Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures

 So apparently I am on a roll, this is the third post tonight. Like most gamers, I like computer games and tabletop wargames, but I love Role Playing Games. I have played quite a few (OK, a lot)and read many more. 

Currently, I play in two games online using a: 

• Virtual TableTop (Roll20, Foundry VTT, Alchemy)
• Discord (to handle conversations, out-of-game chats, and music)
• Obsidian (for notes) 
• A reference site for character sheets and rules (D&D Beyond, Demiplane, or 5e tools). 
• Token Stamp 2 (for making tokens) 
• As for maps, I use whatever I can find or create using online sources. 

And one game using the usual stuff; 

• Books, Big Sheets of Paper, Dice, Character Sheets, Pencils, and Miniatures

Now playing online is awesome, and actually fairly easy once you get the hang of it. The ability to play with friends around the globe is amazing.  When home computers first became a possibility for the average home, I just wanted one so I could organize my AD&D tables and encounters. Little did I know that 40+  years later, I would be able to play online.  

However, I still enjoy playing on an NVTT (Non-Virtual TableTop).  I love the face-to-face conversations, the facial expressions, the DM's raised eyebrow, the nonsense, the bluffing, and ...  

(Whew! Long road to this destination of this conversation.) 

THE MINIATURES!

I love plopping down a nicely painted monster or miniatures that the players so painstakingly painted to represent their characters. I have miniatures on my shelf that, when I look at them, take me back to the great adventures I had with my friends. (Yes, very nostalgic).

I believe that my attraction to miniatures began when I was young.  I was kind of sickly as a child, and my mom needed to take me to the doctor often. (Maybe not more than any other child, but it just seemed that way to me.) After, we would head to a small mercantile store in town and I would get a small plastic figurine of a knight. There was a series of these knights, and their parts, weapons, and shields could be interchanged.  

So when I began playing the new Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game with miniatures, I was enthralled. (Hence the verbiage under the title). Very shortly after playing, I began painting miniatures. 

Ok, Sherpa, we have established you like miniatures, so what is this about? 

Well, DMs for NVTT's need miniatures, and lots of them. My friend who has been playing and DMing longer than I (by only two years) has well over  2000 miniatures (a very low guess, I think). 

So, how does a DM build up his collection of miniatures quickly?  Well, bargain hunt for them, look at posts, eBay, Craigslist, ask friends, and Amazon. 

Right now, Amazon has Wildspire Miniatures sets for a really good price.  There is enough in a set to get a DM started; they are of very nice quality and easy to paint.