Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game

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Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game

Publisher	Wizards of the Coast
Random chance	Medium-High
Skills required	Strategy, Planning

BoardGameGeek entry

Several figures from the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game

The Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (DDM) is a collectible skirmish miniatures wargame game played with pre-painted, plastic miniature figures based on characters and monsters from the Dungeons & Dragons games. Released in September of 2003 by Wizards of the Coast, which is owned by Hasbro, DDM is composed of loosely themed sets that are released roughly every 4 months. As of 2008, DDM is Wizards of the Coast's second most popular product, after its flagship Magic: the Gathering collectible card game.^{[citation needed]}

The game is played on a grid of one-inch squares, each representing five feet; the scale is thus 1:60.

All figures are designated as being a "common", "uncommon", or "rare" piece. This rarity determines the odds of obtaining each piece within a pre-packaged expansion pack or starter set. By making certain pieces of higher worth to be less available, DDM has a collectible component similar to collectible trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering (also published by Wizards of the Coast).

Unlike Dungeons & Dragons, which like most role-playing games has players playing the part of a single character, the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game is a miniatures wargame in which two opponents pit armies of units against each other. In order to allow rule adjudication without a Dungeon Master, the DDM rules are simplified from Dungeons & Dragons' combat system, with a few additional features unique to the skirmish game.

The Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures Game also currently serves as Hasbro's official line of miniature figures for the Dungeons & Dragons game.

1 Rulebooks
2 Sets
3 Icons
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Rulebooks

Miniatures Skirmish Rules 2003
Miniatures Handbook Rules Supplement
Miniatures Skirmish Rules 2004
Miniatures Quick Start guide 2006
Miniatures Battle Rules 2008 ^[1]

[edit] Sets

Set
The first set, Harbinger, was released in September 2003. Unlike the sets which would follow, Harbinger contained 80 miniatures rather than 60, and featured no huge pieces. The set contained 27 rare figures, 33 uncommon, and 20 common, including Ogre, Umber Hulk, Human Blackguard, and Drow Cleric of Lolth. See the full list here Harbringer Checklist
Dragoneye was the second Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures expansion set, released in December 2003. The expansion symbol was the eye of a dragon. The set was centered on dragons, and included many dragons in it. The set contained 60 figures (20R, 24U, 16C) including Large Red Dragon, Eye of Gruumsh, and Purple Dragon Knight. See the full list here Dragoneye Checklist
The third set, Archfiends, was released in March 2004. It contained 60 figures (20R, 24U, 16C) including Drizzt, Large Silver Dragon, Aspect of Orcus, and Orc Champion. See the full list here ArchfiendsChecklist
Giants of Legend was the fourth expansion set, released in June 2004. It was also the first set to feature huge pieces. The expansion symbol was a mace. The set contained 60 regular-sized figures (23R, 21U, 16C) and 12 huge figures (6RH, 6UH). The rare huge figures did not take up the slot of standard-sized rares in booster packs. Figures included Huge Gold Dragon, Mordenkainen the Mage, King Snurre, and Treant. See the full list here Giants of Legend Checklist
The fifth set, Aberrations, was released in October 2004. It contained 60 figures (23R, 21U, 16C) including Frenzied Berserker, Ryld Argith, and Mind Flayer Telepath. This set was released as both boosters and starter packs. See the full list here Aberrations Checklist
Deathknell was the sixth set, released in March 2005. It contained 60 figures (24R, 24U, 12C) including Beholder, Large Blue Dragon, Couatl, Dire Bear, and Greenfang Druid. See the full list here Deathknell Checklist
Angelfire was the seventh expansion set. It was released in June 2005 and had the expansion symbol of a stylized angel. The set focused on lawful good "outsiders", some of which are considered to be angels. The set included 60 figures (24R, 24U, 12C) including Imp, Sword Archon, Efreeti, Trumpet Archon, and Hezrou. See the full list here Angelfire Checklist
Underdark was the eighth set, released in October 2005, and the expansion symbol was a spider. The spider was chosen as the symbol by Wizards of the Coast because it was within the context of spiders and Lolth, which were essential figures in the set. The set included 60 figures: (24R, 24U, 12C) including Elminster, Iron Golem, Dark Naga, Balor, and Marut. See the full list here UnderdarkChecklist
The ninth set, War Drums, was released in March 2006. It included 60 figures (23R, 21U, 16C) including Chimera, Night Hag, and Large Bronze Dragon. This set was released as both boosters and starter packs. See the full list here War Drums Checklist
War of the Dragon Queen is the tenth set for the game and the second set, after Giants of Legend, to featured huge figures. The Dragon theme of the set ties in with Wizards of the Coast Year of Dragons promotion. The set features 60 figures, of which 12 are huge (6RH, 6UH, 18R, 16U, 14C). Each box includes 1 huge and 7 other figures. Stat cards are included for each figure, including epic cards for select figures allowing players to assemble higher-value armies with which to battle. Figures from this set include Aspect of Tiamat, Dracolich, Blackguard on Nightmare, and Meepo. See the full list here War of the Dragon Queen Checklist
The eleventh set, Blood War was released in November 2006. The set included 60 figures, including Marilith, Solar, and Githyanki on Red Dragon. See the full list here Blood War Checklist
A twelfth set, Unhallowed, was released in March 2007. The set was of 60 figures, including Count Strahd Von Zarovich, Ultroloth and Caller in Darkness. The set also included Thrall of Blackrazor, chosen by Jason Lioi, winner of the 2005 D&D Miniatures Championship at Gen Con in Indianapolis[1]. The Thrall of Blackrazor comes from the module S2 - White Plume Mountain. See the full list here Unhallowed Checklist
A thirteenth set, Night Below, was released in July 2007. Containing 60 figures, two with EPIC stat cards; the theme for this set is dungeons and includes a Raistlin Majere and a Wulfgar figure. See the full list here Night Below Checklist
A fourteenth set, Desert of Desolation was released on November 2nd. This set features 60 new figures and rules for mounted combat with the return of several recognisable faces such as the Drow Priestess, the Umber Hulk Delver and the Drider.
A fifteenth set, Dungeons of Dread was released on April 4th 2008, containing figures like the Young Silver Dragon, the Magma Brute, and the Iron Defender. Along with the Dungeons of Dread booster packs a 4th edition starter pack featuring a set of 5 non-random miniatures to learn the new version of the game was released.
A sixteenth set, has been confirmed, to be called Against the Giants which is set to be released on 15th July 2008.
A seventeenth set , Demonweb has been confirmed by the Set Rotation Schedule for 2008. Set to be released on 11th November 2008.

[edit] Icons

Three standalone figures, called Icons, have been released. These are the Gargantuan Black Dragon released in August 2006 [2], the Colossal Red Dragon released in September 2006 [3], and the Gargantuan Blue Dragon released in January 2007 [4]. There is one Icon Scenario Pack called the 'Legend of Drizzt Scenario Pack' released September 2007. It features 3 figures Drizzt Do'Urden, Wulfgar, and Icingdeath the Gargantuan White Dragon [5]. Linae Foster, Asst. Brand Manager made a forum posting in January 2007 stating that future releases in the Icon range would not be limited to single figures.[6] At GenCon 2007 a prototype Icon of a Gargantuan Orcus was on display. As of November 2007 they have not yet confirmed production of this Icon although Amazon US have it listed as a pre-orderable item released on 4th April 2008. The Amazon US website also lists as a pre-orderable item an Icon of a Gargantuan Dracolich, to be released on 19th August 2008. No word, official or otherwise, has of yet been released on this possibility, and no prototype has been seen.