Aberrations Expansion Pack
Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures
Aberrations Booster Pack
D&D Miniatures (8 per box)
ISBN 1-7869-3501-4
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast, $12.99
In October 2004, Wizards of the Coast released the Aberrations miniatures. This is the fifth miniatures set of plastic collectible figures and there are 60 miniatures in the entire collection. Each individual box contains 8 randomized figures, plus new color stat cards for each miniature. The figures are of decent quality, and just like their prior cousins, contain a variety of common, uncommon and rare figures. This variety of course makes getting a complete set rather difficult and expensive. Figures in this set were taken from the Complete Divine, Monster Manual II, Serpent Kingdom, the new Eberron Campaign setting, and from the Eberron adventure, Shadow of the Last War.
These pre-painted plastic figures can be used in any D&D game, used with the Miniatures Handbook, or with the updated mini-rules in the new D&D Start Packs. A higher priced Aberrations box with more miniatures and other things can be purchased separately for $19.99.
I do have to admit that I think the Aberrations set is a slight step backwards in quality from past sets. While many of the figures are well made and painted well too, there were issues that I did not care for. A few miniatures were not painted properly, such as the Gnoll with the flesh colored teeth. However, the biggest issue I had was the flashing that some figures showed, which was not as apparent in prior sets. Some of the bigger figures, such as the Achaierai and many others had far too visible gaps where pieces of plastic were glued together to make the entire miniature. This was an issue in other sets, but for some reason it seemed more apparent in this set. Also, for some darn reason, the Gnoll Skeletons that I got were all bent, along with a few other figures. This is not too big a deal, but for once I’d like to get figures that didn’t require using various methods to get them bent back into their normal positions. One last thing that I really didn’t like about this set was that they no longer put the paper listing of all the figures in the set into the boxes. I’m guessing these are in the larger D&D Starter Set, but don’t know since I didn’t buy one of those. The checklist is available on WotC’s web site if you need to know where to get one -- I downloaded mine there. The last complaint I have about these figures is the box itself that they are packed in. Wizards has switched from shrink-wrapping them to gluing the tops shut. Not a big deal, but if you want to keep some boxes for prosperity, good luck getting one open without mangling it!
Gripes aside, the majority of these figures are done rather well, and the paint jobs are of good quality too. Some of the best figures in this set include Alusair Obarskyr, Cleric of St. Cuthbert, Warforged Hero, Hook Horror, Gibbering Mouther, Ice Troll and the Yuan-Ti Abomination, just to name a few. As mentioned above, a few figures were what I would call average, however I would not say that any of these miniatures were bad. Probably the biggest thing about this set is that there were not as many figures that really stood out of the bunch, at least not as much as in prior sets. Sure there are some cool miniatures in this set, but I was not as excited about them as a whole as I have been with other sets. Maybe it is just the effect of so many sets, but I really don’t think so. Even the prices on eBay for the Rare miniatures have not been as high as other sets. I’ll also give WotC some credit for having the boxes collated in a more diverse fashion than ever. I ended up with the most figures out of the entire 60, more than I have been able to collect with any set to date. Of course, I still wish they weren’t collectible, but WotC has to make money some way!
If you are looking for some cool miniatures for your D&D game, or if you’re into the Miniature combat side of things, you should enjoy this latest addition to the ever-growing line of D&D collectible figures. Just be careful you don’t go broke trying to collect them all. For most players and DMs out there, I’d recommend picking up just a few packs and checking them out before making any commitments to purchasing larger amounts. Better yet, find a local gaming store that may have these figures on display, so you can see if you like them first.
(review © November 2004 / David Flemming)