This is an emergency post to alert the RPG community about a growing planking pandemic making its way onto gaming tables around the world!

During the tensest times of combat, miniatures everywhere are suddenly taking to planking rather than help their struggling cohorts defeat the powers of evil. The World Health Organization has confirmed that there is no rhyme of reason to this disturbing phenomenon.

This urban legend recently gained national attention after the infamous Red Dawn was actually caught on film while the likes of Bookman and Justice were left to battle a swarm of Lizardmen on their own.

Awareness saves lives people. Join Ben’s RPG Pile in the fight to end miniature planking in gaming. The next character life our community saves may be yours.

Questions to Ponder: Why did Ben post this instead of the next Egyptian step in Project Red Rover, Red Rover? Do you know any miniature that’s been struck by this dreadful disease? Will we ever find a cure? Do you have a mini planking story of your own? Do you have photographic proof? If so share a photo link here (otherwise you’re a liar).

Check us out in Tracy Hurley’s latest edition of Joining the Party on Wizards.com

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Red Rover terrain programming to joyfully bring you a long-awaited pre-painted miniatures review. Our monthly character sacrifices to the RPG Gods apparently worked because for the first time in 16 painful months, we have new boxes of finely made miniatures to unwrap. Hazah! Join Ben as he shares his take on Pathfinder’s inaugural set.

Editor’s note: this post will unavoidably draw comparisons to the Wizards of the Coast’s own miniature line. It’s not done with any negative intent. Ben is a super fan of WotC’s work and has collected every darn mini they’ve ever created. However, for the first time, we have choice and that my friends, is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Let’s start with where to buy these little bundles of happiness. Pretty much every website is selling cases ($189.99) and bricks ($49.99) for the same price. Certain singles are hard to find right now with a few full sets dropping in and out on eBay for about $163-ish.

Packaging is quite robust so environmentalists of any sort may want to skip this paragraph. Each random mini is firmly packed in its own box – creating a mountain of garbage. It’s incredibly rare to get a bent Pathfinder miniature – yet often a frustration of the old days. However, gamers with little ones of their own will cringe at the sheer amount of waste from the opening of one brick.

Now let’s talk about the actual material. Pathfinder minis definitely seem to be made out of a slightly different substance and consequently, feel a little lighter – certainly in an attempt to keep their production cost down. They feel good in your hand and so far, are holding up well to being stuffed in a box for storage (but a weapon snap can still happen). The bases on some of the small to medium figs are unique in that it’s not a direct connect to the circular base. Instead, the feet are actually on their own plastic circles which in turn, are glued to the final bases. This assembly method is probably a wise attempt to stop that dreaded slump. Sure, it looks different but worth the minor sacrifice if it truly keeps Ben’s monsters upright.

While the set is a tad small for a debut (Harbinger opened with 80 minis in 2003), 40 is still a decent number and is actually 45 if you count the starter set and the dragon promo fig. It took Ben 5 bricks to get a full set but that didn’t bother him at all since the monster types and commonality were well planned. Ben actually bought six bricks in all – more than enough for a full set but he was eager to get doubles in all of these categories:

• Goblins and Orcs
• Skeletons, Mummies and Zombies
• Town Guards
• Lizard Men
• Spiders, Snakes and Rats
• Wolves
• Spectres and Gargoyles

The quality and attention to detail in the set is immediately apparent, particularly in the faces. Really tiny hands or amazing technology has produced amazing facial detail. Gone are many of the common blotches or dot splotch effects. The quality bar has definitely been raised. You also will be quick to admire their new spin on old monsters like the Troll, Orcs or Goblins. They got a tad Cartoon Network with the Ogre and Manticore there could be some staying true to the brand intent there (at least we hope that’s the excuse).

Ben also applauds the innovation of interchangeable weapons as shown in the Frost Giant’s mighty ax or huge sword. This will only get more interesting in future sets.

So here we go with our traditional miniature set top and bottom five. Drum roll, please.

Ben’s RPG Pile Top Five:

• Giant Caveweaver Spider (the red back design is primo)
• Human Ranger (great pose and face)
• Spectre (best all-round mini)
• Human Rogue (no denying the cape sculpt)
• Goblin Warrior (The teeth say it all)

Ben’s RPG Pile Bottomfeeder Five:

• Vampire (more like master butler)
• Manticore (Wizard of Oz cowardly lion face)
• Gnome Fighter (dear god)
• Lizardfolk Champion (more like king of the losers)
• Ogre (your Greant Aunt Ruth wearing a moving vest)

There it is. The bar has been raised! More so, Pathfinder might get one more set in (a heck of a head start) before Wizards even re-enters the miniature arena in July with Dungeon Command: Heart of Cormyr. Its first set since September 21, 2010. We’re entering the renaissance miniature days. Good times…good times.

Let’s take the very last blog entry of this wonderful year and share with you all the things Ben’s thankful for in 2011. Hopefully you’ll unwrap a few more D&D items, bookmarks and Twitter followers to add your own RPG Pile.

You know that D&D collectible figures are his obsession, right? Well, who knew that 2011 would become the year of the announcement miniature? Certainly not Ben!

HeroClix opened the plastic foray of goodness with 21 Middle Earth Heroes and Villains in their new Lord of the Rings set. Yes they have to be re-based but that’s a snap. Watch for a future review.

Then Paizo surprised and delighted with Pathfinder Battles Heroes and Monsters which ship on January 4, 2012 and look absolutely spectacular. Another set is planned, Rise of the Rune Lords, in June 2012. Oh happy days – Ben’s cases are ordered. Are yours?

And announced as “one more thing” at the Gen Con New Products Seminar, Wizards of the Coast is bringing back its miniatures! The minis will not be blind and include a no skirmish game (with no dice but probably cards). Nostalgia Ben is beaming…beaming!

This has also been a great year for D&D podcasting. Ben has several download staples. For news and reviews, the Tome Show marches on and has a delightful new co-host in Sara Darkmagic. Dungeon Master’s Roundtable is a dandy and includes several cast members that Ben has even had the pleasure of co-writing with in the past. Ennie Award winner, Critical Hits, has a continuous build-a-better-game-feel. And Ben’s latest download to-do is Obsidian Portal’s Haste podcast. Oh and if you just want to watch an ongoing 4E game, try Ben’s RPG Pile video podcast on iTunes (yep – that’s right video).

The DIY category has several prestigious representatives. Benoit from Roving Band of Misfits is this year’s war horse (and even has a podcast too). Ben can’t wait to read his new article each week. TheSheDM also puts out a periodic post on making something for your game table. And the Hirst Arts community gets you a daily fix with its inspirational Post Your Pictures forum. You will not find a more gifted group of terrain enthusiasts (who couldn’t be more helpful, kind and welcoming).

For a guaranteed chuckle, pop over to d20 Monkey and Brian Patterson’s comic strip. For genuine, try Online Dungeon Master. An industry role model is of course, Sly Flourish and his ongoing column and contributions. And Penny Arcade …well, they’re just immortal.

YouTube also has many fine producers but for space-sake, just click on over to our last YouTube Channel A to Z entry.

Some more great guys to chat D&D with on Twitter to name a few include: Alphastream, ObsidianCrane, ChaoticDM, TheAngryDM, symatt, DeadOrcs, WolfSamurai and KatoKatonian. Ben loves, loves Twitter talk.

Of course, Ben finds new and amazing D&D-related digital goodies every week so he could not possibly mention them all. Thus, please don’t take offense if he accidentally missed mentioning you here. Just leave a comment and a link. Ben will almost certainly know your work and share a thought.

BensRPGPile.com is honored and fortunate to be part of this amazing gaming community. Happy holidays to all and to all a good blog.

Editor’s Note: Next week begins our brand new blog series – Operation Red Rover, Red Rover.

Questions to Ponder: Did you bookmark all these? Who did Ben miss? Share those sites, Twitter handles and YouTube channels for Ben to add and bookmark!

Sweet sassy molassey! Are we actually on the letter Z?! Johnny and the Moondogs were right. This RPG letter series has been a long and winding road that led to your door (for fun-filled 26 weeks). So let’s close out in style with an American cult icon – Zombies!

Our entertainment landscape is filled with Zombie bits and pieces – everything from AMC’s riveting The Walking Dead series to PopCap’s smash hit Plants vs. Zombies.

For terrain Ben has a few undead staples:

• Wizards of the Coast: Put out great choices right from the Harbinger start
• MageKnight: Several re-basing options
• Metal: Snagged these from Gamers’ Inn glass case for a steal
• Gen Con: From the amazing hands of Bob Ladd
• Reaper: Best Zombie pose of the bunch

Let’s thank author Michael Curtis one more time on his inspirational book – The Dungeon Alphabet. His writings would make a fine game group holiday gift, don’t ya think?

For terrain Ben has a few undead staples:

• Jail Cells: Always seems like there’s a corpse just waiting to get out
• Headstones: Graveyards make a nice home base
• Broken Door: Smashing and bashing through something
• Hallways: Cold corridors are a dead giveaway

Questions to Ponder: Whoah, whoah. That’s it?! But what is Ben doing next?!!! Well, sadly it’s time for Ben to start a new chapter in his life. This is his last official…

Are you frakking nuts?! Ben loves D&D and his community brethren! He’s not done! That was simple bluff check! Gotcha:)

Actually, this blog theme stuff has been rather invigorating and helped put a little organization into Ben’s so-called-blog-life. So, next up we’re going to take a very detailed look at how to build a terrain environment from scratch for your next D&D campaign. This Hirst Arts-heavy, step-by-step guide is going to quite detailed and help any novice to jump into the terrain hobby fray with ease. See you next week for chapter 1.

Ask Bob Ladd to Paint You a Miniature (email: bobladd72@att.net | be a pal and mention BensRPGPile.com sent ya)

Well, well, well – we’re nearly to the end of our letter-laden journey and what a ride it’s been. Sure we had some obvious choices with this week’s entry but we kinda already did walls and water. So, time to dig deeper and see what actual D&D-style wells are resting in the Pile.

Pegasus Hobbies lays down the circular stone as Ben’s favorite choice. Sadly, this watering hole is out of print but it’s the perfect spot to drop a bucket and grab a fresh drink. It seems like this well would fit best outside a small village setting.

For a city square, Miniature Building Authority has a slew of nice aquifer holders. Try this smaller number if you’re after that simple-settler- kinda-feel. Or, there’s a more ornate option if you’re going for a solid stone look. Ben’s not even sure where this one came from?

If you want to get your hobby on, Hirst Arts has a swell multi-use piece from its Cavern Floor Accessories #282 mold that practically spells well. Often used as a door arch, it also lays flat to form a nice agua container.

Need portable, quick and effective piece? Pop out a square from Wizards of the Coast Dungeon Tile series. Ben’s mixed all his tiles from the sets into one disorganized cardboard pile so alas, he can’t tell you specifically where this piece originates. These always seem to fit nicely into a dungeon setting (as long as you level them off with the rest of the floor).

And if you want a little half-and-half terrain experience, you can get a pre-cast well from Acheson Creations and brush on your own color scheme. You certainly can’t beat the price and time savings but there’s a little bit of elbow grease in the paint prep.

But what kinda monsters could pop out of a well, you ask? Certain pre-requisite traits may apply such as wings, strong claws and an appetite for unfortunate player characters. Well, there’s certainly plenty to choose from but Ben snapped a shutter of a few of his favs.

Ben doesn’t have a great finish here so he’s going to go out on an 80s tune. Take it away, Terence.

Questions to Ponder: What else could one find at the bottom of a D&D well? Given the chance, what would you wish for at your new-found well. Do you recall a particular well encounter from a module?

Get the Original A to Z Book

Truth be told certain monstrosities in one’s D&D game often come down to a single descriptive term…vile. And it’s fair to say many a gamer could point to some clear commonalities. Read along as Ben pulls a few examples off the Pile to illustrate the point.

Body Stacks: Heaps of decomposing bodies are always a clear giveaway. But piling them on a moving war wagon is the cherry on top. The boney flatbed is an added creepy bonus.

Possible Quest: You must intercept this killing caravan and bring evidence back to the local magistrate so justice can be served.

Multiple Craniums: Lots of heads on a single monster torso means numerous attacks against your clearly innocent party. Take this toothy sea monster for instance. Image this sucker emerging to the river and not asking for permission to come aboard?

Possible Quest: Remove the mystic sea creature from a vital town river in exchange for a gold reward.

Slimy Tentacles: Sticky limbs trying to rein you in are the epitome of vile. Even better, have those tentacles always spring from your terrain so that the group never sees the real face of its enemy.

Possible Quest: Mineral-rich caves are suddenly off limits as several mining crews have disappeared from their posts. Find the source of the threat and eliminate the danger.

Hold on now. How did these miniatures come to be, you ask?

Ben often trolls the weekly blog circuit for new DIY projects. He found a comprehensive article from TheSheDM that outlined all the steps to making your very own tentacle miniature.

When attempting to re-create someone else’s amazing work, Ben tries to put his own artistic spin on the piece. In this case, Ben used Gale Force Nine wood bases and utilized a fiery brimstone flock mixture to match the tentacles’ boiling lava pit home. For monster stats, he gave these suckers a reach of 2 and a potential grab attack.

Disease-carrying Vermin: A couple Giant Rat packs from Reaper’s Legendary Encounters series is a lock for this letter. The tiny claws, jagged teeth and deplorable pink tails – ugh x 3. Certainly any things that crawls and bites qualifies but there’s just something about those rats coming from the tiniest of places.

Possible Quest: Something has polluted the town’s water supply. Your party must hope into the sewers and flush out the problem.

So yes this term maybe too subjective to the average gamer but these particular traits seem true. The only question remaining is what ya gonna do when the next vile thing comes to a deep dark place near you?

Questions to Ponder: What’s the most vile thing you’ve encountered? What in particular made it so nasty? What type of terrain suits this fugly stuff best?

Make your own tentacle minis

Where would the D&D landscape be without rocks? Face it – they’re the bacon bits of any good encounter. Join Ben as he pulls some rubble representatives from his Pile to see what might be useful in one’s game board.

Hirst Arts gets a gold star for their Rock Cavern Root Molds (#83 and #84). You can build some pretty amazing environments with these diverse pieces. The interwoven trees are a really nice touch. You get some crumbling columns and skulls in the molds as well.

Sadly, Ben’s never been able to get Bruce’s slick brown paint scheme down and is actually begging for suggestions/help to match it. Thus, he uses the classic rock gray scheme:

• Base with Black Primer and touch it up with soft black
• Heavier dry brush of Games Workshop Codex Gray
• Lighter dry brush of Games Workshop Fortress Gray
• Even lighter dry brush of P3 Menoth White Highlight

Don’t forget to dip into the train hobby arena. Woodland Scenics has all sorts of rock molds – big and small. Ben is eager to try out their Earth Color Kit.

For out of the box rocks, look no further than Dwarven Forge and their Realm of the Ancients 2 set. The single and double boulder piles are perfect for a quick throw-down obstacle. The material and paint jobs are once again top shelf.

A terrain collector always comes across some wacky one-offs. Ben nabbed these oddballs from an old Pegasus Hobbies close-out. These outcroppings got a bit of an oversized, prehistoric-feel to ‘em.

Expectedly, the miniature earth buffet is plentiful here:

• Medium Earth Elemental (Archfiends, #06)
• Large Earth Elemental (Harbinger, #09)
• Loyal Earth Elemental (Underdark, #08)
• Earth Titan (Against the Giants, #33)
• Earth Archon Rumbler (Legendary Evils, #14)
• Earth Mephit (Night Below, #06)
• Elemental Wall (War Drums, #06)
• Galeb Duhr (Against the Giants, #36)

Lastly, look at all the uses rocks have to offer D&D 4E. Rubble provides handy cover. A Rogue can duck behind some rocks to aid a stealth check. You can climb rocks to reach some treasure and even leap from them to aid an attack. That’s just good livin’.

Questions to Ponder: How do you interweave rocks into a storyline or encounter environment? Ever have a character meet its demise from a rock? What’s your favorite earth mini? Know any good rock-rock jokes? Sorry, that last q crossed a line.

Read our Woodland Scenics Rock Mold Review

Ben is often asked, “What’s the most unusual thing in your D&D collection?” Well, that’s a difficult question indeed. That’s like asking one to pick a favorite ice cream flavor. They’re all good in their own special way. But alas, Ben definitely has a favorite item or two on his RPG shelf that possess some quirky qualities.

If forced to place one peculiar item on his table, Ben would have to lay down the Witch’s Cabin from Pegasus Hobbies. This quaint little terrain building is the definition of quirky.

But what makes this particular piece a true original:

• Hastily boarded windows
• Sinking roof
• Animal clothesline
• Cracked door
• Imposing tree

Best of all, Ben has some nice accessories to go with this piece. For your villain miniature, you can’t go wrong with the Howling Hag (#18 from Dungeon of Dread).  She’s the total package.

An adventuring party palm reading might be in order and for that Hirst Arts provides the perfect crystal ball from its Cavern Accessory Mold (#85). You can use that same mold for your boiling kettle – a great way to introduce a little pungent odor into the encounter.

A nice plot point could be stealing or retrieving the old Hag’s broom. For that little nugget, Ben picked up the Farmstead Accessories pack from Miniature Building Authority.

Finally, this bitch is sure to have a creepy pet or two lying around – the wolf skeleton from WotC;s Harbinger set or bad kitty from Dreamblade’s Baxar’s War set make auspicious animal companions.

Ball all this quirky stuff into a dungeon delve style encounter and you just found a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with your gaming buds.

Questions to Ponder: Do you have something an odd or eccentric in your personal RPG collection? What was it in particular about that item? Do you have any wish list items that fit this oddball bill?

Typically the letter “O” in D&D stands for common catchphrases like “Oh no…OMG…or Oh sh%t.” Nonetheless, there’s still a classic to be had here in oozes. They’re deadly, sneaky and iconic to one’s game table.

Most oozing terrain spawns from do-it-yourself projects and a dash of ingenuity. And while somewhat intimidating at first, the process itself isn’t too shabby. BlueWarGaming has a worth watching video tutorial but please let Ben know if you find an online link for that Uhu Creative Glue (or if Michael’s carries it).

Dwarven Forge can save you all the fuss with its green slime passageway piece from the Wicked Editions 3 Set. The modular hallway can be dropped in with ease and it looks incredibly convincing.

Your miniature choices are especially gooey. Just remember that slimes, jellies, deadly puddings, and similar mindless, amorphous blobs all count.

• Caller in Darkness (#49 Unhallowed)
• Acid Ooze (#046 Mage Knight Pyramid)
• Yochlol Tempter (#40 Legendary Evils)
• Spectral Magelord (#46 Dungeons of Dread)
• Air Mephit (#12 Unhallowed D&D Miniatures)
• Ochre Jelly 1 (#56 Against the Giants)
• Ochre Jelly 2 (#42 Archfiends)
• Lemure (#34 Giants of Legend)
• Mr. Friend (#23 Dreamblade)

Some D&D purists may balk at including Gelatinous Cubes in this article but not us…we love all evil equally here at the Pile. The leader is of course the openable cube from Desert of Desolation which is now quite the collector’s item. Dark-Platypus Studios makes an especially haunting version. And if you want to get crazy – you can even make one out of soap. That’s right…soap.

For ooze effect, Ben uses a Citadel gloss varnish. It’s quick and easy while definitely getting the Ooze Crossing point across.

Ben concludes with an educational tip: spotless hallway, eerily quiet, and corpses picked clean to the bone can only mean an Ooze is ahead – turnaround and try a new path. Or at least make sure the fighters go first.

Questions to Ponder: How many Oozes have you fought in your adventure log? Ever lose a party member to an Ooze? Do you have a home brew technique for making your own? Got any slime favorite effects?

The official halfway point of our A to Z series just so happens to be Ben’s absolute favorite RPF category bar none…that’s right, the word is miniatures. Ben harkens back to his old childhood army men days as the only logical explanation of why he’s become obsessed with these tiny works of art.

This match made in heaven all started in September 2003 with WotC’s release of Harbinger. This was Ben’s very first experience with D&D miniatures and there was a lot to love including an 80-fig debut set, new skirmish game, and $8 a booster pack (a far cry from the current going rate). Of course, unpainted, metal minis like Chainmail have been around for ages – but Harbinger miniatures were instantly game-ready.

Ben’s gone on to collect the entire WotC miniatures line but felt storing them in plastic trays in his closet was a bit of a downer. So, one day he snagged some traditional wall-mount model cases so that his collection could rest out in the open air. He added leveled box cases for his shelves too. And his father-in-law even built a custom wall case as a gracious Christmas present. Now every time Ben walks in his office, he’s surrounded by his little friends.

After a dreary cold-war-like-spell, miniatures appear to be making a big comeback:

• Pathfinder Battles: Heroes & Monsters (December 2011)
• Wizkids The Lord of the Rings HeroClix (2012)
• Reaper Legendary Encounters (slowly but surely still releasing)
• And Dreamblade and MageKnight re-basing – always an ongoing option

The best thing about a big ol’ collection of miniatures is the ability to “pair up” with the current module. Finding the appropriate mini for that module’s stat block is actually a bit of a DM rush. Not only that, a pack of skeletons doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have 5 of the exact same mini. Instead, you can pull different versions of that monster type from all your sets.

So, pick a mini, any mini…it’s good ol’ fashioned fun.

Questions to Ponder: Which new line of miniatures are you most excited about? Do you use cardboard tokens or do you have a soul? Do you have a favorite mini in your collection? Is WotC re-releasing too late?

Make a MageKnight Mini P1 and P2 | Make a Dreamblade Mini