Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jonny Reload 11-17-04, 06:48 PM	I already did a search for this topic so before the pitchforks and torches come out, I wanna at least let you know I made an effort to look for this but came up empty handed :( Now that books like "Cry Havoc" and "Fields of Blood" have come out, I'm extremely motivated to running a "Build a kingdom" campaign kind of like Birthright except much more extensive. Obviously when the players villages get attacked they might have a few NPC's to fight along side them (Which is still managable) and we love to use miniatures... But what happens if they get to build cities or keeps... Obviously their military forces get bigger and thus new rules for engaging enemies are needed (Unless you'ld want to roll for EVERY SINGLE UNIT) So my questions for D&D Miniatures come after browsing through the book... First off it looks like a completely different game, there are different classes, different rules for combat and how magic work... It just looks like it can't be meshed with a D&D role playing campaign properly. I just wanted to know if theres anything helpful in the D&D Miniatures book before I pass it up (Since it seems like a stand alone game rather then a supplement for a D&D game)
Kweaper 11-17-04, 08:20 PM	I was also wondering about factor. Can you use D&D minitures in a normal D&D game?
Draco Strang 11-17-04, 09:52 PM	Oh, for sure you could. There's no reason you couldn't do the mass combats with miniatures, and your PCs could be generals, or trusted sub-officers, or even a strike force. It might take some work, but I bet the two could mesh really well.
Dartanel 11-17-04, 10:00 PM	I was also wondering about factor. Can you use D&D minitures in a normal D&D game? Umm... That's all I use them for? :)
Kweaper 11-17-04, 10:20 PM	so can you use any miniature to represent your character or should they match your character the way they look?
Dartanel 11-18-04, 12:22 AM	It's certainly easier if the mini you pick to represent your PC looks at least similar to the way you imagine the PC to look. But it's not mandatory, I guess. Then again, it's a game, nothing is mandatory. :)
wereooze 11-18-04, 05:50 PM	so can you use any miniature to represent your character or should they match your character the way they look? That would be upto the bylaws of your gaming group. But generally, as long as the character and the mini are kinda close, it doesn't cause many problems (using a plate maile & greatsword mini for your wizard will cause problems). Minis and a graphed surface are by far, the simplest way to organise any melee combat scenarion in D&D
CzarGarrett 11-18-04, 09:08 PM	What also works well is Legos.
ORC_Paradox 11-18-04, 09:38 PM	Absolutely! D&D Miniatures is 100% compatible with the D&D game. The miniatures game DOES have it's own set of rules and such for skirmishes. It's very much like the D&D rules, only more simplified. But, you can just use the regular D&D rules for your D&D games. I was recently introduced to the Miniatures game by Autumn. I think it's a LOT of fun as a skirmish set of rules. And when we play our regular D&D game, we also use the miniatures for that.
kliate 11-18-04, 10:38 PM	If you can be a shoe in monopoly, there's no reason why you can't use a Silver Sorceror to represent your Aasimar Aristocrat That said, I would still encourage a selection of miniatures that won't be confusing to the rest of the group. More importantly, when the mini used differs from your idea of what the character looks like, it might help to bring up the differences at least once. If you want to have NPCs work alongside the characters when in the middle of a village attack, I suggest organizing them into a single unit. Give them a warrior or two within 2-3 levels of the party and let everyone hack away at the enemy. If the other members of the militia are hurt, move to a hospital or temple as a group. Every now and then, remind the group that crowds of people are panicking in the nearby streets to keep up the feel of a real (populated) city. For the most part, the easiest way to deal with mass combat is to make up your mind on what happens outside of the PC's frame of reference - just remember to account for the party's efforts. For example: The orcs invade a large city The city is as follows: 12,000 people 9000 human 1300 elf 1200 dwarf 500 halfling Population breakdown: 1 Ade10, 1 Ade9, 2 Ade5, 2 Ade4, 8 Ade2, 75 Ade1, 1 Ars8, 1 Ars6, 2 Ars4, 2 Ars3, 4 Ars2, 69 Ars1, 1 Brb8, 1 Brb7, 2 Brb4, 2 Brb3, 4 Brb2, 8 Brb1, 2 Brd9, 4 Brd4, 8 Brd2, 16 Brd1, 1 Com 12, 1 Com 10, 2 Com6, 2 Com5, 4 Com3, 4 Com2, 10541 Com1, 1 Drd8, 1 Drd6, 2 Drd4, 2 Drd3, 4 Drd2, 12 Drd1, 1 Ftr11, 1 Ftr9, 2 Ftr5, 2 Ftr4, 8 Ftr2, 16 Ftr1, 1 Pal9, 1 Pal8, 4 Pal4, 8 Pal2, 16 Pal1, 1 Rog12, 1 Rog11, 2 Rog6, 2 Rog5, 4 Rog3, 4 Rog2, 16 Rog1, 1 Sor7, 1 Sor6, 4 Sor3, 8 Sor1, 1 War11, 1 War10, 4 War5, 8 War2, 1054 War1, 1 Wiz7, 1 Wiz5, 2 Wiz3, 2 Wiz2, 8 Wiz1 Attacking Orc Horde 1 Clr16 1 Brb16 6 War12 12 War6 24 War3 5000 War1 To run this sort of encounter, you'll probably be leaning towards an orc victory. You might put the PCs through the following combat encounters: -6 separate encounters against a group of 10 Orc War1 and 1 Orc War3 -2 separate encounters against an orc War12 with 2 War6 -One encounter against either the Cleric or the Barbarian For the sake of fairness, you should probably have an arbitrary amount of damage on the Cleric or Barbarian when the encounter begins. Finally, you should allow for a certain degree of player creativity (they may decide to try and evacuate as many townsfolk as possible, or skip all encounters until they find the leaders of the orc invasion). After the PCs do their worst to the Orc invaders, you may decide that 2000 townsfolk are dead (mostly first level commoners) and 5000 are missing (either hiding or ran away from the town). The decision is purely a judgement call, and a lot easier than trying to resolve a few thousand d20 rolls to see if the commoners were "hit".