Paper-minis are a popular way to add some fantastically evocative shapes to a battlefield without those many battlefields breaking the bank.
They’re pictures of creatures in RPGs printed on paper which to put it lightly is WAY FREAKING CHEAPER than than say, buying a miniature (a tiny model of a creature/person in an RPG)
For ages past the reclusive players of games first forged their homunculi of a cursed metal that would poison with a touch (…ahem lead), and then they boiled the bones of long dead leviathan (…plastic) for abhorrent shapes that must be covered by paint to be viewed by mortals well. The poorest of those outcast players could rarely afford such extravagances using naught but simulacra; tokens, dice, the sacred cheeto. But I the pre-eminent mastermind, the greatest conjurouor of this or any age have devised the ultimate solution for every one of our number!
Using the art painted by mechanical hands, wood carved the same, leather from the never cows… friends, colleagues…
I GIVE YOU THE SUMMONER’S GRIMOIRE!
Theres tons of great miniature artists selling PDFs of paper minis to print
My 2 favourites are:
Printable Heroes
Paper Forge
Both have a enormous catalogues of free minis but I highly recommend throwing a little coin their way.
and lastly please do check out RPG Drive Thru and the DM’s guild where you can find sets in every style you can dream of
MORE ARTISTS:
2 Minute Tabletop
This is a paper-mini base solution with a laundry list of features I desperately wanted, so I made it!
– Low Cost
– Compact
– Whiteboard Markable
– Thematic Materials
– and PRETTY!
Honestly, after hours of googling I could barely find a set or home-made solution that ticked one of those boxes, so I give you the Summoner’s Grimoire!
The Contents
All together the Grimoire is 191mm tall and 102mm wide and 20mm deep. It contains 4 cards for 1, 2, 3, and 4 inch pieces (though do note they’re a little undersized to fit nicely on battle maps). There are 24*1″, 5*2″, 2*3″, 1*4″ pieces and a strap to hold everything together.
The Materials
the Grimoire is made of 3ish things: faux leather (no actual cows needed), 3mm thick wood, and a plastic laminate that makes the pieces whiteboard markable. Oh, and the metal studs on the band… 3ish things.
The Repository
The Grimoire has gone through a lot of incarnations but really its the bases that can’t be found anywhere so that’s what I’m making. As you can see in the background of a lot of the photos, I have a business card folio that I made some cuts into (to make more rows for minis) and I keep the actual paper sorted.
I’ve stocked it with images from google, from the DMG but mostly from great mini artists that I’ve listed to the left there (or above if you’re on a mobile)
I also intend to make a video describing everything before I finalise the Grimoire as a product