A Monster For Every Season (Spring) - Printable monster minis for your tabletop game

[BigBadHarve]

Right now, I'm including the character classes in each set. Spring has rangers and druids, Summer has fighters and wizards, Autumn has clerics and paladins (and necromancers), and Winter will have rogues and barbarans. If I continue the series beyond that, I'll probably do bards, monks, and psions, and maybe sorcerers in future sets. But they won't be Kickstarter Mystery Prize #9, that's already a specific thing. More likely I will put them on sale like I am these ones.

EDIT: Unless you're saying you need more variety than the 39 rangers in the Spring set, in which case, no, that's a lot less likely to happen. There's a near infinite variety for player characters in terms of style, armaments, etc., so I would never be able to create a set that included everyone's idea of what their ranger looked like—and that's not counting all the weird races out there. And at a certain point, it's just me wracking my brain for different ways to draw a ranger and coming up empty, and still not matching what other people might be wishing for.

Alas. It was a thought. The idea of having a nice wide range for all of the classes in one handy book had appeal. Of course you can't account for everything, but a compendium with many good options would be awesome.

I am really enjoying the minis a lot. My groups get the most use of class based minis and look forward to more variety... Which is what sparked the hope of a special set devoted to classes specifically.

Of course, if any of us had even a hint of artistic talent we'd draw our own... But we suck and yours are fun.

Looking forward to the winter set.

[Unbodied]

I decided to shell out for a set and these look wonderful. So far the group I'm playing with have had to use dice or improvised with models from all sorts of places to make our models, these are much more convenient and way cheaper that trying to buy proper models. I especially like the Legion sets, so much more convenient for having large groups of mooks.

[Cookieman]

I just registered here to thank you for these beautiful miniatures!

I just simulated a huge siege battle with these figures. Unfortunately the spring set did'nt contain all the units I needed so I used the lizardfolk as archers, the yuan-ti as pikemen and the kobolds as swordmen, bugbears as hobgoblins and hobgoblins as zombies...

Seriously though, I purchased the spring set and already built a lot of minis. I can't wait for the others sets!
(so many archers, not a single lizardfolk in there!)

By the way: I glued all the humans and more or less human-sized minis to cardboard and I use plastic bases for them. Looks pretty good, too! Monsters, mounts and animals I have cut out and I use paper clips to keep them together (tent-shaped as intended). A big collection of minis is way easier to store this way.

Some questions:

- Why is the Order of the Stick missing? An evil pirate told me those guys where in the original kickstarter spring set.
- What about the main villains?
- Will there ever be a set (a legion sheet) of human soldiers? That would be so great! One could easily recolor them to have different armies /good guys /evil henchmen.

[Peelee]

Right now, I'm including the character classes in each set. Spring has rangers and druids, Summer has fighters and wizards, Autumn has clerics and paladins (and necromancers), and Winter will have rogues and barbarans. If I continue the series beyond that, I'll probably do bards, monks, and psions, and maybe sorcerers in future sets.

Dang, I didn't think sorcerers were so far down the totem pole that they'd be behind psions. Is it because they're so similar to wizards and the wizard minis can just make effective sorc placeholders for now?

[evileeyore]

Also, every monster is included in both full color and toner-saving line art, so you can change the colors yourself:

OH HELL YEAHS!

You have no idea how annoyed I get when paper-mini artists don't do this and then slap a princely fee on it... and your not only doing it right but charging a "pay as you like" 6$?

I could almost weep at the sight of your awesomeness.


[EDIT]
Okay, slightly less awesome... but the minis are still really cool.
[/EDIT]

[The Giant]

Dang, I didn't think sorcerers were so far down the totem pole that they'd be behind psions. Is it because they're so similar to wizards and the wizard minis can just make effective sorc placeholders for now?

Yeah, pretty much. It's very hard to think of things that make a sorcerer not just another wizard, except maybe the lack of a book. And even less that differentiates them from warlocks, so it will probably be "Sorcerers & Warlocks" when it does happen, so I don't need to worry about it. Psions at least have all those crystals and tattoos and stuff, so they'll be easier to draw.

[Keltest]

Yeah, pretty much. It's very hard to think of things that make a sorcerer not just another wizard, except maybe the lack of a book. And even less that differentiates them from warlocks, so it will probably be "Sorcerers & Warlocks" when it does happen, so I don't need to worry about it. Psions at least have all those crystals and tattoos and stuff, so they'll be easier to draw.

Don't warlocks wear armor like bards?

More seriously, D&D has a lot of monsters. How do you decide which ones make the list? You mentioned every "major" category of monster, what makes it a major category? Do you just have a list of books sitting on a table somewhere that you copied the table of contents from into a list and sorted into the seasons?

[The Giant]

Don't warlocks wear armor like bards?

Oh yeah, good point. It's been a while. Well, we'll see how it works out.

More seriously, D&D has a lot of monsters. How do you decide which ones make the list? You mentioned every "major" category of monster, what makes it a major category? Do you just have a list of books sitting on a table somewhere that you copied the table of contents from into a list and sorted into the seasons?

Almost exactly that, yeah. I have every edition of D&D monster book in either hardcopy or PDF available; the "major categories" are the ones that have persisted across every edition of the game. I basically just went through the Monster Manuals and decided which season the monster "felt" like to me, and then grouped them into broader categories, Sometimes those are really obvious, like animals or undead. Sometimes less so: Autumn has a group called "Spooooky" that arose from a bunch of Halloween-style monsters that didn't have a better category, like Hags, Scarecrows, and Berbelangs. And then, once I'm working out positioning on the page, there are gaps that I need to fill in a given category to maximize the page space. That's when I either go deep-diving for an obscure monster of the right size and theme, or I include a "non-D&D" monster, like the Plumbing Pipe Plant or the Racing Snail.

I also started with the biggest categories of "boring" creatures and split them up, one to a set. What I mean by boring is, the things that you need to have if you want to have the whole Monster Manual, but are in no way exciting or even fantastical: land animals, aquatic animals, vermin, and dinosaurs are the ones I came up with. All necessary, but all very large categories that don't offer much thrill to a potential buyer.

My hope is that by the time I'm done, the set will cover at least every monster in every "main" Monster Manual from every edition—OD&D, 1e, 2e, 3e, 4e, and 5e—plus every character class from every main PHB. Many of the bonus monsters for this set that weren't in the Kickstarter version are from the 5e MM, which wasn't out yet when I did Spring the first time. I don't think I'll get through everything in 4 volumes, though, which is why I'm speculating that I'll extend it to 8, as long as they end up being popular enough to warrant the effort.

[The Giant]

- Why is the Order of the Stick missing? An evil pirate told me those guys where in the original kickstarter spring set.
- What about the main villains?

I decided to keep those an exclusive for the Kickstarter backers, both as a special bonus for them and so as not to cause a problem with my good friends at Moreland Miniatures, who produce the metal-and-resin official OOTS gaming miniatures.

- Will there ever be a set (a legion sheet) of human soldiers? That would be so great! One could easily recolor them to have different armies /good guys /evil henchmen.

Yes, the Summer set has fighters, which include human soldier-types, and there is definitely a Legion Sheet for them. Lizardfolk are also in Summer, FYI.

[Armitage]

I decided to keep those an exclusive for the Kickstarter backers, both as a special bonus for them and so as not to cause a problem with my good friends at Moreland Miniatures, who produce the metal-and-resin official OOTS gaming miniatures.

Oh, so I shouldn't have copied the Gumroad version over the Kickstarter version?

Ok, I should have a backup some...where...over...there...

[The Giant]

You can just grab the Kickstarter version again:

You can download the file for free from your Kickstarter account by going to the pledge drive's page and looking for Update #38 from May 16,2012. You'll need to be logged into your account in order to view that update.

[Lord Torath]

Alas. It was a thought. The idea of having a nice wide range for all of the classes in one handy book had appeal. Of course you can't account for everything, but a compendium with many good options would be awesome.

I am really enjoying the minis a lot. My groups get the most use of class based minis and look forward to more variety... Which is what sparked the hope of a special set devoted to classes specifically.

Of course, if any of us had even a hint of artistic talent we'd draw our own... But we suck and yours are fun.

Looking forward to the winter set.

Inkscape is a free vector drawing program. Combine this with Windows' Snipping tool, and you can relatively easily create a personalized mini. Find one or more OotS-style mini's you like the look of. Maybe this one's helmet, and that one's chest armor, plus the sword from this other figure. Plus, that one has sweet boots! Use the Snipping Tool to snip those minis from the .pdf. Import the snips into Inkscape (drag, drop, and fill out the form), trace over the parts of each mini that you like, and them combine them to get your specific character. It's really pretty easy!

Rich, are you planning on releasing the "Draw Your Own" pages to non-kickstarter backers? Or including them in a later AMFES package? Or just leaving them Kickstarter only?

Can we use mini's created as I described above as Avatars? Or is that too close to posting your art without permission?

Also, are you planning on including updated versions (new art style) of the OotS and Linear Guild in the kick-starter Winter set, to go along with the new-style Team Evil from Autumn?

I gotta say, I really love these! One of my favorite kickstarter rewards! And I love the reworking you've done, too! I haven't yet had the time to go through and compare the two sets side-by-side, but I love some of the changes I've already seen. Thanks, muchly!

[Kayvaan]

Love the updates to the Spring set and very much looking forward to the future of this series. :)

I did note that, unless I'm totally missing the obvious, the goblin caster on the left side of the front page isn't in the goblin section or anywhere else in the set. Is this a Rich-exclusive mini, or will it be appearing in a future set?

[Yendor]

I did note that, unless I'm totally missing the obvious, the goblin caster on the left side of the front page isn't in the goblin section or anywhere else in the set. Is this a Rich-exclusive mini, or will it be appearing in a future set?

That's actually an orc shaman. The goblins in the set are Small-sized.

[The Giant]

No, Kayvaan is right. That's the Goblin Warlock, and for some reason I left her out of the final document. Sorry about that. I'll see what I can do about getting her to everyone.

[TirelessDynamo]

This is awesome! I can't wait for the other seasons! (And hopefully other years of seasons)

[Kenage]

I never considered a racing snail as something which I must have... it has been years since I have watched Atreyu and Artax deal with their adventures after all. Now I'm trying to think of a way to incorporate them into my campaign setting, and have mini's to use for them!

[ti'esar]

I was browsing the Content List to see what new monsters this had that weren't in the original Kickstarter PDF, and I just saw the listing for "Gnoll Fang of Yoonowho".

That might have been enough to sell me on this on its own.

[Thwylie]

I hope this isn't a silly question, but I recently found the monster for every season: spring edition, and it looks really awesome. I was wondering if the other seasons that have been released, autumn and summer, will get rereleased for the people that weren't lucky to have discovered this all yet. If that's already in the works to be fixed up to buy next to spring I'm sorry if I'm being a pest. Or if you are trying to keep it exclusive for the initial kickstarter supporters, which is totally fair. I really love your work.

[Lord Torath]

I hope this isn't a silly question, but I recently found the monster for every season: spring edition, and it looks really awesome. I was wondering if the other seasons that have been released, autumn and summer, will get rereleased for the people that weren't lucky to have discovered this all yet. If that's already in the works to be fixed up to buy next to spring I'm sorry if I'm being a pest. Or if you are trying to keep it exclusive for the initial kickstarter supporters, which is totally fair. I really love your work.

From the FAQ in the first post of this thread:

When will the rest of the seasons be coming out?
Hopefully during their respective seasons! The Summer and Autumn sets are completed and just need some light file conversion, while the Winter set is expected for both Kickstarter backers and the general public late this year or early 2018.

[Thwylie]

From the FAQ in the first post of this thread:

Or right, thank you. Sorry

[Kardwill]

OK, this is seriously awesome : The minis have a nice diversity, and they are gorgeous (and not just "gorgeous for stick figures". They really do feel alive). This set tempts me into getting into a new D&D game (after I wrap up my Dresden campaign, maybe?), and I'll certainly pounce on the next sets. Thanks a lot. :)

[Kuulvheysoon]

I'm running the Red Hand of Doom and I just found these. I saw somewhere that Lizardfolk are going to be in the Summer chapter, but what I'd like to know about are Hobgoblins and Giants (predominately Hill). Will they be in the Summer update as well?

[Lord Torath]

Hobgoblins: Autumn Installment

Giants (Summer Installment): Fire (M/F), Fire Cleric(F), Fire ForgeCaller(M), Sea (M/F), Storm Giant (M/F), Fire Titan (M).

So unless Rich decides to add them, no Hill Giants in the Summer pack.

[GM.Roni]

It would be great if i could use a code or send my roll20 user info to giantitp so i could get all these images for use in my roll20 campaigns...
(i already bought the pdf, and i know i can use print screen and paint program to copy images but it seems a hassle and also this might be great for other users of roll20...)

[The Giant]

Hill, Stone, and Frost giants will be in the Winter set.

[Lord Torath]

It would be great if i could use a code or send my roll20 user info to giantitp so i could get all these images for use in my roll20 campaigns...
(i already bought the pdf, and i know i can use print screen and paint program to copy images but it seems a hassle and also this might be great for other users of roll20...)

Based on this exchange, I probably wouldn't hold my breath.

In a similar vein, is it okay for people to screenshot/crop the images to use as tokens for online games as well?

As long as you don't just post them online somewhere for anyone to grab, I'm fine with it.

Rich would have to contact Roll20, and set up some kind of legal agreement with them, and they'd probably want some measure of control over the art, and they'd have to hash out royalty/hosting/commission fees, and what happens to the other paid artists Roll20 uses, and probably a hundred other issues I haven't even thought of yet, and it would just be a big headache

I just use the snipping/screenshot tool to grab the art, and then use irfanview to save it with a background transparency color.

[Shades of Gray]

Just got the tokens and they look great. Any reason the hags aren't part of the fey? Are they part of a different collection, or have I just missed them and they're part of this one?

[ti'esar]

Just got the tokens and they look great. Any reason the hags aren't part of the fey? Are they part of a different collection, or have I just missed them and they're part of this one?

They're with the "Spooky Monsters" in the Autumn collection.

[The Giant]

Just got the tokens and they look great. Any reason the hags aren't part of the fey? Are they part of a different collection, or have I just missed them and they're part of this one?

Hags are not part of The Fey because hags are not fey in any edition before 4th, which I barely played and never noticed that they switched them until I looked them up after reading your comment. In 3rd Edition, they were Monstrous Humanoids and earlier editions didn't have defined creature types. (5th Edition wasn't out when I first created this set.)

As ti'esar said, hags appear in the Autumn installment.