How We Roll: Accessories

For this entry I had hoped to provide a thorough and well rounded accounting of resources for you to build a flexible and diverse set of minis that would not only add style to your tabletop but spark the players’ imaginations for creative use of environment and terrain. Alas, it is not to be. The problem? For affordable, quality accessories, there simply are few to none to be had. During my research for this article I discovered that the small set of useful items that I do possess were gained out of pure dumb luck or misguided and expensive forays into other games that I’ve never used for their originally intended purpose.

That said, I have a very few key pieces that you should keep your eye out for – and a couple of resources to point you toward depending on the size of your wallet and your skill at painting.

I have made one, count ‘em one, purchase of Dwarven Forge merchandise and it was this – their accessories kit complete with bed palettes, crates, barrels, sacks  and urns. The quality of these resin figures is astounding, though I doubt I would have even these if it wasn’t for a going out of business sale at a Wizards of the Coast shop at my local mall. What cost me $12 will now put you back $35 – ouch!

The tables were from Wizards’ Harrowing Halls 3-D tile set and were probably the most useful items in it. But there were only three included.

The door standees are from the ‘Descent: Journeys in the Dark’ board game by Fantasy Flight Games. Trust me, you don’t want to lay out this much cash unless you’re really interested in playing the board game too. Back in the day, Hero Quest and Mage Knight had some great doors and other accessories, but collectors have generally priced these out of the market.

Yet all is not lost. If you have a steady hand you can score some nice unpainted accessories from Naloomi’s Workshop or for the real do-it-yourself folks, plaster molds from Hirst Arts. For a few bucks and the price of materials, you can have all the accessories you like!

One final thought – bottle caps. Be observant and you may come across some with very interesting and useful graphics, like these. Oh and it was nice to find that they are almost all about 1″ square.

In any case, be on the lookout for useful props for your games – and if you come across something useful that doesn’t break the bank, by all means grab it! Trust me, affordable finds in this area are too few and too far between.