Thinking of using fold-up paper miniatures and/or counters

The Butcher · February 08, 2014, 10:37:33 AM

Who's using them?

What's a good collection to pick up and print out?

thedungeondelver · February 08, 2014, 10:41:32 AM

My group and I used to use them a lot; you'll wanna get washers or pennies to keep them from scattering everywhere. I don't recall what sets we used.

One route to go is to go to coolminiornot.com and find the best/your favorite mini paint jobs, reduce those in size, then print them out on cardstock...

Bedrockbrendan · February 08, 2014, 10:41:45 AM

Quote from: The Butcher;730059Who's using them?

What's a good collection to pick up and print out?

I do not use miniatures that often, but these I do use on occasion and quite like them. The only down side is, if you want them to look good, you should at least print them on slightly more expensive and thicker paper.

I would just type in a search for the kind of miniatures you need at RPGNow and see what pops up, then read the reviews (some have previews as well).

What is good about them is they are cheap, but you can also print a bunch of them. So if you need a bunch of fodder for a big battle, just print ten sheets.

hagbard · February 08, 2014, 11:07:05 AM

i just find art on google image search save it, edit it in GIMP and print it out on shrinkydink film. they have little stands you can use to put them on after you bake them or you can use small binder clips. i think i have most, if not all the 1e monster manual monsters and fiend folio ones printed. fuckload cheaper than plastic miniatures and nice since i suck at painting. i only use a small battlemat since i just use it for keeping fights coordinated.

mhensley · February 08, 2014, 11:16:16 AM

If you like cartoony art, there's a ton of stuff here-

http://www.iheartprintandplay.com/downloads/

Momotaro · February 08, 2014, 11:28:03 AM

Playing fantasy?

Paizo sells lovely card "pawns". I have the ones from the Beginner Box and they're diecut card - very sturdy. Pricy though:

http://paizo.com/pathfinder/miniatures/pawns

If you want to print and base your own, I'd buy these stands from eM-4 in the UK. Cheap, and Doug delivers ridiculously quickly, even to the States:

http://www.em4miniatures.com/acatalog/GAME_AIDS.html

I'd be tempted to scour eBay for the old pre-painted Star Wars or D&D collectible minis. You can often find collections going really cheaply (especially if you stay away from the famous characters and just go for a big box of mooks).

Xavier Onassiss · February 08, 2014, 11:57:15 AM

Tons of free stuff here:

http://www.seven-wonders.co.uk/paperfriendsindex.html#roleplaying

brettmb · February 08, 2014, 12:22:07 PM

Disposable Heroes are available as Statix (single downloads) or Customizable (labeling, numbering, other options) in a number of genres and in three formats (a-frame, tri-fold, and flat counters). Build your sets let you upload your own artwork for customizable use.

Disposable Tilescapes lets you make your own tiled dungeon maps (other sets like spaceship floors to be available in future).

Arion Games also produces a line of 3D art minis.

Dr Magister · February 08, 2014, 01:06:26 PM

I tend to use paper miniatures (if I use miniatures, which isn't that often) and I've found them really handy, and much cheaper and easier than 'proper' ones.

I've always used the Arion Games ones, and if you're doing fantasy, I'd highly recommend their Dungeon Bash set. It covers basic adventurer types for both genders, and most of the standard monsters and evil humanoids you'd expect in a D&D-esque fantasy.

bottg · February 08, 2014, 02:54:46 PM

Printing them on Photo Paper works well. It is heavier than standard paper and the gloss makes them stand out really well.

Rincewind1 · February 08, 2014, 06:18:28 PM

Personally, I'm thinking of buying a few thousands (I have a few hundred, but I reckoned I could set up some really epic battlefields) of simple plastic pawns - they are really cheap, and for about 200 bucks, I could have enough to be able to simulate Poiters, more or less, one plastic pawn for one soldier.

Netwyrm · February 08, 2014, 09:36:29 PM

The Talislanta Cardstock Minis are in the Talislanta Library as a PDF here:

http://talislanta.com/?page_id=5

Omega · February 09, 2014, 06:08:04 PM

MSH hooked me on tri-fold standups.

I've used them in a few games now and here is an example from my postcard game "Small Adventures" where you adventure through your house with tiny explorers.

TSR used them for at least one D&D expansion too that I recall.

Fatdragon has some good free flats and 3-dimensional papart figures too.

Ravenswing · February 10, 2014, 12:31:34 AM

I have a large collection of minis, so I don't have to go that route, but I played in a game that did use tri-fold paper figures. I hosted the sessions, and it struck me that the GM had to lug a large box which held a relatively small amount of fragile figures.

For my part, I've got a collection of the old Cardboard Heroes SJ Games used to put out ... not for the stand-up figures, but for the two-dimensional cutouts designed to lie flat: dead bodies, piles of loot, dropped weapons, stools and the like. I find those invaluable, and have used them for many years. They're full-color and on card stock, and are very durable. I imagine they wouldn't be hard to duplicate on a color printer that can handle card stock. (Hrm, I could even flesh out my own current collection that way ...)