Cardboard Heroes Are Taking Over?

 

I've seen more and more companies releasing "cardboard counters", those little sheets of cardboard that you cut out a picture from, fold at the seams, and use in place of pewter or plastic miniatures. I can't help but find these things ugly as hell: I've seen people releasing sets based on movie licenses: screenshot a movie, hastily and poorly stitch out the character in question, and blammo, Pinhead, DC10!

Are we going backwards? If we're going to combat the increased pull of stunning graphics in video gaming, why are we reverting back to cardboard cutouts? Sure, pewter figures take more time and money to create, and they cost more money to buy, but we're not playing a glorified Candyland or Mouse Trap. Nor do we (I, rather) have a collection of plastic stands to hold the cardboard fold together. If WizKids is making zillions on their plastic miniatures, it stands to reason that they'd make a zillion more if they just released a set based on the Monster Manuals (Mage Knight is certainly a good start). Are the only people who care about miniatures those who lust for Games Workshop or MechWarrior?

Mobus,
I have to admit, I am a big cardboard heros fan. The SJG variety. for 20 bucks and no effort I got just about all the figures I've needed for my two year old campaign. (In the spirit of full disclosure I did print out 100 giant insect figures from a fan site, because I needed a horde)

As for plastic stands, they are available from SJG as well, the 20 I've got have been enough so far.

As to why, I'd have to say cost and effort. Both low for the benefits I feel my game gets. I think the benefits are similar to the reasons for the plastic mini's success too. And I agree with your monster Manual suggestion. That would be a cool set to pick up if they made it.

While the few old painted metal mini's Ive got look alot cooler than the cardboard ones, I just don't have enough of them, and no longer have the time to paint new ones.

Hey there,

Personally, while I've used (and made) Cardboard Heroes before, I prefer the tokens like the ones that come with the D&D PHB (and can also be bought/found on the web). Easy to make/find and I don't have to worry about a weak breeze knocking them over (no, I don't use the plastic bases).

-SJ

I like the look of miniatures but I've never understood why I'm supposed to participate in a totally different hobby (painting) just to play my hobby (rpgs). I'm not very good at painting and rarely have the time to do it. I'd rather just play. So, I find counters are good enough to play with. They're cheaper, more portable, and don't require extra work before play.

Like Smokestack, I prefer flat counter over the stand up pieces. I have stuff from FFG and Dragon Scale counters as well as a hodge podge from 1E Battle System and a bunch of other games.

I agree with John. The SJG Cardboard Heroes line is wonderful. I mean, they cover pretty much everything you can think of. Kinda like GURPS. Makes sense. If most of my games weren't based in the modern day, recent past or far future, I might use models, but its so hard (and expensive) to find what you're looking for in those settings, at least to my experience

Just to add my bit; I prefer to use minis when possible, I have quite a lot and have even made my own; but I also have lots of card figures and counters. They broaden horizons because you can have and do more, as well as loads more of them, and are very easy and cheap, compared to the price of minis. Having said which, personally I love modelling and/or painting, it's part of the fun of Roleplaying, the figs crossfertilise the characters and vice versa. I've even begun doing my own tokens or figures, though not too expertly so far! Why limit yourself to one or the other when you can have both?! Or am I just being greedy?!

I like the look of miniatures but I've never understood why I'm supposed to participate in a totally different hobby (painting) just to play my hobby (rpgs). I'm not very good at painting and rarely have the time to do it. I'd rather just play. So, I find counters are good enough to play with. They're cheaper, more portable, and don't require extra work before play.
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Like Smokestack, I prefer flat counter over the stand up pieces. I have stuff from FFG and Dragon Scale counters as well as a hodge podge from 1E Battle System and a bunch of other games.

I too am a big fan of Cardboard Heroes and similar products and may even begin producing some myself for a new BASH product that is under development now.

Time and money.

Painting figures is a seperate hobby that is fairly labour-intensive, and 'the youth of today' doesn't do labour intensive. Pre-painted figures are expensive especially to buy in quantity.

Despite their cheapness I'm guessing the profit margins on cardboard stand-ups are way higher as well.....

However, I think that if the cost of selective laser sintering falls and they can program colour into the build (if they can't already) then miniatures might undergo a renaissance (assuming cheap holo-tech doesn't overtake SLS in the meantime, which I think is a reasonable assumption).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering

(My own gaming group, being for the most part a creaking bunch of oldies, is fortunate enough to have a massive collection of metal miniatures that we all bought and painted in our mis-spent youth. Bwahahahaha!)

Another thought. Programming colour into an SLS build might become feasible if nanotech advances enable the creation of colour-programmable molecules that can receive 'instructions' via a suitably modulated laser signal.

At present, it seems like they can do single-colour SLS runs in a choice of colours, but not a mixed-colour run.

http://www.3trpd.co.uk/news/finishing.htm

That's where nanotech might be required - for pre-painted figures.

Maybe the technologies behind 'smart paper' could be applied here in some way:

http://www.signweb.com/moving/cont/maginkb.htm

Smart paper and SLS are hugely expensive at the moment, but maybe in a few decades 3D colour printers that can produce inanimate objects on demand will be household items.

That is, if 'Claytronics' doesn't overtake these technologies:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05136/505033.stm

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~claytronics/

Ah, the joys of futurology.....

Morbus, yours is a very reasonable question, and one I wish Wizards would answer for us with inexpensive minis collections. All they need to do is gather (or order fresh supplies of) current minis from the D&D Miniatures game. They could either pre-package them in boxed sets, Warhammer-style, or even sale them individually online. But who am I to think I know the answer to our lack of miniatures...

But until then, I think cardboard heroes rule the day because of availability and price. And with the caliber of counters available from people like SJG and Fiery Dragon, for example, I really can't complain about the look of the products.

And to this day, I still use the "halfling mage" from one of the ancient Cardboard Heroes packs.

I like even the Old D&D card board miniatures. They came in adventures (and especially boxed sets) of the Basic D&D (Not AD&D) stuff. They eventually released a collection of all these cardstock figures, which I saw at a store for 2 bucks and greedily snatched up. I dare not actually punch them out of their booklet, however, as I am afraid to lose them, etc, but I have a scanner and a color printer that enables me to make as many as I want, of whatever piece I want. If I need 7 red dragons for an encounter- I can do that. If I need 5 basilisks and the set only came with 2, I can do that as well.

Cardboard figures a great for standing in for miniatures that you don't want to waste good money on as they will almost never appear in your game. For instance, I would never waste money on a miniature of a carrion crawler. Fortunately, I have the cardboard version.

However, there is much to be said for cheap minis. My first set of Heroquest is still being used by me to this day even though the board, box, rules, and dice are all long gone. I just use the miniatures that it came with to run rpgs. It comes with plenty of orcs, goblins, and undead for your game.

Also, D&D minis are dirt cheap- if you don't keep the rares! Like I said, I don't NEED a carrion crawler miniature, and when I could sell it on ebay for more $ than I bought the box of miniatures for, I can't pass it up! Many of the rares in a box of miniatures will cover the cost of the box, assuming you get a good deal. A good way to get them is in bulk, either on ebay or a good dealer. Also, check out the last day of the Gaming COnvention. I got a steal of a deal there. I bought a case for about 5 dollars a box. I would have bought more if he hade more left. I actually made money on that deal, and had tons of miniatures to show for it (only commons and uncommons, but hey, they really fill out the collection). Besides now I can retire my cardboard minotaur as I now have several!

Painted 3D minitures look really cool and make combat all the more fun, but when that combat involves an orc warband or two against some
high level PCs el cheapos come in real handy.