Dungeons and Dragons Minatures Handbook (Dungeons and Dragons) [Hardcover]

I'm a huge fan of the recently released D&D Miniatures, and I've had high hopes for this book. In the end, I'm a bit disappointed. A first impression is that only half the book is really any good, and a lot of areas have potential but need to be more developed.

There are four new base classes introduced to the game. Two of them I think are excellent, a combat support class called the Marshal and a Cleric with a sorcerer style called a Favored Soul. Another class, called the Healer, doesn't seem to add much to the game, while the final class is a combat oriented spellcaster that makes me think "Munchkin Class". The prestige classes are no different. I think the War Chief prestige class is perfect for Orc or Bugbear horde leaders and a great addition to D&D. On the other hand, the War Hulk prestige class seems monodimentional and a bit overpowered.

There are new spells and magic items. New spells such as several "Legion" spells which cast familiar effects to large numbers are a nice addition, but there are two lower level teleport spells which seems very easy to abuse in a roleplaying setting. (The caster has the ability to switch positions with another person.) None of the magic items jump out as being extraordinary but may be a pleasant addition to a campaign.

Lots of new monsters are introduced, such as Aspects of Gods which give lower CR combats for those wanting an epic feeling battle. This is probably the strongest section of the Miniature Handbook.

The rest of the book is a bit of a disappointment. They reprint much of the rules that you can pick up in a D&D Miniature game Entry Pack. There are some additions, like a bunch of extra scenerios, but in the end I think it's a bit of a waste of space.

There is a section on mass combat rules, which basically turn units of creatures into one item to be moved on the battle field. It's a quick and dirty rule set, and I would have preferred rules that reduce a unit's strength as it's members die, but that would probably make the games take too long.

There is a section on random dungeon making, which I was really looking forward to but in the end it's a bit simplistic. For one, it's only random for the inhabitants -- the actual floorplan needs to be designed before hand. I was hoping for a ruleset which would help generate dungeons like the old Advanced Heroquest/Warhammerquest games. (Or even the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide!)

The last section of the book is filled with maps/terrain that can be photocopied for your own use, but people who have the old Chainmail game and the D&D Miniature Entry Pack probably have most of this in Cardboard form already.

The art of the book is pretty fantastic. One draw right now are pictures of miniatures that are coming up in the Dragoneye set, but once that set comes out these sneak peaks won't be nearly as interesting. The rest of the art is pretty comparable to other WotC books -- I've always thought that WotC knows how to do good imaginative artwork, especially after their Magic: the Gathering experience.

In the end, dome things, like the Marshal class and some of the Swift action spells are strong enough that they should be moved into the next edition of D&D. Other things can be forgotten.

....I bought this book because I have recently become a great fan (and player) of the D&D Skirmish miniatures game, and I knew the guide had some great explanations of the combat rules for the game, to include diagrams. I was right about that - the diagrams are excellent, but the book falls short in a few areas. For one, the book's organization is terrible. It doesn't even have an index - a HUGE oversight for a book that is supposed to be a quick reference for questions that come up during a Skirmish battle. Second, some of the combat explanations are a bit vague. For attacks of opportunity (which are a LOT different in Skirmish than they are in D&D, and hence sometimes confusing) and for cover/line of sight rules particularly, I've found I had to look in up to three different places to find resolution of a particular tactical situation. And I wonder, for a book titled "Miniature Handbook", why are the miniatures rules buried in the middle, instead of right up front?? That makes no sense to me. The content of this section gets about a B+, but organization is definitely an D-.
....The other two sections of the book are for mass combat and miscellaneous prestige classes, etc. The mass combat section is nice but organized as poorly as the miniatures section. It might be useful to someone who injects mass battles into his D&D campaign, something that many of us don't. The front section with the prestige classes I found to be particularly bland. I would have liked to see some classes and items related to tactical and strategic commanders, magic items that give leadership bonuses, etc. This section definitely fell short.
....All in all, if you would like a fairly good reference to supplement the little pamphlet that came with your D&D Miniatures Starter Set, this book might be for you. Otherwise, it's really just a minor supplement to your D&D campaign and in most cases should be skipped.

I like this book far too much for my own good, and I don't even play the miniatures game.

Why do I have it, then? Outside of a desire for completeness?

Well, about one quarter of the book is filled with useful goodies for D&D itself. There are four new core classes, all but one of which are spontaneous casters. There's the Favored Soul (a spontaneous divine caster with ALL GOOD SAVES), the Healer (which, predictably, specializes in healing...it's been referred to as the "girlfriend class", and even gets a unicorn companion!), and the Warmage (who throws damage spells like they're going out of style). There's also the Marshal, which helps the other party members do their jobs better.

The prestige classes are very good, too. In fact, the real reason I'm so in love with this book is the Skullclan Hunter, which is a rogue prestige class that can sneak attack undead. This is wonderful, as normally undead are immune to sneak attacks. The SkH is still useful, too, outside of that specialty. Other notable classes are the unfortunately-named Tactical Soldier (great for people who thrive on teamwork, and wonderful for your cohort to go in), Havoc Mage (a short PrC that lets you cast in armor and at the same time you make an attack), the Warchief (leading tribes of humanoids, making them tougher and getting more charismatic), and the Warhulk. The latter is also quite fun; it's for Large and bigger creatures, has NO Base Attack accumulation, but gets +2 Strength/level and nifty special attacks that're modeled after Sauron's attacks from the Fellowship of the Ring prologue. Sadly, it's easily abused, but I like that sort of stuff anyway.

The new feats are quite nice, letting your re-roll initiative, add damage when you charge, and giving you extra five-foot steps. A new concept is included in the magic section, the swift action, which is like a free action, in that it doesn't interfere with other actions in the turn, but you can only do one/turn. The spells are generally nice; Snake's Swiftness, which lets the target make an attack, is exceedingly useful. Magic items are also pretty neat, though some have an annoying "wear this for 24 hours before it works" limit, which makes no sense on a helmet. And, finally, the monsters are cool; this includes the Aspect, which is a weak avatar of a deity, and good for fighting.

Now, bear in mind that the above fills the first quarter of the book. The rest of the book is devoted to the D&D collectible miniatures game, which I don't play, but it's apparently fairly popular. Also, the concept art and photos of miniatures are sprinkled throughout the book, which might make you read the miniatures section anyway.

I am quite happy with this book. Despite the gaming material being only a quarter of the book, it's good enough that I believe it's worth it. The miniatures stuff is just icing on the cake for me.

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