KayWhat we need...Is a little bit of PANIC.Registered Userregular
edited August 2010
Question: Anyone know of anywhere that has a wide range of maps available to use? I need to get a few maps ironed out for a one-shot, and I am terrible with maptools.
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
Question: Anyone know of anywhere that has a wide range of maps available to use? I need to get a few maps ironed out for a one-shot, and I am terrible with maptools.
Dungeon magazine has a shitload of maps, if you don't mind location markers being on them.*
*What is with that, anyway? It seems like such a no-brainer to publish versions of the maps without the markers.
Question: Anyone know of anywhere that has a wide range of maps available to use? I need to get a few maps ironed out for a one-shot, and I am terrible with maptools.
Dungeon magazine has a shitload of maps, if you don't mind location markers being on them.*
*What is with that, anyway? It seems like such a no-brainer to publish versions of the maps without the markers.
Yeah, they used to do this, and for some reason they don't anymore.
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
Question: Anyone know of anywhere that has a wide range of maps available to use? I need to get a few maps ironed out for a one-shot, and I am terrible with maptools.
Dungeon magazine has a shitload of maps, if you don't mind location markers being on them.*
*What is with that, anyway? It seems like such a no-brainer to publish versions of the maps without the markers.
Yeah, they used to do this, and for some reason they don't anymore.
It's because they want us to buy Dungeon Tiles. Every set. Multiple copies.
Anyone know of any good minis/tokens sets? I've got the D&D 4 starter kit which came with a lot but I'm always up for a larger variety if I can get it.
Minis would be nicer though, if anyone knows of any good minis sets (more than just the standard randomised kits) I'd be interested.
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
With a little elbow grease, you can fudge out the markers in MS Paint (or Photoshop if you have it).
Anyone know of any good minis/tokens sets? I've got the D&D 4 starter kit which came with a lot but I'm always up for a larger variety if I can get it.
Minis would be nicer though, if anyone knows of any good minis sets (more than just the standard randomised kits) I'd be interested.
I highly recommend making your own minis out of paper or card stock. It's cheaper and you never have to worry about not having the right monster.
One of the games I was in for a while only had a couple of Large-sized minis, so the Frost Giant represented everything from an ettin to a giant lizardman. In practice, all I ever imagined was the same Frost Giant over and over again.
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
With a little elbow grease, you can fudge out the markers in MS Paint (or Photoshop if you have it).
Won't be beautiful, but you'll have a map.
All you need to do is copy an adjacent square which has roughly the same stuff on it and paste it overtop.
Pretty much.
Chanus on
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
I think the whole scope of miniatures has been handled quite poorly by WotC.
You know what set they need to make?
A handful of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, kobolds, ogres, wolves, and undead.
Why they can't make a set of minis for level 1-10 characters that is all in one place and doesn't require spending hundreds of dollars on random boxes from multiple sets is beyond me.
Anyone know of any good minis/tokens sets? I've got the D&D 4 starter kit which came with a lot but I'm always up for a larger variety if I can get it.
Minis would be nicer though, if anyone knows of any good minis sets (more than just the standard randomised kits) I'd be interested.
I highly recommend making your own minis out of paper or card stock. It's cheaper and you never have to worry about not having the right monster.
One of the games I was in for a while only had a couple of Large-sized minis, so the Frost Giant represented everything from an ettin to a giant lizardman. In practice, all I ever imagined was the same Frost Giant over and over again.
I saw those but was never quite sure how to make them, any tips?
edit: To clarify, I tried once and mine generally sucked, fell over, etc.
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
I think the whole scope of miniatures has been handled quite poorly by WotC.
You know what set they need to make?
A handful of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, kobolds, ogres, wolves, and undead.
Why they can't make a set of minis for level 1-10 characters that is all in one place and doesn't require spending hundreds of dollars on random boxes from multiple sets is beyond me.
Agreed.
Also they haven't announced any plans for a Dark Sun series of minis. This seems like a poor choice when you consider there is a whole new book of critters just for Dark Sun, and a new player race (thri-kreen) that's hard to replace with another kind of hero mini.
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
I think the whole scope of miniatures has been handled quite poorly by WotC.
You know what set they need to make?
A handful of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, kobolds, ogres, wolves, and undead.
Why they can't make a set of minis for level 1-10 characters that is all in one place and doesn't require spending hundreds of dollars on random boxes from multiple sets is beyond me.
Agreed.
Also they haven't announced any plans for a Dark Sun series of minis. This seems like a poor choice when you consider there is a whole new book of critters just for Dark Sun, and a new player race (thri-kreen) that's hard to replace with another kind of hero mini.
I think they even specifically said there were no plans for Dark Sun minis (in the Comic Con podcast, I think), which is ridiculous.
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
I think the whole scope of miniatures has been handled quite poorly by WotC.
You know what set they need to make?
A handful of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, kobolds, ogres, wolves, and undead.
Why they can't make a set of minis for level 1-10 characters that is all in one place and doesn't require spending hundreds of dollars on random boxes from multiple sets is beyond me.
Agreed.
Also they haven't announced any plans for a Dark Sun series of minis. This seems like a poor choice when you consider there is a whole new book of critters just for Dark Sun, and a new player race (thri-kreen) that's hard to replace with another kind of hero mini.
I think they even specifically said there were no plans for Dark Sun minis (in the Comic Con podcast, I think), which is ridiculous.
I tend to think they are phasing out the mini line in favor of tokens and counters.
It's because when you're a DM you don't want to play booster pack tango to get the minis for your encounters. They should've sold them seperately or in packs like "Goblin encampment" etc.
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
It's because when you're a DM you don't want to play booster pack tango to get the minis for your encounters. They should've sold them seperately or in packs like "Goblin encampment" etc.
Yeah. The booster pack model has always been totally impracticable.
It's because when you're a DM you don't want to play booster pack tango to get the minis for your encounters. They should've sold them seperately or in packs like "Goblin encampment" etc.
This is pretty much untenable as a business plan. The only way they could make the numbers work out was the whole CCG type model with rarities and the like. I kind of suspect that was we see now are the models where the capital had already been spent so they might as well bring them to market to recoup some sunk costs. There simply is not enough volume to support minis, painted plastic ones at that, at the price point they can be sold for.
It's because when you're a DM you don't want to play booster pack tango to get the minis for your encounters. They should've sold them seperately or in packs like "Goblin encampment" etc.
This is pretty much untenable as a business plan. The only way they could make the numbers work out was the whole CCG type model with rarities and the like. I kind of suspect that was we see now are the models where the capital had already been spent so they might as well bring them to market to recoup some sunk costs. There simply is not enough volume to support minis, painted plastic ones at that, at the price point they can be sold for.
I dunno. I specifically haven't bought minis because I don't want to waste a ton of money on stuff I don't need.
If they existed at the same price (or even a bit more expensive), but I could buy what I wanted, I would have purchased what I needed.
It's because when you're a DM you don't want to play booster pack tango to get the minis for your encounters. They should've sold them seperately or in packs like "Goblin encampment" etc.
This is pretty much untenable as a business plan. The only way they could make the numbers work out was the whole CCG type model with rarities and the like. I kind of suspect that was we see now are the models where the capital had already been spent so they might as well bring them to market to recoup some sunk costs. There simply is not enough volume to support minis, painted plastic ones at that, at the price point they can be sold for.
I dunno. I specifically haven't bought minis because I don't want to waste a ton of money on stuff I don't need.
If they existed at the same price (or even a bit more expensive), but I could buy what I wanted, I would have purchased what I needed.
This sums up my thoughts pretty well.
I love minis, they're incredibly neat, but I can't get what I need on a regular basis.
Actually, I probably wouldn't have bought them anyways since that would force me to adhere to tailoring my encounters to what minis are available for purchase.
I think I'll just work on perfecting cardstock tokens.
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
And you need different things for each campaign, so it's not like I buy six goblins and that's all I ever purchase.
Hell, I might eventually purchase one of everything... but the fact is, I may buy singles from somewhere like trollandtoad to fill what I need, but I absolutely won't be buying booster packs in the hopes that I get something usable.
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
edited August 2010
In the Dragon Mountain 2e boxed set, the adventure came with a sheet of cardboard miniatures for all the new monsters introduced in the adventure. You punched them out along the dotted line and stood them up with little black clips that were included.
I always thought more D&D products should do that; it seems like they tried it that one time in Dragon Mountain and never did it again.
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
It's because when you're a DM you don't want to play booster pack tango to get the minis for your encounters. They should've sold them seperately or in packs like "Goblin encampment" etc.
This is pretty much untenable as a business plan. The only way they could make the numbers work out was the whole CCG type model with rarities and the like. I kind of suspect that was we see now are the models where the capital had already been spent so they might as well bring them to market to recoup some sunk costs. There simply is not enough volume to support minis, painted plastic ones at that, at the price point they can be sold for.
I dunno. I specifically haven't bought minis because I don't want to waste a ton of money on stuff I don't need.
If they existed at the same price (or even a bit more expensive), but I could buy what I wanted, I would have purchased what I needed.
This sums up my thoughts pretty well.
I love minis, they're incredibly neat, but I can't get what I need on a regular basis.
Actually, I probably wouldn't have bought them anyways since that would force me to adhere to tailoring my encounters to what minis are available for purchase.
I think I'll just work on perfecting cardstock tokens.
Yeah, I've been thinking of using photos and drawings and stuff to make stand-up tokens using a laminating machine and probably a penny for the base so it's sturdy...
...but it just feels low-rent compared to a set of minis. It's really just disappointing.
In the Dragon Mountain 2e boxed set, the adventure came with a sheet of cardboard miniatures for all the new monsters introduced in the adventure. You punched them out along the dotted line and stood them up with little black clips that were included.
I always thought more D&D products should do that; it seems like they tried it that one time in Dragon Mountain and never did it again.
Yeah, I recall some other set being like that (but I don't remember what it was).
It's better than tokens, at least.
But like I said, it feels low rent... like it's a cheap product.
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
In the Dragon Mountain 2e boxed set, the adventure came with a sheet of cardboard miniatures for all the new monsters introduced in the adventure. You punched them out along the dotted line and stood them up with little black clips that were included.
I always thought more D&D products should do that; it seems like they tried it that one time in Dragon Mountain and never did it again.
Yeah, I recall some other set being like that (but I don't remember what it was).
It's better than tokens, at least.
But like I said, it feels low rent... like it's a cheap product.
I would rather have a cheap solution that provides me with everything I need than an expensive solution that is totally unworkable.
Also, they looked pretty nice.
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ChanusHarbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered Userregular
They are still doing minis, but now they're blind-box.
Yeah, that's like the worst thing they could do.
It's so obviously a money grab that way.
I don't even need these highly-intricate painted minis. You can buy a sack of 50 army men at the dollar store which is maybe six or eight different figures. That's all they need to do... it doesn't have to be so prohibitively expensive that they have to leech DMs dry just to make their costs back.
It's because when you're a DM you don't want to play booster pack tango to get the minis for your encounters. They should've sold them seperately or in packs like "Goblin encampment" etc.
This is pretty much untenable as a business plan. The only way they could make the numbers work out was the whole CCG type model with rarities and the like. I kind of suspect that was we see now are the models where the capital had already been spent so they might as well bring them to market to recoup some sunk costs. There simply is not enough volume to support minis, painted plastic ones at that, at the price point they can be sold for.
I dunno. I specifically haven't bought minis because I don't want to waste a ton of money on stuff I don't need.
If they existed at the same price (or even a bit more expensive), but I could buy what I wanted, I would have purchased what I needed.
This sums up my thoughts pretty well.
I love minis, they're incredibly neat, but I can't get what I need on a regular basis.
Actually, I probably wouldn't have bought them anyways since that would force me to adhere to tailoring my encounters to what minis are available for purchase.
.....each mini that they make involves a mold that costs a couple grand. Now add in machine time to make the figures (and the more figures that are made at once increases the mold cost), assembly, painting, packaging, shipping and realize that all of the above needs to come in under 50% of the retail price to break even.
Even with making the parts in China so the labor intensive parts are cheap that is not an easy sell.
Edit: Just to clarify, I don't much buy mini's either but I am sympathetic to Wizard's situation here.
They should consider releasing minis that are relevant to their current product. I'm gonna be DMing Dark Sun irl soon, I hope, and get no real support on the mini front.
Lotta good some metal clad zhent are gonna do me.
Is Gary Shark gonna make it into the new OP?
smeej on
IT'S A SAD THING THAT YOUR ADVENTURES HAVE ENDED HERE!!
They should consider releasing minis that are relevant to their current product. I'm gonna be DMing Dark Sun irl soon, I hope, and get no real support on the mini front.
Lotta good some metal clad zhent are gonna do me.
Well yeah, but how long are you going to be all itching to buy Dark Sun figures? In the next sixth months they'd probably sell well. After that they'll sell horribly and retailers won't want to stock them. Wizards would have a very short time period to earn profits on the mold and other sunk costs before the line becomes dead weight.
It's horrible for them and for the consumer. Really, with the mini game dead I'm rather surprised they're still making minis at all.
.....each mini that they make involves a mold that costs a couple grand. Now add in machine time to make the figures (and the more figures that are made at once increases the mold cost), assembly, painting, packaging, shipping and realize that all of the above needs to come in under 50% of the retail price to break even.
Even with making the parts in China so the labor intensive parts are cheap that is not an easy sell.
Edit: Just to clarify, I don't much buy mini's either but I am sympathetic to Wizard's situation here.
This is the problem, though.
Why do they have to make them so expensively? Why is the choice between an exceptional product that not enough people can afford or no product at all?
.....each mini that they make involves a mold that costs a couple grand. Now add in machine time to make the figures (and the more figures that are made at once increases the mold cost), assembly, painting, packaging, shipping and realize that all of the above needs to come in under 50% of the retail price to break even.
Even with making the parts in China so the labor intensive parts are cheap that is not an easy sell.
Edit: Just to clarify, I don't much buy mini's either but I am sympathetic to Wizard's situation here.
This is the problem, though.
Why do they have to make them so expensively? Why is the choice between an exceptional product that not enough people can afford or no product at all?
Er.....molding is one of the cheapest manufacturing processes available, in volume. Any other method of production would be far more expensive.
Aside from some kind of abstract token system I don't see how you'd go cheaper.
Edit: Remember the labor intensive processes are done overseas. Painting probably adds a few cents to the final cost but returns much more than that in appeal generated.
They are still doing minis, but now they're blind-box.
Yeah, that's like the worst thing they could do.
It's so obviously a money grab that way.
I don't even need these highly-intricate painted minis. You can buy a sack of 50 army men at the dollar store which is maybe six or eight different figures. That's all they need to do... it doesn't have to be so prohibitively expensive that they have to leech DMs dry just to make their costs back.
yeah screw WotC for trying to make money!!!
seriously though they tried the visible minis sets, they didn't sell. they need to sell to collectors. I know people who buy 2! cases of each set.
if money is an issue for you you can always go on trollandtoad and get reasonably priced singles. the next set actually has a lot of cool minis (of course the Player races are rare)
They are still doing minis, but now they're blind-box.
Yeah, that's like the worst thing they could do.
It's so obviously a money grab that way.
I don't even need these highly-intricate painted minis. You can buy a sack of 50 army men at the dollar store which is maybe six or eight different figures. That's all they need to do... it doesn't have to be so prohibitively expensive that they have to leech DMs dry just to make their costs back.
yeah screw WotC for trying to make money!!!
seriously though they tried the visible minis sets, they didn't sell. they need to sell to collectors. I know people who buy 2! cases of each set.
if money is an issue for you you can always go on trollandtoad and get reasonably priced singles. the next set actually has a lot of cool minis (of course the Player races are rare)
I'm not saying screw them for trying to make money... I'm saying screw the idea of offering a product that requires you bleed money out of people to sustain it.
I don't recall a single set that was comprised of commonly used creatures. They all have been a couple commonly used creatures and a bunch of really specific creatures that aren't useful in day-to-day campaigns.
That's why they don't sell. Only collectors are willing to throw a bunch of money away for stuff they won't use.
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3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991
Dungeon magazine has a shitload of maps, if you don't mind location markers being on them.*
*What is with that, anyway? It seems like such a no-brainer to publish versions of the maps without the markers.
Yeah, they used to do this, and for some reason they don't anymore.
It's because they want us to buy Dungeon Tiles. Every set. Multiple copies.
Bastards >.<
Anyone know of any good minis/tokens sets? I've got the D&D 4 starter kit which came with a lot but I'm always up for a larger variety if I can get it.
Minis would be nicer though, if anyone knows of any good minis sets (more than just the standard randomised kits) I'd be interested.
Won't be beautiful, but you'll have a map.
All you need to do is copy an adjacent square which has roughly the same stuff on it and paste it overtop.
I highly recommend making your own minis out of paper or card stock. It's cheaper and you never have to worry about not having the right monster.
One of the games I was in for a while only had a couple of Large-sized minis, so the Frost Giant represented everything from an ettin to a giant lizardman. In practice, all I ever imagined was the same Frost Giant over and over again.
Pretty much.
You know what set they need to make?
A handful of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, kobolds, ogres, wolves, and undead.
Why they can't make a set of minis for level 1-10 characters that is all in one place and doesn't require spending hundreds of dollars on random boxes from multiple sets is beyond me.
I saw those but was never quite sure how to make them, any tips?
edit: To clarify, I tried once and mine generally sucked, fell over, etc.
Agreed.
Also they haven't announced any plans for a Dark Sun series of minis. This seems like a poor choice when you consider there is a whole new book of critters just for Dark Sun, and a new player race (thri-kreen) that's hard to replace with another kind of hero mini.
I think they even specifically said there were no plans for Dark Sun minis (in the Comic Con podcast, I think), which is ridiculous.
I tend to think they are phasing out the mini line in favor of tokens and counters.
I guess minis aren't as profitable as I figured.
Yeah. The booster pack model has always been totally impracticable.
This is pretty much untenable as a business plan. The only way they could make the numbers work out was the whole CCG type model with rarities and the like. I kind of suspect that was we see now are the models where the capital had already been spent so they might as well bring them to market to recoup some sunk costs. There simply is not enough volume to support minis, painted plastic ones at that, at the price point they can be sold for.
I dunno. I specifically haven't bought minis because I don't want to waste a ton of money on stuff I don't need.
If they existed at the same price (or even a bit more expensive), but I could buy what I wanted, I would have purchased what I needed.
This sums up my thoughts pretty well.
I love minis, they're incredibly neat, but I can't get what I need on a regular basis.
Actually, I probably wouldn't have bought them anyways since that would force me to adhere to tailoring my encounters to what minis are available for purchase.
I think I'll just work on perfecting cardstock tokens.
Hell, I might eventually purchase one of everything... but the fact is, I may buy singles from somewhere like trollandtoad to fill what I need, but I absolutely won't be buying booster packs in the hopes that I get something usable.
I always thought more D&D products should do that; it seems like they tried it that one time in Dragon Mountain and never did it again.
Yeah, I've been thinking of using photos and drawings and stuff to make stand-up tokens using a laminating machine and probably a penny for the base so it's sturdy...
...but it just feels low-rent compared to a set of minis. It's really just disappointing.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Yeah, I recall some other set being like that (but I don't remember what it was).
It's better than tokens, at least.
But like I said, it feels low rent... like it's a cheap product.
I would rather have a cheap solution that provides me with everything I need than an expensive solution that is totally unworkable.
Also, they looked pretty nice.
Yeah, that's like the worst thing they could do.
It's so obviously a money grab that way.
I don't even need these highly-intricate painted minis. You can buy a sack of 50 army men at the dollar store which is maybe six or eight different figures. That's all they need to do... it doesn't have to be so prohibitively expensive that they have to leech DMs dry just to make their costs back.
.....each mini that they make involves a mold that costs a couple grand. Now add in machine time to make the figures (and the more figures that are made at once increases the mold cost), assembly, painting, packaging, shipping and realize that all of the above needs to come in under 50% of the retail price to break even.
Even with making the parts in China so the labor intensive parts are cheap that is not an easy sell.
Edit: Just to clarify, I don't much buy mini's either but I am sympathetic to Wizard's situation here.
Lotta good some metal clad zhent are gonna do me.
Is Gary Shark gonna make it into the new OP?
Well yeah, but how long are you going to be all itching to buy Dark Sun figures? In the next sixth months they'd probably sell well. After that they'll sell horribly and retailers won't want to stock them. Wizards would have a very short time period to earn profits on the mold and other sunk costs before the line becomes dead weight.
It's horrible for them and for the consumer. Really, with the mini game dead I'm rather surprised they're still making minis at all.
This is the problem, though.
Why do they have to make them so expensively? Why is the choice between an exceptional product that not enough people can afford or no product at all?
Er.....molding is one of the cheapest manufacturing processes available, in volume. Any other method of production would be far more expensive.
Aside from some kind of abstract token system I don't see how you'd go cheaper.
Edit: Remember the labor intensive processes are done overseas. Painting probably adds a few cents to the final cost but returns much more than that in appeal generated.
Cookie Shark and Gary deserve an OP spot in my opinion.
Cookie Shark just wants to be friends. Poor guy makes a bad first impression though.
yeah screw WotC for trying to make money!!!
seriously though they tried the visible minis sets, they didn't sell. they need to sell to collectors. I know people who buy 2! cases of each set.
if money is an issue for you you can always go on trollandtoad and get reasonably priced singles. the next set actually has a lot of cool minis (of course the Player races are rare)
I'm not saying screw them for trying to make money... I'm saying screw the idea of offering a product that requires you bleed money out of people to sustain it.
I don't recall a single set that was comprised of commonly used creatures. They all have been a couple commonly used creatures and a bunch of really specific creatures that aren't useful in day-to-day campaigns.
That's why they don't sell. Only collectors are willing to throw a bunch of money away for stuff they won't use.
Where should I set my second Dark Sun game?
I'm leaning toward Gulg/Nibenay/Crescent Forest.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Lalali-Puy has the most interesting stat block out of all of the sorcerer-kings. That is why I am voting Gulg.