Last weekend at my regular D&D game, one of my players asked me “where I get this stuff” while unrolling a copy of the Magma Keep battlemap. For the past few years- actually, ever since the first D&D Miniatures set came out- I’ve been collecting minis and maps to use with D&D. For some reason, the square maps appeal to me quite a bit, and Wizards has done a great job of supplementing maps and tiles beyond a simple battle map. I’ve started collecting other pieces that can be used for D&D and incorporating them into my game. They help give me ideas about interesting encounters, and add an extra dimension to the game for me as a DM. (I’m not sure if my players agree and just think I’ve spent too much money…)
Inspired by the Chatty DM’s recent post about his setup, here’s a list of everything I use for D&D, and where I get it from.
D&D Miniatures
(click on the photo above to go to the Flickr page to see how they’re organized)
I have at least a few from every set that Wizards has released. I probably have the most of the first two sets, since I was there at the beginning, and played the skirmish game often with a friend of mine. As I moved away from that friend, I only picked up a few boxes of many of the sets in between (coming back for some major Giants of Legend action.) When I started the current campaign, I went back and bought a few boxes from each of the recent sets, as well as picking up some cheap commons from sites like Battleworks.
I keep the PC’s minis in a separate wooden box (which I picked up from my friends at Looney Labs– it says Fluxx on the inside cover, but was supposed to say it on the OUTSIDE.)
Monsters and Terrain Pieces
I keep all the Large and Huge monsters in the Art Box, along with a number of terrain pieces. It unfolds to reveal a wealth of space:
The top parts contain:
- Monsters from the D&D Board Game and two expansions (which I bought two Origins ago, and then ended up hating the game, but it came with so many great pieces it didn’t matter)
- Monsters and terrain pieces from the Heroquest board game. I use the tables and chairs quite a bit. And more doors is always handy.
- Terrain pieces from Mage Knight Dungeons. These were apparently way over-produced, and I see them for sale all the time at game shops for dirt cheap. I picked up one of each, and they have some nice doors, columns, and statues. And also a castle wall I haven’t been able to use yet.
- Figures from Heroscape. Again, hate the game, love the pieces. While only some of it is fantasy, I keep them all in here for storage sake. I’ll probably look a more of the expansions soon to see if there’s any other must-have figures.
Close up of some of the top parts:
The bottom contains, as I said, big’uns:
Tiles
I have a converted miniatures case (that may have started as a gun case? I forget.) that stores all my tiles:
Thanks to a suggestion from the Chatty DM, I (usually) keep them in plastic baggies according to size. I keep in here all the following tiles:
- One set of each of the Dungeon Tiles that Wizards has released. I love these things, but am always wanting more different ones.
- All the board pieces from the D&D Board Game.
- A set of the Dungeon Chambers map pack from Paizo. Eventually I plan to pick up more of these.
- The Tavern/Wilderness flip mat, also from Paizo. Again, I will probably pick up more of these later.
- Various other tiles that I’ve copied or laminated from old issues of Dragon. These don’t get much use, since I think those were more trial runs, and they’ve really perfected them with other products.
Here’s some of the different tiles spread out:
Other Accessories
I previously used notecards, but last week I designed and printed some custom combat cards for tracking initiative:
I have my D&D mini stat cards separated by challenge rating (perfect for pulling out a new foe that’s not in the Monster Manual) and put into an old INWO box:
The stat cards, combat cards, wet-erase markers, and dice (in a Crown Royal bag, of course) are all stored in an old Palm display box:
Anything else that I need for the game, like the aforementioned Magma Keep map (or just a plain battlemap) goes into a plastic bin, along with any books that I need to bring, DM screen, the tile box, the art box, the palm box, and the small wooden box:
This box can get very heavy, and I have to carry it up three flights of stairs to get to Bartoneus and Sucilaria’s apartment. Almost always I recruit players to help carry stuff up and down. That may be a sign I have too much stuff.
Finally, two digital accessories that I off and on bring:
I haven’t been using my laptop lately, preferring to plan in notebooks and then try to avoid any of the wonderful online tools during gameplay (since they slow things down.) The iPod has three playlists: a Campaign playlist, a Dungeon playlist, and a Fight playlist that I move between. It’s connected to iPod speakers- the one I had previously also charged the iPod, but the one I have now is just battery powered and more portable.
Phew, I think that’s everything. What do you think? Am I a crazy man who spends way too much time and money for D&D?
ChattyDM follows the Pingback, sniffing….)
Do you? Of course not!
You haul all of this at every game??????
You dearest friend are insane!
I make sure to back only what I need for an outside game and limit myself to one tote bag for all books, maps, figs.
But then again, I leave the core book home and use my friend’s.
I will totally look into that ArtBin chest/box.
Cool setup man!
Aha, so that’s one vote for “insane”, maybe I should make it a poll…
I don’t always bring ALL of it, and I always make sure to set aside the tiles, minis, and stat cards that I know I’ll need for the game for easy access and setup (and put them in YET ANOTHER container.) But I really hate to be caught unprepared when something unexpected happens in a game.
I always bring the core books, since most people at the game don’t own them. The splatbooks tend to be the only other books that we use, but a player has to request that I bring them.
Oh my. we just use a load of dice, a spiralbound notebook and a few pens and pencils.
Diff’rent strokes, eh? 🙂
Woohoo, another vote for insane. 😀
Seriously, we went many, many years without any of this stuff. And my last campaign (which wasn’t D&D) used only my laptop, character sheets, pencils, and a single copy of the rules.
Now that I have an income though… I just get myself into trouble.
I say embrace the insanity!
Mwa HA HA HA!
Let’s see…I carry a fluorescent orange bookbag filled with my Macbook (used for supplement books we use and gaming music), a folder containing every character, unofficial supplement, and adventure I’ve ever used (it’s so worn down, the outside of the folder is in multiple pieces and the inner flap is just a bookmark), my dice bag (also Crwon Royal) filled with all my luckies and extra d6s, a total of 4 liters of soda (usually Dew) for meself and sometimes an extra fridge pack for the rest of the party, and one or two new movies that I pick up from the bargain bin every week or so…
I wouldn’t call it insane…just psychotically well prepared…in a non-euphemistic sort of way…
Either insane or suffering from psychosis, works for me!
If you have a combat heavy game I find the minis make everything much more fluid. There is no question of where things are and what is blocking what. You can look down and point at something with a question and ask it instead of fudging everything which seems to happen a great deal when trying to do combat without this sort of thing.
OhOh! I asked the question that inspired this post! But I do like the maps and such. I enjoy having a well-stocked DM. I definately agree with joshxorfz’ post
Well-stocked DM?!?….
Did your player just call you fat? I think that deserves a bit of DM evil payback!
Or maybe it’s just my improper mastery of your language… 🙂
Hey! I used to use a Crown Royal bag just like that one for my dice.
Sometimes I think Crown Royal needs to set up a booth at Gen Con to sell “dice bags”. 🙂
For one of the cons I go to, the con organizer includes a Crown Royal bag in every attendee’s swag.
That must mean you can buy them separately, or else he’s downing 400 bottles of whiskey every year!
Canadian Whiskey at that!
(Shivers)
Sounds like the kind of stuff I used to bring to Warhammer games, being the resident terrain master in our old gaming group. Eventually I just started inviting everyone over to my place.
As far as The Game’s supplies go, I agree with joshx0rfz. I feel that the maps and tiles, in particular, make everything go smoothly, whereas the furniture and appropriate miniatures make the game come alive. The music also adds a nice touch. While these things won’t make a game good, they will make what is already a good game into an even better one. Personally, I appreciate a DM who is willing to bring all of these ‘extra’ things to the gathering to make it more enjoyable for the players.
We use a bunch of the Alea Tools gear. They have these magnetic markers and a one-inch hole punch to make tokens. Now they have 2-inch as well. So you can carry hundreds of tokens for creatures, npcs, characters… plus the perfect setup for tracking status – which was cool in 3rd edition but creitical now in 4e… a battle matt, some wet erase markers and dice… core rule books… everything in a standard backpack to run a very mobile game…
That said – when we are on our home turf we have a whole basement full of stuff from custom built whiteboard tables to 3-d terrain and hundreds of D&D minis (bought as commons off ebay)…
Alea Tools stuff for mobility and effectiveness – basement full of everything you can imagine if you can get away with it…
ulu
Hi Dave,
Where do your source your music from?
I was thinking Baldur’s Gate series etc? Those games has excellent battle music.
.-= Triptych´s last blog ..Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition =-.
Hi Triptych!
Meant to respond to this yesterday. Yes, it’s mostly soundtracks: Baldur’s Gate series, Diablo I&II, Arcanum, 300, Lord of the Rings trilogy. Also Midnight Syndicate, and my favorite (for bad reasons) the Red Steel soundtrack.
Might turn the list into a post at some point, though there are a bunch of bloggers who have done their own lists.