The initial intent [of Energy Alteration] was for the spell to be used as a buff on itself or an ally. The save was added to make it not nerf opponents, but "allies may voluntarily fail saves" likely wouldn't fit on the card without also dropping one of his spells. We might have been able to specify "ally touched" as the target, which would have created a different, but perhaps smaller, headache.

The Lyrander Skyfire Captain is unfortunately pushing the boundaries of the amount of special abilities text on a card. We can only do so much with reducing font size and spacing before the card becomes unreadable. In general, I feel that Unhallowed continued an unfortunate trend of getting more and more abilities on the cards -- a trend that has peaked, and should swing the other direction for the rest of this year's sets.As far as errata goes -- there's a chance, but at the moment the LSC is far from unplayable. (this thread)

Taken from the Wizards Design & Development Question thread:

Who decides what is in a set?
As far as who decides what's in a set, well, the DDM team does, with input from the entirety of R&D. It's also not just us deciding what would be cool, but also factors like what products we're going to support, inclusion of classic/standard monsters, and what fans are asking for. We pay attention to our message boards, and talk with fans at conventions and game day events to help influence our decisions. There's a lot more that goes into it, though.

Why do the Felldrakes, if they are from the blood of Bahamut, all look like they are chromatic dragons instead of metallic?
No answer on felldrakes, since I don't know the answer - it's a fine question, and one left open to interpretation by the DM.

Have you ever thought about some "special edition" themed boxes? (8 drows, 8 undead, etc.) Is it possible in the future?
The "box of orcs" concept was considered at the inception of the DDM line, but ultimately we decided that the current booster concept better supports the product line. I've heard that many retail stores and online shops provide opportunities to buy specific minis, sometimes even in groups, and probably for less than what we'd have to charge.

Why is the Rat Swarm CG?
Ratswarm is CG due to its base animal nature. We've aimed to put most animals in either the CG or Any factions, and most druids are also typically CG. In D&D, most monsters are Evil, so we take license to push a few into each of the 4 factions to keep the Good factions from becoming dominated by humanoids.

Why all the odd interactions with Bodyguard? Is it written that way just for clarity?
Ultimately it was something that was designed to be straightforward and simple, but the various permutations of the rules allow for some strange and funky situations. Any way we word the rule, there will be some strangeness involved.Is there a cleaner way to word it? Perhaps. I have a preference for a wording that suggests the bodyguard is the one being attacked. But that preference can't change the wording on existing cards without errata, which I'm loath to do.

Are the D&D Miniatures hand-painted?
The miniatures are painted. People and machines are involved. I'm not going to elaborate too much on this, because it's part of our business practices that don't need to be publicly discussed. rtcmc has a reasonable perspective of the process, even if not entirely accurate.

There is no magic assembly line, fully automated, where a robot picks up a mini and paints it and then places it back for the next robot to paint. All of the robots revolted and snuck into War Drums as Warforged. People using machines blurs the line between hand-painted and machine-painted - I think now we use the term "fully painted" (unless the frost dwarf is involved), or maybe "cyborg painted".

Rav950 at one point visited the WotC offices, and posed the question to Ian, who incorrectly stated that the miniatures are all machine-painted. That quote was taken as truth and has spread through the information age superhighway, becoming the root of the "Someone said once..." posts on messageboards. (this thread)

What makes Sidestep different from enhanced mobility? I can see keeping it identical to Sidestep to allow for simplicity of rules knowledge and applications. Sidestep/Enhanced Mobility Move before or after, not between attacks. Sidestep no AoO, Enhanced Mobility Yes AoO.I mean rules wise the only difference between the two is Sidestep allows no AoO and move only 1 square, Enhanced Mobility move more than 1 square and subject to AoO's.

I think you listed the differences in your post.

Sidestep allows for some minor tactical movement, and is primarly used with creatures that need it - like sneak attackers or the new D-beast.

Enhanced mobility is used primarily for creatures with multiple attacks, to make them more useful against highly mobile bands. The Marilith, for instance, is really good if she attacks six times, but less good if the opponent keeps his distance and only allows her one attack. A bit of Enhanced Mobility there gives her a greater zone of control.

(this thread)

Reprinting Drow Outpost is a good idea, and something we've already talked about a bit. We don't have any announced plans to reprint it at this time. (this thread)

The minis painting process involves a number of "paint steps," in each of which some type of paint or decor is added to the mini. It might be a single dab, a wash, or several dabs all applied in the same go.

Most paint steps involve a combination of machine and human activity--like most assembly lines, the process is run by people but involves a lot of machinery. Most typically, the mini is placed in a mask, which is basically like a partial version of the mold it came out of, only with little holes where the paint is to go. Then a machine applies paint through the holes.

Different types of paint effects use different techniques, but they all are principally machine-driven.
(this thread)

The minis painting process involves a number of "paint steps," in each of which some type of paint or decor is added to the mini. It might be a single dab, a wash, or several dabs all applied in the same go.

Most paint steps involve a combination of machine and human activity--like most assembly lines, the process is run by people but involves a lot of machinery. Most typically, the mini is placed in a mask, which is basically like a partial version of the mold it came out of, only with little holes where the paint is to go. Then a machine applies paint through the holes.

Different types of paint effects use different techniques, but they all are principally machine-driven.
(this thread)

In response to a discussion about Epic cards...
Good points and discussion, by the way - and not something that we haven't brought up internally. We've also looked at moving the other direction, making the Epic game based on 1000 points, which allows a couple more Epics in the warband and causes most of those "support" minis to be drawn from the 50-80 point range. (Beholders are fun support units for Dracoliches, for instance) If anyone out there wants to try a tourney or two in that vein, I'd be interested in seeing how it went.

A non-huge Epic format is also intriguing, since it could theoretically use the non-epic maps.

At any rate, to address the initial concern -- I don't know that I'd want to make an epic card of something like an Orc Warrior, for instance, since the upgraded version of that might instead be the Orc Champion. Instead of a 25-point version of a 3-point Goblin, I'd rather see the Bladebearer Hobgoblin on the table. Or instead of an upgraded 32-point Axe Soldier, I'd rather see something like the A******* A****** or Dwarf Samurai in that point range. Epic battles aren't really the place for a goblin skirmisher or man-at-arms.

Like I'd give you a standard mini...

tsk tsk have more faith 8-)

It is a repaint as always.

Now to the next point. We have been looking at doing both. I promise nothing but if I can fudge my numbers we'll get both to you at future events.

I've posted this several times in the past. I'm a great believer in growing support slowly. I prefer to keep giving more in pace with the community rather than come in hard and have to take things away. So I'm always looking at increasing things as many have seen over the last few years as DDM grew to what it is now.

And for the record the last Prereleases was record numbers as were the previous et al. Each one breaks the attendence numbers of the previous one and that is a testement to the healthy growing community and also the work R&D do to make it such a good balanced game. This is also supported by only 1 piece having to be banned since it's launch.

Anyway I look forward to talking to many of you a lot more in a few weeks.

Ian

PS the original mix up was my fault. I was asked what the giveaway was and said. I didn't make it clear it was a mini and not a card. Blame me *-) (this thread)

The beholder lich was initially included as the Death Tyrant, but after internal deliberations we determined that "Beholder Lich" tells the average fan more about what the mini is than Death Tyrant. As has been suggested [in this thread], it's not like a different sort of Lich template couldn't be created for beholders.

The Vampire Dire Wolf is a vampire that has taken the form of a dire wolf.

Ultimately, the miniatures can be used however you like