Shopping for D&D accessories and items is a part of the average tabletop gaming journey. Even if you don’t have D&D items right now, it’s very likely that you’d buy some related products later. Instead of buying pricey accessories right away, you must pause for a while and consider some important factors.
This comprehensive article will give you information about some useful D&D accessories and a buying guide. Additionally, you’d also learn a few things about custom D&D item creation projects.
D&D Accessories – Essential Things for Your Table
Master’s Relics RPG Accessory Set
Brand: Stratagem
Type: Accessory Kit
Material: Cardboard
Weight: 1.68 Pounds
Pros:
- 200+ pieces of cardboard accessories
- High-quality and colorful pieces
- Reversible sides
Cons:
- Some parts are lightly damaged
Master’s Relics Accessory Set is a remarkable product kit that offers more than 200 cardboard tokens to play with. These tokens resemble the typical pieces of a dungeon: tables, barrels, traps, crates, doors, terrain, and passages. The cardboard tokens are reversible, allowing you to put important details and notes related to the adventure.
One advantage of the Master’s Relics set is innate flexibility. You can use the set with any RPG system aside from D&D. If you’re a busy DM who runs multiple systems, you can cut prep time in half by setting up the Master’s Relics set. All of the token pieces have detailed artwork, eliminating the need for long text descriptions.
A common issue of the Master’s Relics set is the light damage of its individual parts. The damage is usually related to shipping and it won’t ruin your prepping or gaming experience. If your ordered box contains many damaged parts, just contact the Stratagem store and ask for a replacement product.
Heroes and Animals Miniature Set
Brand: Wildspire
Type: Miniature Set (unpainted)
Material: Plastic
Weight: 1.25 Pounds
Pros:
- A large collection of minis for any game
- High-detail parts
- Made of durable plastic
- Best value
Cons:
- Some parts require sanding
- Miniature size not consistent with images posted
Sometimes, your game table deserves more than just a handful of miniatures. However, buying miniatures one by one can drain your wallet faster than a party’s short rest. If your budget for new miniatures is limited, you should check out Wildspire’s Heroes and Animals miniature set. The miniature kit contains unique RPG characters and animals.
The Wildspire Heroes and Animals Set is enough to support your adventure for multiple game sessions. The kit has fifteen miniatures with different battle stances, weapons, and equipment. All of the miniatures have decent unpainted quality, and their textures are ready for various types of paint. Plus, the Heroes and Animals Set has a free PDF of a campaign setting. The PDF includes quests, in-depth lore, and homebrewed monsters.
Despite the acceptable quality of the set’s miniatures, some parts are a bit rough. To remove these rough parts, you just have to sand them with a miniature file tool. Don’t sand the small parts too much or they might lose their form.
The actual miniatures also look inconsistent with the images being advertised. One example is the plastic elephant. In the box cover, the elephant looks larger than the rest of the miniatures. On closer inspection, however, you’d see that the elephant mini is barely larger than the antelope. If you’re going to display the miniatures, make sure that the elephant is slightly elevated to make it appear larger.
D&D Spellbook Cards: Magic Items
Brand: Gale Force Nine
Type: Accessory Set (cards)
Material: Plastic
Weight: 1.5 Pounds
Pros:
- 294 laminated cards about D&D magic items
- Nearly eliminates consistent page-flipping
- Accurate descriptions
Cons:
- Inconsistent photo usage
- Fragile box
Are you tired of flipping through pages in order to look for a magic item’s description? Well, you’re not alone! Hundreds of players skim through pages from multiple books because digital apps are not entirely accurate. The item that can solve this problem is D&D Spellbook Cards for Magic Items.
With 294 laminated cards about magic items, the D&D Magic Items card set can get the information that you need. Each card contains technical information and flavor text. The card images will serve as visual cues to help you spot a magic item within seconds. If you want to reward a player with a magic item, simply hand out a card.
One annoying disadvantage of the D&D Magic Items card set is the inconsistent photo usage. Only a few item cards contain unique artwork from the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The rest of the cards contain generic artwork even if the items being depicted are technically useful. The box is also fragile and prone to receiving dents and mild bumps. To protect the Spellbook cards set, you must put in a separate case.
D&D Adventures That Can Be Enhanced by Multiple Accessories
Even though any D&D campaign can benefit from having a decent collection of accessories, only a few adventures will get the best advantage. Therefore, if you’re playing any of the adventures discussed in this article section, you must consider buying a new set of high-quality D&D accessories.
Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Dungeon of the Mad Mage (DOTMM) is a unique D&D campaign that can also be used as a sourcebook. The adventure has a sandbox-style system that allows players to do what they want, even though DOTMM is marketed as a mega-dungeon crawl. Every part of the adventure takes players to the Undermountain’s floor levels. Each floor has a specific story or theme tied to the Mad Mage’s (the antagonist) plans.
Since Dungeon of the Mad Mage combines elements of tactical combat, roleplaying, and urban exploration, it will definitely benefit from a table’s collection of accessories. Terrain pieces will increase gaming immersion, while miniature treasure chests will keep players excited for getting more rewards. Custom battlemaps will also speed up encounters because players can visualize movement and distances.
DOTMM players should also have combat tokens or status markers, especially in the final battle against the Mad Mage. Halaster Blackcloak, the Mad Mage, has a nearly unlimited arsenal of combat moves, special actions, and spells. In a snap, Halaster can TPK an entire party without breaking D&D rules. The two factors that stop Halaster from being too powerful is his child-like lunacy and DM fiat. With the help of status markers, players can execute their actions better and survive Halaster’s relentless attacks.
Best Accessories for DOTMM:
- Custom terrain pieces for dungeons
- Monster minis
- Treasure chest minis
- Customizable grid maps
- Combat tokens and markers
Curse of Strahd
Commonly dubbed as the best D&D adventure ever made, Curse of Strahd (COS) offers a delicate balance of psychological horror and in-depth roleplaying. The adventure tells the story of Count Strahd Von Zarovich and his eternal goal of wooing Ireena. Aside from that, COS explores the dynamics between several powerful characters and their factions.
Curse of Strahd is great for face-to-face sessions. One of the best things that you should expect from the adventure is the sense of dread in every encounter. To establish such a terrifying ambiance, the DM must use horror-themed terrain sets and detailed undead miniatures. A handy smoke-release device can make the horror atmosphere more believable.
It’s also nice to have a special miniature set for Castle Ravenloft – the home of Strahd. The castle set will work great with horror-inspired terrain pieces. A high-detail Strahd miniature will also make your D&D sessions more exciting than ever.
Best Accessories for COS:
- Undead and horror-inspired minis
- Horror terrain pieces
- Miniature castle set for Ravenloft
- Custom artifacts
- Gothic dice jails
- Horror-inspired fancy die
Storm King’s Thunder
Another popular sandbox campaign is Storm King’s Thunder (SKT). In this campaign, players must go head-to-head against powerful giants to prevent a massive racial conflict. Storm King’s Thunder also allows players to exercise their creativity in solving situations and puzzling encounters.
Using accessories for Storm King’s Thunder is a nice way to make your game exciting. Some of the accessories you can use are miniatures of Giants, goblin pieces, and versatile terrain pieces matching the Savage Frontier. You should also use battlemaps with square or hex grids to ensure that combat encounters run smoothly.
Storm King’s Thunder contains some powerful and interesting artifacts for all players involved. Instead of using paper cutouts to represent these artifacts, you can commission someone to make custom polymer clay or resin pieces. If you’re the DM for the SKT campaign, you can send these artifact miniatures as gifts to your players.
Best Accessories for SKT:
- Miniatures depicting D&D Giants
- Goblin and animal minis
- Detailed terrain pieces
- Custom artifacts
- Custom battlemaps
Tomb of Annihilation
Tomb of Annihilation (TOA) is a challenging campaign filled with traps, diseases, undead, angry gods, and voracious dinosaurs. In TOA, players must work against the clock to destroy the Soulmonger and free the entire world from a Lich’s massive death curse.
TOA players will have their fair share of dangerous exploration in the jungles of Chult Peninsula. The place is harsh, unforgiving, and loaded with dreadful encounters that can finish off an unprepared group. As a DM, you can amplify this sense of dread by utilizing a hex grid map supplemented by jungle-themed terrain pieces. While the TOA book has a free hex grid map, a customized version has better artwork and clearer symbols.
Near the end of the campaign, you can top off the game with a high-detail Acererak minifigure. By having a mini that represents the Soulmonger’s creator, your game table will feel more robust and exciting.
Best Accessories for TOA:
- Jungle-themed battlemap
- Hex grid overland map
- Miniature temple pieces
- Dinousaur miniatures
- Exotic jungle terrain pieces
- A special Acererak miniature
A Simple Buying Guide for D&D Accessories and Items
Are you having a hard time choosing budget-friendly D&D items? We got you covered. In this article section, you’d learn some ‘seemingly obvious’ yet almost forgotten tricks on shopping for D&D accessories.
Consider Your Campaign’s Theme
Before buying a large batch of D&D accessories, you should stop for a moment and think about your campaign. Simply determine if your campaign theme matches the accessories that you want to collect. This way, you can focus on buying the necessary items without overstretching your budget. If you’re not playing in a campaign, just get the bare minimum. You don’t have to buy everything from the get-go!
These general accessories can match any campaign theme easily:
- Colorful gaming dice
- Unpainted bulk miniatures
- Battlefield markers
- Status tokens (system-flexible)
- Thematic dice jail (i.e. Mimic treasure chest – nasty!)
- Customized Deck of All Things
- Blank cards
- Tokens for spell slots and HP
- Customized player mats
- Decorative potion bottles
Try to Look for Bulk Offers
The smart D&D buyer will always look for bulk offers. By prioritizing bulk offers, you can stretch your budget further without sacrificing item quality. It’s not always easy to find bulk offers because online stores post their promos everywhere. You need to dig deep in order to find the hottest bulk promos online.
If you can’t find online bulk promos, just visit the nearest local game store. Most of the time, a game store offers discounts for large purchases. You might even be lucky to spot a promo timed for the holidays.
Also, don’t pass up the opportunity to get discount coupons. Local game stores and even online merchants offer discount coupons on a regular basis. Some new game stores also have giveaways for a limited time period.
Size Does Matter
While shopping for D&D accessories, you must bear in mind that size correlates to the cost. Large accessories (i.e. decorative potion bottles) tend to cost more than smaller items. Depending on the merchant, you can get two large accessories for the price of one. Buying smaller accessories is more practical because of the number of products you can get in one transaction.
Miniatures, on the other hand, have minor cost variations based on size. A large unpainted miniature doesn’t cost more than smaller painted versions. Still, the final price of the miniature depends on the manufacturer, store, and brand. To save money on miniature shopping, you should look for minis that require assembly. Assembling a miniature requires time, but you control how the final output will turn out.
Watch Out for Branded Official Items
Branding is a strong aspect that can determine a product’s final cost. If you’re a fan of big franchise titles related to D&D, you might end up spending more money for accessories. Branded D&D accessories cost more than generic, unbranded variants. Just check out the price range for items related to Critical Role or Wizards of the Coast!
Mass-produced branded items also have minor issues in terms of quality. Some branded items like heroic miniatures have inconsistent detail and paintwork. You’ll have a better chance of getting high-quality D&D items from custom shops, but the cost might exceed your budget.
Check the Material Used
The material used for a D&D product is almost an underrated factor. Many people love to buy D&D accessories based on style, branding, and overall design. These buyers often fail to realize that a product’s material can affect its long-term quality.
Plastic is the common material used for D&D accessories like gaming dice, dice towers, markers, and terrain pieces. Next to plastic is polymer clay. The polymer clay is less durable than plastic, but it guarantees better flexibility for product creators. Usually, polymer clay is the best option for miniatures and small D&D figures.
Explore Online Artisan Stores
If you have the budget for custom D&D products and accessories, you should check out online artisan stores. These stores are few and far between, and you can find them in exclusive RPG communities or specialty events.
Online artisan stores are better than large marketplaces because of their capability to make custom D&D products. If you happen to reach the store at a great time, you can also avail of promos or extra product bundles along with your order.
Some artisans are willing to exchange their products for whatever skilled work you can offer. Before pitching your skills through an exchange deal, make sure that you’ve established rapport with the store owner. This process will take time, so you need to be patient.
Attend Conventions and Online Events
If you’re serious about getting the best D&D accessories, you should try attending RPG conventions and online events. In large conventions, you will encounter booths selling different types of D&D accessories. Aside from accessories, some booths might offer brand new or second-hand D&D books. It’s possible to get some free accessories bundled with your chosen books or campaigns.
Online events are the same with conventions but attendees don’t have to be physically present in an area. If you found a set of desired D&D accessories, you can just visit an advertised merchant store and place your order. Not all online events are partnered with D&D product merchants, but you can still get a referral or two.
How to Create D&D Accessories from Scratch?
Get Inspiration from Other Creators
Inspiration is the fuel of any creative project. Without inspiration, a creator won’t be able to make fantastic projects or masterpieces. Sometimes, it’s easy to get inspiration from your life experiences, emotions, and dreams. However, there are difficult days where you won’t feel inspired at all.
If you’re having a hard time feeling inspired, you should check out the creations of other people. Don’t just stare at their projects! Analyze the projects and try to imagine how they were finished. By analyzing a project, you will somehow understand what steps were taken and what materials were used. Additionally, you might even learn the full story of the project. It’s like you’re getting inspired by seeing others’ inspiration!
Social media is the best place to find independent creators of D&D items. These creators usually have pages of their store and product albums.
Getting inspiration from others is different from copying their works. Do your best to come up with new ideas based on a chosen product. Copying others’ products is unethical and might even lead to disastrous lawsuits.
Prepare a Sketch of Ideas
Before you start working on a custom D&D accessory, you must have a convenient selection of ideas. Sketched ideas will serve as the rough drafts of your product. Keep working on these ideas until you get to the final draft. Your final draft should consider numerous important things like materials, techniques, time frame, and equipment required.
You can share the ideas to a trusted friend in order to gather initial feedback. Take the feedback seriously to enhance the quality of your final draft. It’s better to take the process slowly but surely rather than waste time on hasty product revisions.
Decide What Materials to Use
You won’t go far with a creative project if you can’t pinpoint the necessary materials. Since D&D crafting is only limited by your imagination, you can use any type of safe materials possible.
The most common material used is polymer clay. You’d see this material used on custom miniatures and terrain pieces. Polymer clay is easy to use but difficult to master. If you’re still a beginner, your early polymer products might have lesser details or subpar textures. But as your crafting skills improve, you will see immediate results with your finished polymer clay products.
Resin is another versatile material used for D&D custom accessories. Most resin accessories are tougher than polymer items, and they can be painted on easily. The real challenge with resin is the process involved. If you don’t have a 3D printer, you need to prepare various molding frames for the desired product. Also, resin can be harsh to the skin, nose, and eyes. Make sure that your working area has proper ventilation and safety equipment.
Post Your Finished Products Online
Nowadays, almost all transactions are done online. Customers can find the products they need by visiting digital stores, websites, and big marketplaces. If you don’t post your finished custom products online, you will lose the chance to reach thousands of customers.
You can start by creating a free online store on Facebook. A Facebook page will represent your physical store and your new products. Upload high-quality photos in your new page and don’t forget to announce the project. At first, your store’s online visibility might be slow. But over the following months, your page will get a steady stream of customers.
Having a website is also a great and affordable way to market your custom D&D products. Some of the platforms that you can choose are WordPress, Wix, and Blogspot. These sites allow free hosting with the option to upgrade to a paid membership later.
Receive Feedback and Improve Your Products
Constructive feedback is an essential factor that can possibly determine the improvement rate of your custom D&D products. By analyzing constructive feedback, you can find new ways to add product features, freebies, and extra designs. It can be challenging to accept feedback especially if you just launched your products for the first time. As your D&D products get more exposure, you will eventually learn how to work around customer feedback and get the information that you need.
Always remember that lack of honest feedback is worse than constructive feedback. Let your products reach the right people and don’t be afraid of possible changes!
D&D Accessories FAQ
Where can I buy high-quality D&D accessories?
Answer: You can buy D&D accessories and items from custom online stores or a large marketplace like Amazon. Just be careful on choosing stores because they don’t offer the same level of quality and customer response.
What materials are needed for custom D&D accessories?
Answer: The materials depend on your crafting skills and personal preferences. Some artisans love to make D&D accessories from polymer clay, while others rely on printable cutouts and everyday recyclable materials. Other common materials are rubber, straw, cardboard, resin, and glass.
Do I need D&D accessories to play in a session?
Answer: You don’t need D&D accessories as long as you have a character sheet and at least one core book. Having D&D accessories, however, will make your experience more worthwhile or immersive.
Are miniatures considered D&D accessories?
Answer: D&D miniatures are considered accessories because they’re often used to make a game session exciting. Miniatures are also the most versatile types of accessories because they are designed for different campaign themes ad sessions.
Why are some D&D accessories expensive?
Answer: Some D&D accessories are expensive because they were custom-made and typically fresh off the creator’s desk. On the other hand, cheap D&D accessories are usually available by bulk. You can even find cheap accessories with big store discounts.
Where can I get online accessories or assets for D&D games?
Answer: Online accessories for virtual tabletop sessions are available in forums, RPG communities, and social media. You just need to dig deeper for high-quality digital assets.
Conclusion
By purchasing D&D accessories smartly, you can save money while maximizing the best deals from any store. You shouldn’t buy accessories right off the bat unless you have a big budget or a large storage room. Also, don’t be afraid to order custom D&D items and miniatures. Custom items have remarkable quality designed to match your taste.
Ready to shop for D&D items and accessories? Tell us about the items that you need, and maybe we can send additional suggestions!
