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shoesan
Warrior
263 Posts
    
Beaufort, SC
 | | 07/08/2006 8:49 PM |
| ... figured out how to pull the huge rares???
I am in the middle of a move from Japan to South Carolina (military). I have no address at the moment, so I can't order cases, nor could I find any gaming stores in Beaufort South Carolina to buy a case from. My wife was visiting family in New Orleans, so she bought me 5 loose packs of WotDQ from the Borders there (at full retail of $19.99 plus tax! each), because she knew how much I had been anticipating this release ever since I learned the name of the set. I wanted to wait til I had an address so I could get cases because I am leary of loose pack buying... but she wanted to do something nice for me. I opened them today. I got:
Fire Elemental
Mountain Troll
Purple Worm
Barney x2
And if that wasn't bad enough, my rares were:
Golden Protector
Magman Hurler
Dragonscale Sorcerer
Dragonbourn Fighter
War Weaver
I could not have done ANY worse. I was so mad, I stated thinking, could people have already figured out how to cherry pick these things? She bought them last night (Friday), which was the release date. I am so upset, I had to post. Sorry. Talk about taking the wind out of my sails. This went from being my most anticipated set, to something that really gave me a bad experience. I feel like I don't want to buy anymore. But I will. I will eventually order a bunch of cases like I always do once I have a home again, and build the sets through my purchases, trading, and Auggies. But I as far as I am concerned I am $100 in the hole for this set, and that is hard to swallow. I could probably have bought all the figures I got from Auggie for around $30.
At least I got 1 stirge...
Shoe (the other one) | |
Shoe (the other one) | |
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sam500
Sergeant
419 Posts
Berkeley, CA
| | 07/08/2006 10:04 PM |
| That's a tough break mate.
At least the wife is supportive and wants to make you happy.
You're a lucky dude.
I hope you put on a good face for her.
Occasionally my wife will buy me a booster and I'm always thrilled.
In fact my wife has better luck than I do. I won't buy loose boosters myself anymore because I only pull shiite.
Yours,
Sam | |
CHAMPION OF ALL TOWNSFOLK
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I USE THE SAME HANDLE ON HORDELINGS, WOTC DDM BOARDS, AND DWARVEN FORGE FORUMS. | |
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DrakoonHarmtoucher
Sneak
135 Posts
| | 07/08/2006 11:05 PM |
| dang man could be real bad luck or borders could be doing something fishy.
i read something about how retailers will open boosters until they get the rare huges then sell the rest of the case without opening them.
out of the huges u named tho i have 3 of each except the barney which i have zero of. but i got mine from unopened cases so i know for me it was just poor luck. | |
trade refs:http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23164 | |
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Kithmaker
Commander
3926 Posts
| | 07/08/2006 11:28 PM |
| Well, I'd be OK with the Golden Protector and War Weaver, but the rest -- yeah, I agree with you.
And, welcome back to the States? Are you settled in SC now? Not all that far from me again (I'm in MD). | |
My H/W list is not current...
Trade Reference List
OLD Trade references (191) | |
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Can of the Cave Beer
Commander
2838 Posts
| | 07/09/2006 12:28 AM |
| Borders does not, to my knowledge, deal in singles. If they did, I might be suspicious. It's still very possible that the boosters were picked over by other customers (or an unscrupulous employee), but either way it looks like you the "stink end of the stick" on two cases. The two Barneys indicates that there are the results of at least two cases in your purchase (we have not yet, to my knowledge, heard of a "double Huge Uncommon" case).
It sucks, but it's not out of the realm of legitimate possibility. | |
Champion of the Werewolf Lord, Knight of Anything Duergar, and Squire of Things Gnollish
List reset with the start of previews for each new set...got Chainmail®? | |
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Talistran
Warrior
310 Posts
| | 07/09/2006 1:32 AM |
| I have opened at least 5-6 cases with double huge uncommons (fiendish spiders, huge fire elementals, barneys that I can remember off the top of my head).
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Fun little game...
http://www.mgcluster.net/?ac=vid&vid=11028679ac=vid&vid=11028679 | |
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Can of the Cave Beer
Commander
2838 Posts
| | 07/09/2006 1:39 AM |
| Well, so much for that theory.
Still, the absense of Rares does retain the hint that two cases were involved. Bad luck is still not out of sight.
I'm still more likely to credit bum luck than anything else. Although it won't be long before the "pickers" get to 'em. | |
Champion of the Werewolf Lord, Knight of Anything Duergar, and Squire of Things Gnollish
List reset with the start of previews for each new set...got Chainmail®? | |
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Massawyrm
Sneak
89 Posts
| | 07/09/2006 2:22 AM |
| Yes,
Cherry picking this set is incredibly easy. Having handled 24 cases, I began to be able to call the Huge. Packlords and Huge spiders are the noticably easiest to detect...as is unfortunately Tiamat herself.
Too bad you didn't check the trade threads...I was trading for Magma Hurlers... | |
If you have to ask what DA is, then I never whooped your ass with it. | |
| Knight of the
Round Table
Thenameless
Warlord
11727 Posts
The Fortress of Solitude
| | 07/09/2006 3:30 AM |
| | I feel for you shoesan. This set is showing some really easy patterns to break down. If it's in the cards, try to buy your minis in sealed cases. Good luck in your future pulls. | |
Over 270 successful online DDM trades. | |
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Tooninki
Warrior
272 Posts
Finland
| | 07/09/2006 5:02 AM |
| Is Tiamat really so heavy that it can be picked witout trouble?
That would make sense why i havent got one yet... [:(] | |
Life is...
Vindicated AtG shot: Shadow Giant (Death Titan)
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PaSquall
Underboss
1399 Posts
| | 07/09/2006 6:35 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by sam500
At least the wife is supportive and wants to make you happy.
You're a lucky dude.
QFT...
(from an unlucky dude, for that matter) | |
Vindicated Champion of the PSEUDODRAGON
(Unhappy) vindicated champion of the DRYAD
Against the giants called shot : huge cloud giant female
Demonweb called shot : ghost | |
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shoesan
Warrior
263 Posts
Beaufort, SC
| | 07/11/2006 1:25 PM |
| Well, from the responses, looks like its 50/50 on whether it was the result of some cherry picking, or just bad luck. Either way, I really don't want to buy loose packs. I didn't want to to begin with, but circumstances kinda dictated it. Unfortunately I am not set up in a house yet (bad luck on closing on houses too!), so I can't really order cases yet. The anticipation of new minis is even greater when you know they are already released and you STILL have to wait! When I was in Japan, I had to wait about two weeks after release for whoever I bought off of E-bay to deliver to me, but that was understood... its part of the deal with being stationed overseas. Being in the states and having to wait is way more difficult! Must... buy... minis!!!!
Thanks for the replies,
Shoe
PS: Kithmaker, we need to get together one of these days and skirmish. My brother lives in Frederick MD, so I will be up there from time to time. How close are you to him? Email me at:
shoesan1@hotmail.com
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Shoe (the other one) | |
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Sharn Inquisitor
Underboss
1623 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 1:32 PM |
| | The boosters with Tiamat tend to be the heaviest around. Other than that, I haven't heard of any special cherry picking techniques. | | | |
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Vash
Underboss
1995 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 1:36 PM |
| I think I've pretty much stopped buying single boosters from my FLGS unless I get them when they come directly from the cases.
When I went to pick up my case, two of the owners employees were putting out single boosters. The girl that was working was squeezing, shaking, lifting, and sizing trying to find boosters that she wanted to get for herself. Nope sorry, cases only from now on. And I can't really say anything because I know the owner doesnt care about CPing.
This would explain why I've been pulling junk rares from singles from there the last 3 sets or so...
PS. Hey wait, I'm only an hour north of Frederick, MD (Chambersburg, PA) | |
Champion of the Alhoon and my called shot for Unhallowed
Blood War Called Shot: Phoenix
Trade withe me! | |
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ehren37
Sergeant
642 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 2:00 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Vash
I think I've pretty much stopped buying single boosters from my FLGS unless I get them when they come directly from the cases.
When I went to pick up my case, two of the owners employees were putting out single boosters. The girl that was working was squeezing, shaking, lifting, and sizing trying to find boosters that she wanted to get for herself. Nope sorry, cases only from now on. And I can't really say anything because I know the owner doesnt care about CPing.
This would explain why I've been pulling junk rares from singles from there the last 3 sets or so...
PS. Hey wait, I'm only an hour north of Frederick, MD (Chambersburg, PA)
Generally, if you pay retail for a booster, you're screwed from the get go. Its hard to get a pack thats worth 20 dollars in singles... the lackluster rares of this set (WAY too many humanoid figures) has hurt its value. | |
Completed trades: Zarnof, Salmander, Pigsnot, qillan_dvra, SilgentG, Ironfist Boulderbender, robdaman.
Reference thread: http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8859
CHAMPION OF THE DOG! | |
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Raland
Sergeant
916 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 3:03 PM |
| | It's not necessary to "pick" by weight, but simply by location in the case... the rare switch sides in the case depending on whether they're 04/06 or 05/06 | |
Champion of the Kender
ckissee - "providing TPK's since 2007"
Albert Einstein never once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left" but the theory is a scary prospect. | |
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Monsoon28
Underboss
2313 Posts
Toronto
| | 07/11/2006 3:04 PM |
| Kinda have to agree, once you get past the (true)Dragons, there isn't that much in the way of worthy (non-huge) rares, of the 6 I got only the Cadaver Collector was one I really wanted (the Griffon would have been as well if it weren't in such a overly drastic pose.)
But then again maybe this would have been a good thing if the Uncommons and commons were all so great. (Too many wierd cross-dragon breeds for my taste.)
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"I was sittin' here eatin' my muffin, drinkin' my coffee, replayin' the incident in my head, when I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity." - Jules Winnfield
Sales/Trades Bad (1): Ironfist Boulderbender
Trades/Sales completed (8.): Danthl, Dafrca, Garyaxe, qillan_dvra, realmaster, Vandal_Savage, cavedweller, unearthed arcana.
Champion of Gem Dragons, VINDICATED Squire of Duergar Commander, Knight of the Astral Stalker.
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Monsoon28
Underboss
2313 Posts
Toronto
| | 07/11/2006 3:23 PM |
| Double post
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"I was sittin' here eatin' my muffin, drinkin' my coffee, replayin' the incident in my head, when I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity." - Jules Winnfield
Sales/Trades Bad (1): Ironfist Boulderbender
Trades/Sales completed (8.): Danthl, Dafrca, Garyaxe, qillan_dvra, realmaster, Vandal_Savage, cavedweller, unearthed arcana.
Champion of Gem Dragons, VINDICATED Squire of Duergar Commander, Knight of the Astral Stalker.
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robby
Sergeant
918 Posts
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Zoons
Underboss
1066 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 3:42 PM |
| There's a store in Myrtle Beach SC that sells minis. THey have piles of them on the shelves, but don't really deal in singles (They have a very few in their case from older sets). Just guessing by the knowledge level of the employess about them that they would not likely be cherry pickers (but some potential customers could I suppose).
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Never teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.
Champion of the Blink Dog. | |
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Aries
Warrior
284 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 3:54 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by robby
This is definitely not a set I'd buy off the shelf. Too expensive, and too easy to get nothing useful. The heaviest will be Tiamat or the Tundra Scout, but you should be able to tell the difference based on how the box feels.
Purple worm is also up there in weight | |
Positive trades: Tactician, Talistran, Chad the DragonLordofAiur x2,
Favorite_1, Blackblood, mykbuckley, cooter926, Thorgrin, James the True
Ebay ID Awclearwater | |
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RobWreck
Warrior
295 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 4:00 PM |
| Is cherry-picking Tiamat really that bad? I mean, how many Tiamat's am I going to field at the same time? Now if the huges were like the ones from GoL, where as a DM you could reasonably use more than 1 Huge Red Dragon or Huge Gold Dragon, then it might be a different story... but Tiamat? She's unique (not sure if her stats have her as unique), same as Bahamut. If anything, if I thought that AoT was in the booster I picked up, I'd put it back down and try to grab something I wanted. The huge rares I'm looking for are the ones I could use multiples of...
Rob
PS: Yeah, I know that AoT is selling for substantially more than most of the other huges... but once everybody gets 1, how many duplicates will people really need? Giants, on the other hand... those can come in groups. | |
Champion of Aspect of Pelor
If the Founding Fathers of our country were conservatives, we'd still be colonies of England... | |
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ehren37
Sergeant
642 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 4:13 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by RobWreck
PS: Yeah, I know that AoT is selling for substantially more than most of the other huges... but once everybody gets 1, how many duplicates will people really need? Giants, on the other hand... those can come in groups.
You're more likely to encounter multiple storm giants or behirs than huge gold dragons, yet the huge gold trumps both in combined value. And I personally dont see much of a use for a huge good aligned dragon in most games. I think its pretty safe to say the AoT will keep its position at the top. | |
Completed trades: Zarnof, Salmander, Pigsnot, qillan_dvra, SilgentG, Ironfist Boulderbender, robdaman.
Reference thread: http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8859
CHAMPION OF THE DOG! | |
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PaSquall
Underboss
1399 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 6:04 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by RobWreck
PS: Yeah, I know that AoT is selling for substantially more than most of the other huges... but once everybody gets 1, how many duplicates will people really need? Giants, on the other hand... those can come in groups.
Yeah, that's what everybody was saying for Drizt at the time...
We don't know however. maybe it will do like elminster and will not raise in value. | |
Vindicated Champion of the PSEUDODRAGON
(Unhappy) vindicated champion of the DRYAD
Against the giants called shot : huge cloud giant female
Demonweb called shot : ghost | |
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jgsugden
Commander
4320 Posts
Walnut Creek, CA
| | 07/11/2006 7:27 PM |
| There is an important distinction between the AoT and the Huge Red/Huge Gold/Drizzt:
Supply.
There are two factors that point towards a larger supply of AoTs than those other figures:
1.) More WotDQ boosters are expected to be produced than Archfiends or GoL boosters.
2.) AoTs appear once in every 18 boosters on average, while these other figures appeared once in every 24 boosters (or in Drizzt's case, once per however many rares there were in Archfiends).
This is especially important because the Huge Gold, the Huge Red and Drizzt never reached satiation points. There was always a steady demand for the figure. There has never been a time when there has been a short supply of people interested in acquiring one.
However, the AoT will live in a different world. It will live in a world where the demand for the figure does get satisfied, and there are figures left over, because the figures were produced in such high numbers. The increased numbers of the figure over the HRD, HGD or Drizzt will allow people to get their fill and begin to turn away the AoT in favor of other options for how to spend their money. When that begins to happen, the price will drop. It may take a few months, but at some point, the secondary value of the AoT, AoB, Dracolich and SoBD will drop.
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RobWreck
Warrior
295 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 10:01 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by jgsugden
There is an important distinction between the AoT and the Huge Red/Huge Gold/Drizzt:
Supply.
There are two factors that point towards a larger supply of AoTs than those other figures:
1.) More WotDQ boosters are expected to be produced than Archfiends or GoL boosters.
2.) AoTs appear once in every 18 boosters on average, while these other figures appeared once in every 24 boosters (or in Drizzt's case, once per however many rares there were in Archfiends).
This is especially important because the Huge Gold, the Huge Red and Drizzt never reached satiation points. There was always a steady demand for the figure. There has never been a time when there has been a short supply of people interested in acquiring one.
However, the AoT will live in a different world. It will live in a world where the demand for the figure does get satisfied, and there are figures left over, because the figures were produced in such high numbers. The increased numbers of the figure over the HRD, HGD or Drizzt will allow people to get their fill and begin to turn away the AoT in favor of other options for how to spend their money. When that begins to happen, the price will drop. It may take a few months, but at some point, the secondary value of the AoT, AoB, Dracolich and SoBD will drop.
While I agree that the price for the Aspect of Tiamat and the Aspect of Bahamut will drop, I don not believe that the prices for the SoHBD or the Dracolich will drop as much. The reasons being that
A) Bahamut & Tiamat are unique, whereas the other two are not. You could, as a sadistic DM, throw a pair of Dracolichs at a party.
B) With the slightest bit of imagination (or a hacksaw for those lacking said imaginative abilities [)]), you could use the SoHBD as a regular Huge Black Dragon. Huge dragons will retain their value... and if they drop enough, people who cannot disregard the sorcerer on top can remove it without the risk of really messing up their collection.
So yeah, AoT & AoB will drop... but I'm not sure about the other 2, and I believe that the 2 giants will only go up in value.
Rob | |
Champion of Aspect of Pelor
If the Founding Fathers of our country were conservatives, we'd still be colonies of England... | |
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Anthraxus
Warrior
212 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 10:21 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by RobWreck
A) Bahamut & Tiamat are unique, whereas the other two are not. You could, as a sadistic DM, throw a pair of Dracolichs at a party.
Several months ago, I played in an encounter with 3 Huge skeletal dragons. Those Dracolich minis would have been awesome. I know I want more than one Dracolich. | |
Yeah, I really need to work on my H/W list one of these days...
Completed trades: 17 ; Pending: 2
Champion of Yugoloths | |
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Can of the Cave Beer
Commander
2838 Posts
| | 07/11/2006 11:06 PM |
| Dragons will almost always trump non-Dragons in terms of value because they appeal to a broader range of collector. They go beyond the "normal" D&D Collector and into the realm of the Dragon Collector. There are plenty of folks out tthere that collect Dragons without being into D&D.
I imagine that the SoBD will eventually tap into that market, but I'm less certain about the Dracolich. | |
Champion of the Werewolf Lord, Knight of Anything Duergar, and Squire of Things Gnollish
List reset with the start of previews for each new set...got Chainmail®? | |
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robby
Sergeant
918 Posts
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ehren37
Sergeant
642 Posts
| | 07/12/2006 12:39 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by jgsugden
There is an important distinction between the AoT and the Huge Red/Huge Gold/Drizzt:
Supply.
There are two factors that point towards a larger supply of AoTs than those other figures:
1.) More WotDQ boosters are expected to be produced than Archfiends or GoL boosters.
2.) AoTs appear once in every 18 boosters on average, while these other figures appeared once in every 24 boosters (or in Drizzt's case, once per however many rares there were in Archfiends).
This is especially important because the Huge Gold, the Huge Red and Drizzt never reached satiation points. There was always a steady demand for the figure. There has never been a time when there has been a short supply of people interested in acquiring one.
However, the AoT will live in a different world. It will live in a world where the demand for the figure does get satisfied, and there are figures left over, because the figures were produced in such high numbers. The increased numbers of the figure over the HRD, HGD or Drizzt will allow people to get their fill and begin to turn away the AoT in favor of other options for how to spend their money. When that begins to happen, the price will drop. It may take a few months, but at some point, the secondary value of the AoT, AoB, Dracolich and SoBD will drop.
Thats not the point. The point is, they will still be more valuable than other rare huges. | |
Completed trades: Zarnof, Salmander, Pigsnot, qillan_dvra, SilgentG, Ironfist Boulderbender, robdaman.
Reference thread: http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8859
CHAMPION OF THE DOG! | |
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rhopp
Sneak
54 Posts
| | 07/12/2006 9:03 AM |
| My understanding is that Tiamat (the goddess herself) is unique, but the Aspect of Tiamat is not. She can dish out however many aspects of herself she feels like risking. However, the CR is so high, it's effectively unique.
I also read that cherry-picking the Tiamat involves her position in the box, not just the weight. Someone said Tundra Scout is heavier, so it seems you can't just go by weight.
If you don't mind waiting for them to be shipped, you can buy boosters from Amazon. Buy two for $26 and shipping is free. I would think you could be pretty safe from cherry pickers there.
Bob | |
Do or do not. There is no try. | |
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Fry
Underboss
1724 Posts
| | 07/12/2006 12:09 PM |
| | According to the Miniatures Handbook, it would be a rare situation indeed for two aspects of the same god to appear in one encounter, because when they meet they tend to fight to the death. | |
"Why am I all sticky and naked? Did I miss something fun?"
-Vindicated champion of Tordek, Dwarf Champion | |
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warty_nosed_goblin
Underboss
1384 Posts
| | 07/12/2006 1:07 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Fry
According to the Miniatures Handbook, it would be a rare situation indeed for two aspects of the same god to appear in one encounter, because when they meet they tend to fight to the death.
Although some sort of situation where the PCs had to get through a battle of two aspects of Tiamet could be pretty cool. | |
Call me: W.N. Gobo!
originally posted by grim:
While he is clearly insane, he does have a point. | |
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RobWreck
Warrior
295 Posts
| | 07/12/2006 1:44 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by warty_nosed_goblin
quote:
Originally posted by Fry
According to the Miniatures Handbook, it would be a rare situation indeed for two aspects of the same god to appear in one encounter, because when they meet they tend to fight to the death.
Although some sort of situation where the PCs had to get through a battle of two aspects of Tiamet could be pretty cool.
Or just survive the collateral damage as two opposing Aspects of Tiamat duke it out, each with their respective loyal followers. Oh the Reflex saves that would be made... Monk & Rogue paradise! [)]
Rob | |
Champion of Aspect of Pelor
If the Founding Fathers of our country were conservatives, we'd still be colonies of England... | |
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