A new hobby of mine has been painting miniature figurines used most commonly in D&D. These are simply referred to as “minis”. The minis represent both monsters and heros of the game. There are tons of different figurines that you can buy and paint, so you have a lot of options, and options are always good. The main categories of minis are warriors, wizards, dragons, demons, ferocious beasts, and terrifying undead. When the figurines aren’t being used for playing, they are set up in a display case usually in battle formation. You can also get minis that go with the actual minis game. Each of these come with a two sided game card. I am not too familiar with the mini’s game, so I’ll let you look further into that.

As for the miniature’s role in the actual D&D game, it is very beneficial. I find the use of the minis not only helpful for battle situations, but it’s just a cool thing to have the minis to tie in the fantasy world of D&D and the real world we live in. Battle situations can become a lot clearer when using the minis because you can physically see what you can or cannot do. For example, without the mini’s you may want to charge forward and the DM states that you were just knocked unconsious because you charged a wall. This, however would not happen if you had the mini’s themselves. Of course the use of the game boards is also helpful. These are the boards that the minis stand on for traveling and battle. This shows all wall, bushes, rivers, roads, benches, etc… as well as the squares for moving.

Now the acutal minis themselves can come in plastic or pewter, painted or unpainted. Of course I get the pewter unpainted, but you can get them from the manufacturer painted. I have done this and I don’t like the way they look. If you don’t have the time or artistic ability to paint them yourself, I suggest spending the extra money to buy some that have been hand-painted. This also makes the minis unique. So go out and get yourself some figurines and enjoy the full experience of D&D!