Miniature Madness

So... when I get started on a project that I'm passionate about, I get obsessive. Since I haven't run a D&D campaign in over a decade, I really want to do things right - I want to blow my players away, and make sure that everyone has as good a time as I can possibly give them. Since I'm using miniatures, this means using good, pewter miniatures of the Reaper line instead of the awful, plastic, pre-painted ones that Wizards of the Coast produces. The upshot of this is that I'll end up with a ton of fantastic miniatures I can use in future campaigns or games (sort of like an investment in my D&D future). The downside is it's a decent chunk of change, and a lot of work up front.

Since my players are all going to be starting off at first level, most of their encounters will involve typical D&D yard trash, such as kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, spiders, etc. To drive this point home, in the past two weeks I've painted 21 kobolds, 2 fire beetles, 2 giant bats, 2 giant spiders, 3 dire wolves, 4 men at arms, and I'm currently working on 9 goblins (pictured above). I also have to move at a pretty brisk pace, because I stagger my miniature orders out weekly at my local game store. What this means is that this Thursday I'll have miniatures for about 9 orcs, a couple NPCs, a few bandits, and some town guardsmen coming in.

The good news is that once I finish the yard trash minis, and start focusing my attention on more exotic creatures that the players will encounter (you know, beholder-esque stuff), the number of miniatures I'll have to paint will go down, and the fun will go up. I'm really looking forward to getting the opportunity to paint some ogres, or trolls, or elementals, etc.

Is all this necessary for a good D&D game? Not even close. But I really think it'll add to the experience. If nothing else, it's a chance to rapidly improve my painting skill!