I’ve received several e-mails and comments asking about some of our miniature pictures. For the most part, they usually ask about the ‘numbers’ that are pictured on some of our miniatures. I figured I’d provide a closer look, an explanation of what it is for, and how our group uses this feature.

As you can see in the picture, it has two of the modern miniatures from Dixon Miniatures. Each miniature doesn’t come with the black circular base or the number attached to it. Here is how you can get both of those features and why we use them…

Identifying Numbers

As a game master, when you have a lot of miniatures on the map it can be a daunting task to keep track of all of them. I used to use some identifying feature like, “blue dragon”, “orc with sword”, or “elven female”. But there started to be a lot of situations where we had a lot of miniatures on the board and a large group of them that looked the same. You might have three “orc with sword” miniatures that are unpainted. So how can you easily distinguish them for the game master and players? That is where the identifying numbers come in.

We take some reusable tacky putty. Then get anything that is small, durable, and you could write a number on. For example, you could take a small wooden dowel, cut it up into a bunch of small rounded pieces, and write a number on it with a marker. Then you simply attach the reusable tacky putty to your identifying mark and stick it on the miniature. Now, whenever someone refers to that miniature it is easier to identify. Both you and the players know that is NPC #6, so there is no confusion.

Circular Base

The circular base is simply that, a small round piece that is used to balance miniatures. Some miniatures easily stand on their own, while others have a poor base. We have these detachable and reusable bases for the miniatures that don’t stand up on their own well.

You just need to find something that will work as a base. It really doesn’t matter what it is as long as it isn’t too big to fit on your map. Once you find or create something that will work, simply get some reusable tacky putty. You can get this at craft stores, office supply stores, and a host of other places. Take the reusable tacky putty and attach is to your base, then stick your base on your miniature. That is all you need to do and you have a reusable base that you can use for almost any miniature.

Hacking Your Miniatures

I know there are a lot of other ways to modify your miniatures, add condition modifiers, or add a host of other changes. This is just one way that we modify our miniatures. It works for us. We have other things that we use but these are two features that we use on our miniatures almost every single miniature combat in every game we play.

What modifications do you use on your miniatures?