Dear D&D Miniatures Fans;

Thanks for voting in the semifinal round of the DDM All-Star selection process. Your votes from the last several weeks narrow the field of roughly 700 figures down to 222.

Now it's time for you to make some tough choices and cut the list down to the 60 miniatures that will make up the first-ever D&D Miniatures All-Star set, with updated statistics to be published online in July 2008.

We've started by automatically advancing two characters that hold a special place in our hearts: Rikka, Avenging Angel and Drizzt, Drow Ranger.

Rikka was designed by Brian Mackey as a special prize for the 2004 D&D Miniatures Championship. Drizzt is ... well, Drizzt. We just couldn't imagine an All-Star set without these two characters. That, and we promised last summer that we'd include these two figures.

(The other miniature designed by a D&D Minis champion, Jason Lioi's Thrall of Blackrazor, is already scheduled to be updated to the new rules in May 2008 as part of Unhallowed.)

"The 22" Archmage (Ang) Balor (UD) Beholder (DK) Blackguard on Nightmare (DQ) Champion of Eilistraee (Arch) Couatl (DK) Drow Cleric of Lolth (Har) Elminster of Shadowdale (UD) Eye of Gruumsh (DE) Frenzied Berserker (Ab) Horned Devil (BW) Human Blackguard (Har) Large Green Dragon (DQ) Large Red Dragon (DE) Large Silver Dragon (Arch) Lord Soth (GL) Mordenkainen the Mage (GL) Mounted Paladin (Ang) Pit Fiend (BW) Ryld Argith (Ab) Shuluth, Archvillain (WD) Warduke (WD)

Joining these special characters immediately are the top two vote-getters from each expansion. These 22 miniatures represent the cream of the crop, the very favorite miniatures of the fans who voted this fall.

Together, that means that 24 of the 60 slots in the All-Star Set are filled, leaving 36 miniatures yet to be determined.

Starting tomorrow (November 14), we'll post two polls per week, much as in previous weeks. This time, however, each poll will have a particular theme, from Mysterious Mages to Fiendish Foes, and will include between 10 and 30 different miniatures befitting that theme.

Each poll will allow you from one to three votes, depending on the size and significance of the poll category. The top vote-getters in each poll (from one to three, same as the number of votes you get) will immediately become part of the DDM All-Star Set. Those that don't make the first cut may get a second chance in a later category, but nothing's guaranteed.

By the time late January rolls around, your votes will have filled out the rest of the 60-figure All-Star Set.

Tune in tomorrow, November 14, to see the first two polls -- Heroes and Villains!

Now you should check the FAQ for the As to your Qs.

Thanks,

The D&D Miniatures Team

And remember, all Desert of Desolation creatures will appear in the 4th edition D&D Monster Manual, and you'll be able to download their updated stats for the new D&D Miniatures rules in January 2007!

All-Star Voting FAQ

To head off some of the inevitable queries about this process, here are some of the questions that we anticipate hearing.

Q: What's the poll schedule?
A: We'll post two polls per week from now through January (with the exception of the week between Christmas and New Year's Day).

Q. How many polls will there be?
A: About 20.

Q: What are the poll themes going to be?
A: Each week's polls will be announced that week.

Q: What poll will my favorite mini be in?
A: We're not announcing the miniatures included in any poll before the poll is posted. We want you to focus on one week of polls at a time rather than thinking about all of them simultaneously.

Q: Will each miniature appear in only one poll?
A: Some miniatures will appear in more than one poll. However, once a miniature has garnered a spot in the All-Star set, it won't appear in any future polls. In addition, the last two polls will allow you to vote on all remaining finalist miniatures that haven't yet made it into the All-Star set. These "last chance" polls will give you a final opportunity to lobby for your favorite miniatures.

Q: Will there be Huge, Gargantuan, or Colossal figures in the All-Star set?
A: No. Because of the relatively small number of Huge and larger miniatures (compared to the vast number of non-Huges), we decided not to include any Huge, Gargantuan, or Colossal models in the All-Star set. In order to accommodate the size category with anything more than a token figure or two, we'd have to take too many valuable spots away from the more playable non-Huge figures, and that just didn't seem like a good idea. Don't worry; we'll still be updating the skirmish statistics for all Huge figures as part of the normal update schedule, and we'll update the Gargantuan and Colossal figures as well.

If you missed the results from the 1st Round polls, you can find them here.

• Harbinger
• Dragoneye
• Archfiends
• Giants of Legend
• Aberrations
• Deathknell
• Angelfire
• Underdark
• War Drums
• War of the Dragon Queen
• Blood War

Interesting.Â

Why are the first 24 of the 60 All Stars already picked for us?  Why did we even bother voting in the first place if those certain figures were going to be auto includes anyway.Â

Now on the other hand I really like the set of auto includes.Â