Fig Deal

So, I dropped in at a D&D Encounters session in one of the local comic/game stores last Wednesday. As we were setting and digging through the small case of miniatures, I remarked to the DM that he had a lot of figures that I didn't have and some that I had never seen. I thought it odd that our collections should overlap so little, since I have a considerable number of figs, about 500.

Then he told me that he had 3800.

You know that feeling you get when you take a yellow light a little too late, and you're feelng guilty, but then you look in the rearview mirror and see that a guy four car lengths back has also taken it? Your head quickly moves from "man, that was a little crazy of me" to "that guy is frickin' nuts!"

That was the same sort of feeling I had confronted with this DM. He made some jokes about not being able to control his addiction and being glad they ended the series he had been collecting so he didn't have to buy any more figs, but all I could think was that for every buck I had spent on this stuff, this guy has spent seven or eight - or perhaps more, depending on his collection. I have bought 95% of my stuff used, some even at thrift stores, and many are re-purposed off-brands. I have no idea what the makeup of his collection was, but it had no doubt set him back a few thousand dollars, at least.

Whatevs, I guess. Is it crazier to spend two grand on a pile of miniatures or on one bike? Is it nuts to spend $150 to go see a pop star sing or $5 for a cup of coffee and sugar syrup? Floating boats and all that, I imagine.

In any case, I wanted remain in the big leagues of DMing, so after that encounter I tried to make sure my ranks were filled out. I took out the last of the MageKnight miniatures I have accumulated and got them ready to re-purpose, and pulled out all the damaged items to repair. He's the injured reserve list:

This Warhammer (?) dude lost his base and is going to get a 5¢ replacement.


This nasty guy needs a blade for his sword so it doesn't look like a defective lightsaber.

Likewise, this Skeleton Lord needs a blade for his axe so it's not a broomstick.

 Mialee, one of the stars of D&D 3.5 Player Handbook, apparently had weak ankles.

This drider-guy lost his head.

Seriously.

MageKnight ogre snapped off his base.

And Giant Eagle off hers.

One trip to Bartell's and some Superglue later, the troops are ready for an encounter.

Except for eagle, who is still in ICU.

Oh, and one last note - in the middle of the Encounter, Mr. 3800-figs DM put down a shaggy beast-man figure and said "This is really a demon guy with claws. I had a better miniature but I forgot it."

Face+palm.