Say Goodbye to Expensive Minis, Universal Monster Tokens are a literal game changer
Ahoy there Sailors.
Are you fed up of shelling out a small fortune for TTRPG minis only that you’ll only use a few times?
Do you find it a challenge to safely haul fragile miniatures with you on game night?
Do you feel restricted in your encounter choices to what you've got in your mini collection?
Is it a pain trying to hide a small plastic army behind your GM screen?
Yeah, not so long ago I was 100% a user of miniatures at my table and I would have answered yes to all these, (corny line incoming!) then I discovered Universal Monster Tokens (UMTs) and they changed the way I run my games for the better.
They may also have cured male pattern baldness, mid afternoon tetchiness, and a guilty desire to watch straight to DVD shark horror B-Movies. Maybe. Probably not though.
Gee Wiz Jimbo, What's a Universal Monster Token?
I’m so glad that you asked, imaginary human of culture and good taste.
I first heard about this from Sly Flourish. UMTs replace miniatures, they’re are small 1" counters with generic TTRPG symbols and letters upon them. They're easy to store and transport, robust, cheap, and if you look after them, you'll never need to buy any additional pieces.
When you lay out a combat encounter you can simply say; “these guys are orcs with axes, and these are goblins with bows.” Since each token has a unique combination of image and letter, there's never any confusion over which monster the player characters are targeting.
Best of all, when your done, toss them in your bag and don't worry about them - they practically indestructible.
Can I buy Universal Monster Tokens?
Yep, from time to time I’ll be putting up sets on my eBay account, and when I do, I’ll include a notification on that month’s issue of the Mailer of Many Things. However, you’d be mush better off going with option two, below if you can…
I have Basically functional fingers and hands, Can I make them instead?
Yessir! You could easily make them yourself over a couple of hours if you've got access to a printer.
I have a template for a full set of 25 UMTs that you can print out on one sheet of paper, which I'm making available for free to all subscribers to my monthly newsletter - the Mailer of Many Things. Sign up today for free access to this resource and more!
You’ll only need a few additional supplies, easily sourced from Amazon or at your local hardware and craft stores:
If you buy from these affiliate links, I get a small kick back from Amazon, so it's another great way to support the blog at no additional cost to you.
What’s the step by step process?
This couldn't be easier, and it only takes an hour or so.
Print out the template, make sure that you don't do anything that causes the images to stretch or change shape. They designed specifically to fit 1" or 25mm discs.
Cut out each token carefully and accurately. I like to use a special pair of snips because it's quicker and neater than using a knife.
Stick each paper disc to a 1" floor protector, making sure the image is facing up and visible.
Carefully align and stick a 1" epoxy blob to the face side.
You should end up with a sandwich of floor protector - paper - epoxy blob.
Sweet done. Now rinse and repeat another 24 times.
Conclusion
Nice and easy right? And you don't just have to limit yourself to universal monster tokens. I also use a similar solution for my players characters tokens too. Get your players to find a small image online and then cut it out in a 1" circle.
You can even make bigger token if you like for large monsters, but in these circumstances I actually do like to use a large mini, something grand and set piece. But that's just me.
Hey, thanks for reading - you’re good people. If you’ve enjoyed reading this, it’d be great if you could share it on your socials, and maybe think about subscribing to the Mailer of Many Things! Either way, catch you later.
