Did you know you can fill your miniature void by building your own D&D figs out of the old Mage Knight series? Our latest home-brew installment shows you all the simple steps and tricks.

It will be nearly 9 painful months between D&D Miniature sets from Wizards of the Coast when Lords of Madness releases at Gen Con in August 2010 (previous set, Savage Encounters, was November 2009).

Ben is an avid miniature collector and was losing his mind. Luckily, a crafty co-worker had a brilliant idea to rescue and convert Mage Knight miniatures from the eBay scrapheap.

We’ve made a two-part video series on our YouTube channel to show you the way: a general overview where Ben chats about the gang’s latest home-brew venture and a video montage featuring a step-by-step guide.

Getting an abundance of Mage Knight miniatures requires a sort of search-and-rescue approach on eBay. Now Ben has had good and bad experiences buying large assortments. Your best plan: buy a 400-count-lot first ($75-ish) to establish a base selection and then go the singles route to round out what you need. Grunhir’s Game Emporium is a great choice (amazing packing, fair prices, awesome service).

So, here are down and dirty steps to mini bliss:

1. Acquire your Mage Knight miniatures (usually on eBay)
2. Remove the original, ugly, oversized click bases
3. Select and paint new D20 bases
4. Glue on the mini to the new base
5. Flock the new base
6. Spray on a Matte seal.
7. Touch-up the old legion markings (yellow, red, blue) with a Sharpie.

The bestest news of all – Mage Knight had a huge run by WizKids (nearly 3,000 miniatures flew off the assembly line during their reign). Ben nearly fainted on this discovery.

Your new mins will also complement your existing choices well. It’s much more fun to have six semi-different Orcs than six of the exact same. See Ben’s Azer Raider and Skeleton examples.

Even better, the exciting new Dark Sun campaign is nearly upon us and Mage Knight has some killer options for this desert setting. And lots of fun choices is what it’s all about in your miniatures collection.

Now don’t get Ben wrong, he absolutely loves WotC’s miniatures but he just had to do something to fill the gap. He is counting the seconds till the next release and is praying the Wizards’ minis series will continue on for many moons.

See It | P1 Overview | P2 Step-by Step

Every battle-forged game group has their unique spin on our beloved game of Dungeons and Dragons. Whether it’s a couple classic carryovers from previous editions, a learned online tip, or simply an original thought, all these combined tweaks will truly help make the game your own.

And BensRPGPile.com is no different. We’ve played together for quite some time now and consequently are dreaming up new ways to keep things fun and entertaining.

With that said, here are Ben’s Top 10 D&D House Rules to play by:

1. Fumble P1: Roll a 1 & your turn is immediately done (even if actions remain).
2. Fumble P2: Roll a 1 & your next attack ain’t no fun (-2 attack on next turn).

3. Fumble P3: Roll a 1 & you’ve won…a shot (but it’s the drinker’s alcohol of choice).
4. Corpse Country: Two dead bodies in a square becomes difficult terrain.

5. Torch Throw:  We roll certain dice to determine the distance of a tossed object.
6. Enemy Targeting: Roll the corresponding die for the 1st target & go clockwise.

7. Saving Grace: If you forget, you can only roll a save anytime before your next turn.
8. Rule Review: DM makes immediate call. Twitter or WotC forum confirms for future.

9. Achievements: Good & bad game play gets you Encounters-like rewards.
10. Go Team: We all contribute to our game and to BensRPGPile.com anytime we can.

All our little game idiosyncrasies are constantly evolving and we encourage you to do the same. Take it from Ben: Don’t get stuck in your ways. Avoid the mundane and always try new things. Keep reading the myriad of amazing D&D blogs. Listen to podcasts. Stay connected on Twitter. And be sure to tell us what house rules you guys use?

This surreal D&D community will welcome you with open arms – just remember to hug back.

Yes, it’s corny…we know but D&D spider swarm headlines don’t exactly roll off the tongue. Ben relishes a good spider swarm and this week seemed like a great opportunity to look at some of the many eight-legged miniature choices.

Coincidentally, the Pile gang just built a fancy spider lair as part of its Comicon Dungeon Delve. Our spider queen is quite the fertile bitch so we needed to fill the cave’s nooks and crannies with wide variety of venomous villains.

Lots to choose from including:

• Giant Spider (from Reaper’s Legendary Encounters)
• Huge Spider (from WotC War of the Dragon Queen)
• Widow Spider (from the Mage Knight series)
• Deathjump Spider (from WotC Dungeons of Dread)
• Spider of Lolth (from WotC Underdark)
• Large Monstrous Spider (from WotC Dragoneye)
• Phaseweb Spider (from WotC Demonweb)
• Blade Spider (from WotC Desert of Desolation)
• Swarm of Spiders (from WotC Underdark)
• Demonweb Swarm (from WotC Desert of Desolation)

The handy webbing can be nabbed at any Walgreens or craft store. Ben suggests you lightly brush it with some dark gray Games Workshop paint to give it a musty feel though. The strands are also great for wrapping victims

For added lair effects, be sure to make and space out some columns and fill the floors with lots of broken pieces and rocks. Ya see it’s the little things that help raise that hair on your arms when the DM yells, “Spiders!”

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When BensRPGPile.com was approached to do an event at this year’s Phoenix Comicon, it was our chance to create a D&D module from its absolute start to its convention finish. Here now is a brief summary of our amazing, five-month experience.

The sixty-minute dungeon delve was played by 16 different groups of four (64 players in all) over two-day period. Four of the groups were unable to avoid the rushing lava and died (TPK) before completing their quest.

Congratulations to Team Inevitable Doom. They scored an amazing 861 points. They played a masterful game. Our runner-up was Team F’ing G’s with a score of 821. Click here for the complete standings.

We’ve written a hefty summary of Lava and a Cup of Java here. The detailed recap includes all the components that made up the event, all the nifty download links and the commentary on all the TLC that went into each component of the game.

Also, be sure to watch the wrap-up video on our YouTube channel which contains a 3-D terrain game board walkthrough and a Comicon musical photo montage.

We met so many amazing people with big hearts who share our passion for gaming. It was an honor and a privilege to game with each and every one of you. Thanks again for letting BensRPGPile.com roll through your lives at this year’s Phoenix Comicon.

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