Miniatures have been used in Dungeons and Dragons since the very beginning. In fact the original intent behind the creation of Dungeons and Dragons was to create a set of rules for table top battles between armies of knights. It did not take long from there to decide that Tolkien like beasts and magic might be included in the game.
Chainmail: Rule for Medieval Miniatures
Other sets of complimentary rules came out soon afterwards. Some of these fundamentally changed the original idea and made it something entirely new…..something never seen before in gaming. It became….Dungeons and Dragons. Most people refer to this as Original D&D or OD&D. Several important books came out for this version of the game.
Miniatures
Originally, of course, most of the miniatures available were of knights in armor. But soon afterwards some great companies began making fantastic miniatures of mythical beasts and monsters that were specific to Dungeons and Dragons. Soon after that they began making miniatures fro all kinds of games besides just Dungeons and Dragons. Traveller, Warhammer, Gamma World and other systems have miniatures of their own.
The game, of course, evolved. Not everyone uses miniatures or terrain in their games. But many do. I personally think that it adds an element of style to your games that is difficult to match without them. But of course…building a big set of miniatures is expensive. And that tends to be the limiting factor for many Dungeon Masters. And this includes myself. I have been building up a collection but still do not really have enough to use them in every day play. I am working on it though. Here are some samples out of my own inventory. Some of the painting still needs a little work. In a few places I probably selected the wrong colors. I think I need a little more yellow in the eyes for some of these creatures to make them look more evil.
The Demon Idol From the PHB
One of my favorite miniatures is a depiction of the iconic demon idol on the cover of the 1st Edition Players Handbook. I picked this one up at the North Texas Role Playing Game Convention in Dallas last year. A vendor had used 3D printing to make this one. It is not perfect. But it is pretty close to the image on the cover. Close enough for me anyway.
Some Other Miniatures from my Collection
Here are some other examples of my own miniatures:
Those are just a few of my favorite miniatures. The painting could use a little work in a few places. I paint them myself. I have found that painting plastic minis does not quite work the same as painting the metal ones I had in my earlier years of playing Dungeons and Dragons. Sometimes the paint just doesn’t want to stick to some of these resin surfaces the way I want it to. I will probably have another article later on about painting minis. But this should give you an idea of what is available out there.
