This may sound kind of dumb, but actually Lego minifigs are relatively cheap, and infinitely customizable... and bizarrely enough there are custom ones out there which look like almost anything you can imagine.
The fact that they all look like Lego ironically means that it doesn't matter what they look like.
That, or you know, counters with pictures on them are pretty commonly available on amazon and at your FLGS. Or blank 1" hexagons.
Or there are stand up figures where you can print out and glue on any pictures you want.
For Tau, the current meta is pathfinder gunners with rail guns and stealth suits. you can pick up a box of both for about $50 total.
https://www.amazon.com/Warhammer-Tau-Empire-Pathfinder-Team/dp/B016S4S9OK
https://www.amazon.com/Tau-XV25-Stealth-Battlesuits-2015/dp/B017O5I29Y
the start collecting box is good value with lots of drones, the ethereal, and crisis suits. The troops can be breachers or fire warriors, but not pathfinders.
check out this video for other entry factions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXd4NjJOis
> Bang è un bel gioco, vale la pena anche prendere le espansioni.
Io consiglio la pallottola
Relevant link so people can see the awesomeness
https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-RPG-Rulebook-Alternate/dp/B07HFG969C
As expected, most are pretty poor. Here are a few people might consider.
I only own of a couple of these, but if I were to throw a prototyping jam I would get:
Color Sharpies
Blank Boards
Blank Cards
Blank Tokens
Pawns
Counters
Dice
I think that would cover 95% of anything you'd want!
I signed up for his patreon and used them A LOT so far. They went off the rails with Skerrin and are slowly getting brought back into the story line but it was super clutch on the smugglers boat and the salvage quest. My players really enjoyed actually seeing the pieces in a similar way. They were looking at the different weapons and stuff. I even printed out some of his "fluff" pieces like cocoons. I'm going to use this alot in the Isle of the Abbey quest. Gonna make that certain part of it a real dark place.
I went and bought heavy paper at wal mart. I can't remember the weight but it felt similar to a birthday card, maybe a little thinner.
I bought these from Amazon. The pdf from the minis lets you click and change how they print out. I did it so they were mirror images so when you fold them it shows the front and back of the character. Print, cut them out, fold over, stick in the holders. Works great. I can't remember exactly how I did it but you can also set up the mini how you want and then copy the image over to a Microsoft Word doc and I would create a whole sheet of various mini's for all the encounters. Just lock the aspect ratio of the image and set width to 1". Print one big page and cut them all out. I had them paper clipped together for each encounter. Then put them in their holders and deploy them onto the battle mat.
I will say that my laser printer did not like paper so for my next encounter I'm probably going to cut the card stock into blank 1"x 2" pieces and print the minis on normal printer paper. Maybe glue them to the blanks. I had a few feeding issues and the toner on a few didn't adhere very well near the end of the page.
I have some of my nicer modern and legacy cards in 9 pocket dex binders. They are around 23 bucks on Amazon. I also have dragonshield binders with side load sheets. Sorry for crappy formatting I'm on my phone. I have the UP sheets and BCW sheets and I actually like the BCW better. The professor also did a review on this stuff so check out his channel.
Dex Binder 9 Pocket Side Loading Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019JO412A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rToVDbNWVHBT2
Dragon Shield Slipcase Binder, Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074MHLPFY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YVoVDb7SK0AZE
BCW Supplies Black Double-Sided 9-Pocket Pages Holder (10-Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V0EY556/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KWoVDb4MGEGBH
Paper Miniature Bases, 20mm Circle, 3mm Clear (25) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RKJW2L4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_E74TAbASM21W9
Paper Miniature Bases, 25mm Circle, 3mm Black (25) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RKMHW34/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_s84TAbQTXD8Z9
You can also get bigger ones for large creatures.
These cut figure stands let you print out anything you want and put it in the stand. (I print two copies and put them back to back)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M1TW42K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Well I had a couple friends who were already interested in it, but just didn't have the motivation all by themselves. I had some extra cash lying around and told them I'd be a third part of their trinity.
I started by buying the $70 Tau Start Collecting box. This is just a good efficient purchase to get me a few units to play around with.
My friends, to encourage me, spent $100 to buy me paints, special scissors, file, glue and brushes.
This was all the starting. Since while that Start Collecting box was no where near enough.
so far I've bought
Rapid Insertion Cadre - $170
Broadside - $42
Pathfinders - $30
Fire Warriors - $42
this is not counting the additional paints and brushes I've had to buy. In total I've spent near $400 on this game
and I'd say I've got close to a good early collection looks like. I'm almost ready for a 1k game, which is basically a small game of 40k.
oh, btw, that's just the figures. We haven't even made a place to play on yet. So we've begun investing in making terrain. Which is even more money and time.
Hey everybody, I'm a new DM and am going to DM my first in-person session soon (have done Roll-20). I wanted my players to have minis for the monsters, but they can be expensive as we all know. I made my own and wanted to share my project.
I bought this game piece set from Amazon and a pack of 1" x 2 5/8" address labels from the store. I printed out my minis using the label template in Word and they stuck right on to the game pieces. Then I trimmed the excess off the top since the labels are longer than the game pieces.
I like this method so far and feel like it gives me nice, stable minis with the potential to last a long time. I'm not a huge fan of the bases that came with the game piece set, and plan to get different ones once I order more of the cardboard pieces. Now I just have to think of what to do with when I need to make large-sized minis.
Let me know what you think or share your own mini creations!
I've never had an issue with munchkin. We all back-stab each other and it's all in good fun. Now...Killer Bunnies on the other hand...yeah that always got nasty.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned bang when mentioning card games. It's fun as hell and also very light-hearted.
That DM screen is normally only available as part of the limited edition gift set. https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-RPG-Rulebook-Alternate/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=pd_sbs_14_5/132-7781302-9702733?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07HFG969C&pd_rd_r=91fd645c-d34b-47b7-9829-df29026a2f32&pd_rd_w=JHeMC&pd_rd_wg=5jq6L&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=KZWEDGB5JDS3SM0DCZ08&psc=1&refRID=KZWEDGB5JDS3SM0DCZ08
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If you want just the screen you'll have to look for a third party seller.
> meeples
Shit just got real.
I use these.
The books are beautiful too! Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Core Rulebook Gift Set Limited Alternate Covers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wxrACbE0MFZ3Z
https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Miniature-Bases-Circle-Clear/dp/B00RKJW2L4 or https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cherry-Plastic-Wargaming-Slotta-Bases/dp/B003E2XTF4 but you might need some blu tack or something to hold your paper figs in the latter bases.
10 fit fine, and 12 also fit pretty well (though I usually split the 12-card stacks into 8/4 and put the 4 in the back of the page)
edit: here's the brand, which come in black and red (and maybe other colors)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N98WGBG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RYI6CbK1PHS5J
Is printing them out of the question?
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IIRC, there are many options for sale as PDF (like these).
You could find a printing center near you that can print in card stock. And maybe buy bases like these.
Or print in plain paper one of the tent-styled/tri-fold tokens (like this).
I like big sexy books. Here are some of my recommendations. Though finding the physical copies of some may be difficult.
Well I used several different methods in the above picture and I’ll try to describe them each.
The red blue and grey looking disks I actually bought some clear “paper miniature bases ” off amazon. I then wrote numbers in black on the bottom then painted over that for a cool colored look. And then I added a felt furniture pad on the bottom so they slide well. They work just as well if you leave them clear but i like to use colors to separate groups.
I also made my own paper bases with some card stock and glue sticks.
Here is an example file.
It’s a little hard to explain but you fold the textured sides over the circles on the long lines. Use some glue to adhere it down. The texture sides will overlap, which you then fold each side straight up to create a slot of sorts. Then trim accordingly.
One of the easiest methods I recently started using is to just buy some felt furniture pads. They come in many standard sizes that work great for miniature bases. Then use whatever paper you want to add texture/color etc to put on the adhesive side. Once you cut them out just use an x-acto knife to cut a nice slit in the felt pad.
There is another more permanent method you can use, but I don’t like it as much because it hampers how easy you can store them. When printing and cutting them out you add a little half circle at their feet on each side, this then folds out and creates a full circle so the base and miniature are all one piece. You can then glue it to a washer, coin or felt pad to add weight. But like I said they take up more space when not in use.
Let me know if this isn’t too clear. I found I just googled paper miniature bases and found quite a few creative ideas too.
I bought this dry erase grid which works great with miniatures. And these or these for paper miniature bases that you draw yourself are awesome if you don't have $1k to spend on miniatures! I think it makes it much more fun because you can give your players cut out index cards to draw their own character at session 1.
If your group really loves the tactical aspect, it really sounds like grid-based combat is the way to go. That's where all the tactical action comes in. Theater of the mind is great if you want to speed up combat and focus on roleplay without slowing down due to calculations and figuring out movement, but it sounds like your players like that aspect to the game. There's no reason to avoid it if it's a fun part for your players!
To some it's tedious, to some it makes combat extremely fun. I for one love strategy games and doing theater of the mind takes half the fun of combat away for me. I want to pick exactly where I move and what I attack and consider who can get opportunity attacks and how to coordinate. That doesn't translate well to theater of the mind. But grid-based doesn't have to be expensive whatsoever either.
I will definitely do that! Also If people are interested I have BANG! The Bullet! which I could bring sometime!
Je recommande fortement le jeu Bang!, un jeu de carte Western Spaghetti pas mal plaisant!
Here's a photo of our last game, the final game in a short campaign.
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The villian, Lillian Angstrom was a mad scientist who had given herself powerful psyonics. At the start of the fight she split herself into three projections who all fought simultaneously.
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If I wanted to use real miniatures for that, I would have had to find a miniature of a shaved-head female wearing college robes who was in an appropriately dramatic pose. I then would have had to purchase three of them and had them prepped for a single session of play.
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Instead, I made her in HeroForge exactly to my specifications, took a screenshot, and had three identical minis in about 20 minutes. I bought a pack of these bases, put some magnetic sheet on the bottom, and stuff the slot with sticky tak. They are printed on cardstock folded and glued on themselves, and them laminated with packing tape. The paper minis are thick, glossy, and durable. The bases are magnetic so they are secured to my metal shelf. They are quick and easy to make, and they are functionally free.
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I can't stand the idea of being limited by my collection. Especially since almost all of the monsters I actually run are modified to be appropriate to the game. So yes, I find paper minis to an incredibly good solution.
I use these token stands from Litko I got off Amazon. They take a bit of self-assembly with acrylic cement but once they're done, you have clear, re-usable holders and all you have to do is print out some monster images on paper and slide them in. They come in a variety of sizes, the bases of which fit great on a standard grid.
For the actual monster images, I use either the official artwork if they have art, whatever Google images pulls up, or find something cool on Pinterest (actually a great way to search for fantasy artwork since it can find similar pieces very easily). I just put the art in a simple MS Word table template with cells sized already and print and cut them out.
Before I found those holders, I used some of these Warhammer dice. I would turn the number side to something roughly denoting how tough the monster was in the encounter (so a 6 would be the boss of that group, a 2 would be a low level minion). When they died, I could flip the die to the skull to indicate that it was just a corpse now. I still use these occasionally for fodder-type enemies because one pack comes with so many dice.
For boss-type enemies or recurring NPCs, I do like to find an appropriate actual mini.
you can get some of these and print out your monsters. They make various sizes:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M1TW42K/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00M1TW42K&pd_rd_wg=8SmEe&pd_rd_r=PWGYAXH3FYZ86KG74VHK&pd_rd_w=oHQVO
I've been super happy with this and these.
2 pack costs $11.10 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EPU9UP2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JxuyDbRTJXFEB
I use these: Board Game Pieces- 50 Pack- Blank 1 x 2 inches Rectangular Tombstone Diecut Token Cards with the Paizo Pawn bases. Just print the miniature on mailing labels and stick to the cardboard.
You could also use something like this: Game Board Markers - 12 Stands Plus 24 White Die Cut Cards if you don't have Paizo Pawns.
Bang!
Oh man, the card game itself is awesome.
http://www.amazon.com/BANG-La-Pallottola-The-Bullet/dp/B001037L8K
It's a western themed card game. We used to play it all the time in college. It's like mafia, where everyone has a role (sheriff, deputy, outlaws and renegades), all with a mission to kill somebody. You have a character card that has it's own ability and there's guns/bullets.
The online game is not as fun because it's all about playing with friends and reading one another but since my group of friends is dispersed throughout the world now, the online game's an easy way to waste some time before I go to bed.
I highly recommend you check out the card game if the concept interests you.
I love the containers I found. For awhile, walmart was carrying these little round containers that screwed together in their fishing tackle aisle. I bought a whole ton of them, and use them in a bunch of games... none work as amazingly well as Agricola though. It makes setup such a breeze.
Behold
and in the box
I also replaced all the animal cubes with Animeeples that I got for free from Gencon a year ago. I kept the bag of cubes though because... how can you throw away pieces, even if you don't use them? :D
The best thing I invested in after buying the books and starter set was a big bag of meeples. They're so crazy versatile, you can grab a handful and make a crowd, you can use them as player characters, you can use red meeples as goblins, yellow meeples as guards, etc.
Here's a link if you're interested: Apostrophe Games 100 Multi-Color Wooden Meeples - Standard Size (16mm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZ36NYJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Hl6qDbQMG9FBZ
Yes you can spend all your money on monopoly money and hope the price increases. Good luck! https://www.amazon.com/Monopoly-Updated-Color-Money-Currency/dp/B00EPU9UP2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=monopoly+money&qid=1562462539&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1
This should be on the sidebar with how often it comes up.
Anyhoo.
Pathfinder Pawns. Will need to purchase/make additional stands.
MTG: Arena of the Planeswalkers
Bulk Meeples
For specific minis, like say you want a nasty demon or Boss Monster, Reaper minis Bones has a good selection. While they are affordable they are definitely still prohibitive cost-wise to buy in bulk IMHO. They occasionally do Kickstarters for a new season/line and that might be an affordable way to get a bunch.
So, as someone who is relatively new to DMing (started just over a year ago), here's what I'd suggest to make sure you keep your cost down, while still having figures you can slowly replace over time:
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Starting off, you can get a lot of generic "green-army-men" style fantasy figures for relatively cheap.
They're not very expensive and what they lack in quality they make up for with quantity.
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The next best solution I have for cheap decent figures is for animals. I've been able to find tubes or tubs of a decent selection of cheap, pre-painted figures at just about every Walgreen's or CVS Pharmacy I've been to. I use these guys for animal encounters, pet companions, and they're especially helpful for my druid.
If you can't find them at your local drugstore IRL, there's plenty of selections you can find online.
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Now, players understand you can't afford unique figures for every encounter. However, I've noticed that the figures you have stand in for whatever they're fighting can sometimes be distracting, or if you have multiple identical figures it can be confusing knowing which one they're targeting in a battle. A great, cheap solution I've found to this is just using multi-colored generic pawn pieces like from the game "Sorry!". The pieces themselves are so nondescript (other than color) that the players have an easier time projecting the combatant you describe onto them, and the various colors make it easier to track what's going on in a battle, both for the players and DM.
If you can't just salvage an old Sorry game you find lying around you can find packs of the pieces or other generic multi-colored pawns online for very cheap.
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This last suggestion isn't really about where to find cheap figures, but more to address the reason you said you wanted figures in the first place, to "help the immersion".
You may have heard of the website HeroForge before and it's a great tool for D&D players. It allows you to make very customizable figures for your games. Now, the cost of their cheapest figures are still over $30 for a single figure, so definitely not cheap. However, as a DM, I still regularly use it. I use HeroForge to help design notable NPC's or enemies for my campaign, then save the screenshot of them and post the image in our group chat when the character gets introduced. This is very helpful for a lot of reasons: I get a more solid idea of characters that I was designing in my head, it gives the players a visual and helps with the immersion, and when I DO decide to actually order a character (like, for example, a villain or NPC I know will be reoccurring for many sessions) it becomes a MUCH bigger deal and way more intense.
I also always recommend that PC's at the very least design their figures on HeroForge for the same reasons.
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I hope these were helpful. I'm still in the process of building my figure collection as well and love to share cool tips or resources I have found while doing so.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MD1A7QH/?coliid=I35K3QRE59VC5V&colid=2OTGD8LF2EWPG&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Bang! if you enjoy board games
Thud! if you enjoy excellently written stories with a great plot and fair bit of humor thrown in
> cross between Belgian quad and stout
It was a bit like a cross between a non-imperial stout and a quad. That's a good way to put it, though I think that he was probably going more for a cross between a stout and a strong saison. It just didn't quite get to saison territory for me.
> Agricola sounds really fun. I love a good board game, especially one with sheep.
It is really fun, particularly if you upgrade your meeples.
https://www.amazon.com/Apostrophe-Games-Player-Pieces-Multi-Color/dp/B07C7PR2BJ
https://www.amazon.com/BCW-Supplies-Double-Sided-9-Pocket-10-Pack/dp/B00V0EY556
I use something like this with a simple folder. Most of the time I mix freestyle by myself, which makes it perfect to browse through. I also see instantly when a card is missing.
Googling "paper pawn stands" produced some promising results:
I've tried the "draw as they go" tactic with a D&D group, an erasable grid, and a big, big whiteboard and absolutely killing myself with the speed-arting, and it is absolutely a fun way to go.
One thing I've found is that if you wanna Do It Live, index cards, sharpies, scissors, and card stands can be used to create on-the-fly miniatures of anything you or your players can dream up. Do you have a player who always starts the game by buying every unit of livestock they can because the manual technically allows it and they think that it would be funny? Good thing you can whip up a horse mini and eight chicken minis right away! :D
If you're working with a 1-inch grid, throw in a few 1-inch cubes (for verticality!) and you can throw yourself at campaigns where you can set up locations pretty much on the fly.
But, yeah, this new project has been loads of fun, partially because it gives me a bit of breathing room to think about what happens next and really go to town on the art.
You can get the AdMech alone for $33 - https://www.amazon.com/Warhammer-40-000-Mechanicus-Skitarii/dp/B00VE6WTPI . If you want to supplement them, you can also pick up a box of Sicarians, but those are more expensive.
For Astartes, I’d recommend picking up a box of cheap sniper scouts ( https://www.amazon.com/Space-Marines-Scouts-Sniper-Rifles/dp/B000GD3JMC ) or Intercessors ( https://www.amazon.com/Primaris-Intercessors-Combat-Squad-SW/dp/B075CNLVH8 ) or both to supplement your Reivers. That will give you a lot more flexibility to deal with other teams.
For Tau, I would consider, depending on budget: a box of Stealth Suits ( https://www.amazon.com/Tau-XV25-Stealth-Battlesuits-2015/dp/B017O5I29Y ) and a box of pathfinders ( https://www.amazon.com/Warhammer-Tau-Empire-Pathfinder-Team/dp/B016S4S9OK ). And maybe a few packs of tactical drones: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Tau-Drones-2015 .
https://smile.amazon.com/Baosity-Pack-Hexagon-Natural-Crafts/dp/B07JYBXXPT/
https://smile.amazon.com/Value-Pack-200-Hexagon-Counters/dp/B07662K53D/
I would think these, or some of the other suggested items they lead you to, should do the trick for quick prototyping.
This listing appears to be fulfilled by Wizards of the Coast
I just started the process of using BitBins of various sizes and a couple of these portable craft storage boxes to condense 10 board games into two cases for easy transport and storage. It might be a solution for your situation.
Personally I use theater of the mind in my own game where I DM. I play with a group of creative people with excellent visualization skills, which is probably why that works so well for us, but I feel like with enough practice, theater of the mind can become natural to any player.
In a game where I am a player, not a DM, we use mostly theater of the mind, but occasionally our DM will draw out a dungeon or whatnot in a large poster, and we will use Meeple in place of minis. Each player has a different color, and we use other colors to show objects of interest and enemies. At one point we were lugging around this massive tapestry with us, and it got its own meeple. You can even choose your color based on character traits. Our mage chose Blue to match his cloak, I chose purple for my hair, another player chose silver for her eyes.
Here you go..
I'm assuming you missed the word "play" in there, right? And "Bang" should be capitalized? ....right?
Personally I like these https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Miniature-Bases-Circle-Black/dp/B00RKMHW34/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=dnd+stands&qid=1571143334&sr=8-12 (assume you can get them over there)
On the cheap (and highly available) use binder clips https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/5n6jld/oc_i_made_my_own_minis_today_using_binder_clips/
To cut circles use one of these cutters.
What you would do is print the image on 65lb to 100lb card stock. Then glue them to these game board markers.
You can also use sticky back vinyl to print and stick them to the above circles.
All of the above can be found in different sizes to match your existing tokens.
I assume you'll be running a pre-made campaign? If so you can often find a lot of maps for free or very cheap at the DM's Guild: http://www.dmsguild.com
Just print them up on your regular 8.5x11 or A5 paper and do so as a collage or mosaic. That way you have your full sized map, plus you can "assemble it" as the play session moves.
Second, you don't need to invest in miniatures. Just simple game pieces work fine. I just use these game pawns and note the color for the enemy race at each battle: https://www.amazon.com/100-Assorted-Game-Pawns-Colors/dp/B01ED4JQYO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482850334&sr=8-3&keywords=game+pieces
If you do want to get some miniatures and keep it more affordable, the Paizo cardboard pieces are way more affordable than an actual miniature.
https://www.amazon.com/WizKids-Nolzurs-Marvelous-Miniatures-Adventurers/dp/B078226SXR
Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures Campsite.
100 Assorted Game Pawns - 10 Colors - 10 of Each Color https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ED4JQYO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3SZpyb6B76NMK
Would something like this work?
Bang is an awesome and extremely replayable card game for groups. It's sort of like "Mafia" but more organized and without the pandering to the one drama nerd who LOVES to be the narrator.
Bang! The Bullet Halo 3 Limited, I never finished the fight :/
If Halo fell off the planet, that'd be interesting. Bang is better.
For the combats, I really like to use printable minis with the mat. I got a package of bases off Amazon to use with them, although I think there is a way you can use the paper minis without the bases. Alternative to these, you can use any markers you have around the house, such as coins, other game markers. Also to make it easier, as the PCs walk into the room where the combat is going to happen, I usually draw the map (and any unusual features) instead of telling the players.
Place where I got the papers minis https://www.patreon.com/PrintableHeroes/posts?tag=Free%3A%20Miniature%20Archive
The bases https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RKJW2L4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
they're nice, but i hate how hard it is to get them open. i just picked up a set of bitbins containers on amazon here and am really happy with them. the smaller rectangular containers are just the right size for mini cards, but unfortunately the larger size is a few mm too short.
also, these wham boxes from home depot are excellent for storing larger quantities of tokens and mini cards. they tend to fit in most of the game boxes that I have, and the lids pop off easily so it's easy to get to the tokens and cards during gameplay.
They seem to be on Amazon UK in limited supply.
The other option is to print your own. See https://www.patreon.com/PrintableHeroes for one example.
I used LITKO 25mm Paper Mini bases off of Amazon for to stand my printed minis in: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RKMHW34/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1