Miniatures Handbook

I like this book far too much for my own good, and I don't even play the miniatures game. Why do I have it, then? Outside of a desire for completeness? Well, about one quarter of the book is filled with useful goodies for D & D itself. There are four new core classes, all but one of which are spontaneous casters. There's the Favored Soul (a spontaneous divine caster with ALL GOOD SAVES), the Healer (which, predictably, specializes in healing...it's been referred to as the "girlfriend class", and even gets a unicorn companion!), and the Warmage (who throws damage spells like they're going out of style). There's also the Marshal, which helps the other party members do their jobs better. The prestige classes are very good, too. In fact, the real reason I'm so in love with this book is the Skullclan Hunter, which is a rogue prestige class that can sneak attack undead. This is wonderful, as normally undead are immune to sneak attacks. The SkH is still useful, too, outside of that specialty. Other notable classes are the unfortunately-named Tactical Soldier (great for people who thrive on teamwork, and wonderful for your cohort to go in), Havoc Mage (a short PrC that lets you cast in armor and at the same time you make an attack), the Warchief (leading tribes of humanoids, making them tougher and getting more charismatic), and the Warhulk. The latter is also quite fun; it's for Large and bigger creatures, has NO Base Attack accumulation, but gets +2 Strength/level and nifty special attacks that're modeled after Sauron's attacks from the Fellowship of the Ring prologue. Sadly, it's easily abused, but I like that sort of stuff anyway. The new feats are quite nice, letting your re-roll initiative, add damage when you charge, and giving you extra five-foot steps. A new concept is included in the magic section, the swift action, which is like a free action, in that it doesn't interfere with other actions in the turn, but you can only do one/turn. The spells are generally nice; Snake's Swiftness, which lets the target make an attack, is exceedingly useful. Magic items are also pretty neat, though some have an annoying "wear this for 24 hours before it works" limit, which makes no sense on a helmet. And, finally, the monsters are cool; this includes the Aspect, which is a weak avatar of a deity, and good for fighting. Now, bear in mind that the above fills the first quarter of the book. The rest of the book is devoted to the D & D collectible miniatures game, which I don't play, but it's apparently fairly popular. Also, the concept art and photos of miniatures are sprinkled throughout the book, which might make you read the miniatures section anyway. I am quite happy with this book. Despite the gaming material being only a quarter of the book, it's good enough that I believe it's worth it. The miniatures stuff is just icing on the cake for me.

This book is an excellent addition to the rule pamphlet that comes with the harbinger entry pack. If you play the standard D & D rpg, then you will find this supplement to be helpful to convert not-yet-released monsters into the miniature rules for representing your battles in the miniature system (you would still have to use a token to represent the monster or npc). The diagrams of line-of-sight and combat cover are especially well done. It also has optional rules and suggestions to add sophistication (aka complication) to the original miniature rules (like miniature-character improvement and the like).The ONLY REASON that this handbook did not receive five stars is because I find the MSRP to be a little too high. Other than that, I highly recommend this book. If you play the RPG - but DO NOT plan on playing the miniature system, this book would not be a cost-effective purchase. It will have little to offer, except to maybe satisfy your curiosity.

I must say that this new idea from Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast is a little better than their last offering. This book is really meant to be used hand in hand with the new miniatures with its skirmish rules. But it also shines on its own merits as a supplement for regular D & D. The first four chapters are the most versatile as they will lend themselves readily to the mainstay of the RPG with new core classes, new spells, new monsters and new magic items. Some of the ideas in rules will seem confusing to some but it is worth the read through none-the-less. I have some problems with some of the material as presented but on the whole this is a very solid effort worhty of notice and possible use in a given campaign. The current set of miniatures are also worth the time to collect and use with this book as they help some of the more visually challenged of gamers understand certain situations a given GM can devise. And they have pics of minis and the guiding illustrations for the sculptors throughout the book so you get a preview of what's coming out in the near future as well as what is already out there. I think they've finally gotten the message and given us a versatile system miniatures that can be used as a light skirmish game or as characters in a given campaign. It doesn't deserve a full five stars but it does deserve four as this is a deffinative work and one that will an interesting generator of ideas.