Question - Miniatures for the game?

[Supplement Four]

I've never played with actual miniatures before. I've always felt that they were too expensive and not worth the cash.

But, for my new campaign, I've conisidered buying a few.

For you miniature lovers out there, a question: Is there a brand that would go well with the Conan game? Maybe a company that does historical minis? Vikings--barbarians, stuff like that?

I'm not interested in painting, so if they're already painted, that's good (otherwise they'll stay not painted). Also, I'd want them to have a base that will fit in a one inch square.

Any recommendations?

 

[Phobos]

I was thinking about it some time ago, and the best option is plastic historical miniatures of Warlord Games, Immortal or Wargames Factory, with some metal individuals for the PCs. Take a look

 

[Supplement Four]

Thanks, man, I'll check those out.

Where's the best place on the net to buy 'em?

 

[Phobos]

check their own online shops, they usually offer discounts

 

[Malcadon]

As a mini-fan, I base my collection around the HeroQuest boardgame. I would buy game sets just to cannibalize it into a large HQ set. I am also not a snob with what I use, as I would use metal and plastic figures of different sizes, as well as plastic toy army-men (medieval troops, Indians, cavemen, M.U.S.C.L.E.s, and so on), fold-up paper standees, flat cardboard chits (the counters used in hex-based wargames), and such. I even found a site that has some really good 3D paper furniture and floor tiles. It gets quit elaborate!

As for RPGs, I find that the same setup vary distracting - having to pause the game while I sort through figures and place the right ones on the table. Unlike HQ, RPG rules tend to more complex and I like to keep the action flowing. When I use miniatures in an RPG, I use a simple grid mat, and I use chess pieces for NPCs. The type of "battlemat" I use is a vinyl mat by Chessex, with whiteboard markers (if you use this type of mat, rub-off all the ink before putting it away so it would not stain). I use chess pieces so I can quickly set them up, but the players still use normal figures for their own character. For some special features (tables and chests), I just use d6s (which I have a ton of on the table), and hope the player don't mistakenly use them for rolls.

As for miniatures, I highly recommended Reaper Miniatures, as they have a wide range of quality miniatures (they even produce the best Conan figure I had ever seen). I used to use Foundery before they got really expensive, but good stuff no less. If you like old-school D&D art (and dont mind male genitalia) then I would recommended Otherworld Miniatures. This site is like a museum of of old figures (there are a number of producers that still make the old stuff, but you would have to do your homework). I found a number of paper figures online, but this - Creatures of Tekumel - is my favorite (Soldiers of Tsolyanu, the Mihalli, the Mrur (undead), and the Temple of Dlamelish sets has humans).