”But do i NEED this mini?

”
A qick guide for getting the most commonly used miniatures for D&D, By Nicolai Hiorth

This guide was written as a guide to the game master starting their collection. Or just as a check list for
people as myself, that have a tendency to collect ”the cool” monsters such as Dragons, Beholders and
purple worms. Although they are nice to have, they are not what most campaigns would consider a
”common encounter”.
It is a strange feeling you get as a game master when you have 20 Dragon minis but can't make a
convincing Gobling encounter because you only have 5 Goblins.

If you are on a budget, or want to start gaming now and have no time for painting miniatures. You can
use paper minis, you can make them using a printer or buy premade. I recommend Paizo's Pathfinder
Paper minis

This list is based on my own experiences with D&D during the last 25 years, and the input of the
members of The tabletop Crafters Guild (list of specific contributers at the end of the document.
Game styles vary, if this guide don't fit you playstyle, you are more than welcome to suggest changes.
(Also a note English is not my native language, but i try :-) )

Group humanoids

This group is a wide selection of creatures you most commonly meet at lower levels, but can be used
later by just increasing the number of monsters and how well prepared they are. They are also usefull
as cannon fodder or minions for a bigger enemy.
Goblins, Orcs and Lizardmen can often be found very cheap second hand as they are common minis
in warhammer games. Reaper bones have a very good selection as well
Hobgoblins, Bugbears, Gnolls, Kobolds, Troglodytes, Bullywugs great monsters for group
encounters, and can be mini bosses on lower level. Reaper Bones have packs of most of these races.
And i recommend them for group monsters as they are often handled roughly (scooped up by the
handful by the DM.)
Fairys/sprites can be sourced from warhammer wood elves, where there is always a couple of these
guys lying around as surplus
Stirges, Dm Scotty have a nice guide for making these guys https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=uGYcd4ufb7I
Drow, Every company have these, if you need many pick up some Warhammer Dark elves

Undead
A main stable of any decent dungeon crawl is undead. Weaker undead is horrifying in large hordes, you
can't have to many zombies or skeletons in your collection.
zombies, Skeletons also a common mini in Warhammer, find them second hand or buy a box with a
bunch of them. For special undead most companies have nice skeletons and zombies
wraiths / ghost if you don't have a dedicated ghost mini, a base humanoid mini, painted in white and
muted blue colours are a good substitute
Slimes Can be made with blobs of hotglue, painted with washes for the different types.
Animals
Any travel outside civilized areas can result in encounters with animals, but spells such as polymorph
or a druid's shapechanging will need animal minis very often
wolves A lot of Warhammer orcs and goblins ride wolves, find them second hand.
Giant Spiders a nice guide for building them is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ABjkoXbX2I
Giant rats and rat swarms can be found in Warhammer Skaven packs and most companies have nice
models as well
wild animals (Boar, bear, lion, tiger, horses) (also usefull for druids) use what ever you can find and
make, you can't have to many animals, they are used as encounters, companions, messengers,
shapechanged creatures. A lot of the larger animals can be found by a toy company called Schleich
Bug swarms, Bat swarms Reaper and Wizkids have good models, consider that they occupy the
same space as the creatures the attack. I advise having minis for the start of an encounter, and then
placing a ring or marker around the characters attacked.
Familiars / imps a couple of companies have familiar packs, often including imps.
Hyenas, very useful for encounters involving Gnolls, if you can't find any, use wolves or dogs

Giant or singles
This is creatures that are large or powerful on their own. Remember the larger minis often take a long
time to paint
Ogre a true horror at lower levels,and good in groups at higher levels. Reaper bones have some
excelent ones and Warhammer have a bunch for cheap.
Giant One of the most common large minis, there are many types, but the thing to consider when
purchacing is the inflation of size Giants have gone through in roleplaying. If you find older minis, they
will look puny compared to newer miniatures. I have Ogres larger than my original Ral Partha Frost
Giant
Displacer beast, A supernatural encounter the players will remember, it is often a good idea to have
two of these guys
Hook horror, Umber hulk a must have for encounters in the underdark, combined with Mindflayers or
Owl bear such a strange creature. But they keep popping up during long travels in most terrains
Troll. All companies have these, you can use ogres if you dont have enough
Illithids powerful as a solo monster, really scary in larger numbers
Mimics, anything can be a mimic, not just chests, doors and barrels, go nuts! Make your own, don't
waste money on pre-made
Angel, The cleric did good and summoned an angel or you need to save the entire party because you
made an encounter way to deadly? You need an Angel
Golems more types than I care to write here, get a Flesh golem and a steel golem, and make the rest
from bits you have lying around :-)
Elemental they are the main slaves for wizards or encounters in areas with wild magic or connection to
the elemental plane. Most companies have a pack of the four elements. But most of them can be made
using nothing more than hot glue and small pebbles
Gargoyles, you need two.... at least
Bullette. If you can find the old original chinese toy version go for it. If you hate your players get two!
Werefolk/lycanthropes buy minis dependent on your campaign, most can get away with a couple of
werewolves
Shambling mound several companies have them, or you can cover a normal mini with Flocking
Otyugh Scary monster. Guide for making one here https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=YurzGpw_NB4
Roper and Piercer also a standard under dark encounter. You can make them as stalagtites with
eyes and stalagmites with tentacles. I couldn't find a video guide, but I found this song ??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkME-1yhxtU
City encounters

One of the most overlooked groups of minis are this, some like to use them for pure roleplaying
situations, such as shopping at the blacksmith. But they come really handy fighting in the streets,
escaping the thieves guid or the obligatory tawern brawn. I'm not going to write anything special about
these minis but simply list what you should get
City guards
Bandits.
Assassins / thieves
Townsfolk
Cultists / robed humanoids
witch / hag
Farmers
Children
Corpses / corpse markers murder mystery or just for marking dead in battle
Chests and barrels Not really minis, but a bit of scenery you need all the times

Contributers: Scott McCafferty, Troy Nantais, Peter F Adams, Jonathan Nelson, Jarrod
Bigalky, John Schlicker, Alex Nelson, Lonnie Silk, Toti Schmeisser, Sheldon Poeling, Edward
Flaherty, Jason Newell, Blake Edward Holman II, Jeffrey Dickerson, Clinton Eidman, Randy
Seehafer, Shane Miller, Cal Vanoni, Timothy Tregeagle, James Bradshaw, Joanna Beu, Mark
Benson, Robert D. Kolodner.