D&D Miniatures in 28mm: The Complete Guide
You spent a month prepping the campaign, your villain has three layers of motivation… and on the table he's represented by a soda can. We've all been there. A good miniature isn't showing off: the moment your players see the monster physically parked on the grid, hogging a full 3-inch base of dungeon corridor, the fight feels different. This is the complete guide to D&D miniatures in 28mm: what the scale actually means, which base size every creature needs, resin vs plastic, how to build your campaign bestiary without torching your wallet, the dnd terrain that actually gets used, and yes — dungeon master screens get their own section. Let's roll.
28mm scale, explained without the headache
When a miniature is described as 28mm, that's (roughly) the height of a human figure from feet to eye level. It's been the standard scale for tabletop RPGs and fantasy wargames for decades, which is why almost everything you'll find — minis, furniture, doors, 28mm terrain — just fits together.
You'll also see "heroic" 32mm miniatures: a touch taller, slightly chunkier hands and heads. Is that a problem? Not even slightly. In D&D the base and the grid space it occupies are what matter, not whether your barbarian stands 4mm taller than the cleric. Mix 28mm and 32mm freely — nobody at the table will care, and if somebody does, they can bring their own minis next week.
The golden rule: 1 square = 1 inch = 5 feet
The standard D&D grid uses 1-inch (25mm) squares representing 5 feet. The whole size chart flows from there:
| D&D size | Grid space | Recommended base | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny | half a square | 20mm | sprite, imp, familiar |
| Small | 1 square (1") | 25mm | goblin, kobold |
| Medium | 1 square (1") | 25mm | human, orc, skeleton |
| Large | 2×2 squares (2") | 50mm | ogre, troll, displacer beast |
| Huge | 3×3 squares (3") | 75mm | giant, adult dragon |
| Gargantuan | 4×4 squares or more (4"+) | 100mm+ | ancient dragon, kraken |
Workshop tip: if a mini arrives on a base that's too small for its in-game size, glue it onto a correctly sized base and move on. It's the oldest legal cheat in the hobby and it works every time.
Resin or plastic? The eternal question
Three families of miniatures share the RPG table, and it pays to know what your money buys in each:
| 3D-printed resin | Pre-painted PVC | Hard plastic kits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detail | Outstanding (16K printers capture cloth weave, scales, filigree) | Soft, "melted" details | High, but requires assembly |
| Price per mini | Low to mid | Mid (you're paying for factory paint) | High in official boxes |
| Painting | Ready to prime | Painted (poorly) | Unpainted |
| Variety | Huge — printed on demand | Whatever's on the shelf | Limited to the catalog |
Classic resin earned its fragile reputation. That's why we print with resin tuned for just the right flex: it survives real table use, the backpack trip to game night, and the elbow of whoever hurls the d20 with too much faith. Resin-grade detail, game-table durability.
How to choose miniatures for your campaign
The classic mistake: buying by catalog ("ooh, cool demon") instead of by encounter. Flip it around and your bestiary costs half as much:
- The party first. One mini per player. This is where it's worth being picky — it's the figure that shows up in every single session.
- The mooks. 10-15 generic grunts (goblins, skeletons, bandits, cultists) cover 80% of low-level combats. Buy them in packs, never as singles.
- The campaign villain. One figure with real presence. If your party is going to chase a lich for ten sessions, that lich had better loom.
- The set-piece monster. The fight you've been building toward for months deserves its own miniature: the hoard dragon, the giant guarding the mountain pass. One or two per campaign arc — no more.
Monsters that never miss
Some creatures end up in every campaign sooner or later: the beholder drifting over its treasure pile, the mind flayer and its thralls, the displacer beast that is never quite where you see it. And the evergreen classics: undead by the shovelful, green tides, and big things that fill an entire corridor.
- For crypts and necropolises: gothic vampire hosts or Egyptian-styled undead legions.
- For roadside ambushes: orcs and goblins by the handful.
- For high-level encounters: ogres and northern brutes, or lizardfolk and war-dinosaurs for that cursed jungle arc.
The whole bestiary lives in our fantasy resin catalog.
Dnd terrain: the dungeon deserves better than pencil lines
Search "dnd terrain" or "28mm terrain" and you'll find everything from paper tiles to $500 modular tables. Here's the uncomfortable truth: 90% of the terrain people buy never leaves the closet twice. These are the pieces that DO hit the table session after session:
- Doors. The best value-per-gram in the hobby. They define rooms, block line of sight, and trigger the eternal question: "who opens it?"
- Chests, altars and tables. Instant mission objectives.
- Modular walls and corners. Four straights and four corners build any room in the game.
- Stairs and trapdoors. Cheap verticality — the dungeon stops being a flat hallway.
- A handful of columns. Cover, ritual circles, collapsing masonry. They work in a crypt, a temple and a tavern.
Flat tiles or 3D terrain? Tiles are fast and store in a binder; 3D 28mm terrain wins on immersion and doubles for any skirmish wargame you play. Our workshop rule: tiles for the base map, 3D pieces only where the action happens. See what's on the shelves in terrain and bits — a growing collection, because the printers never sleep.
The dungeon master screen: your fourth wall
It gets its own section because it's the most underrated tool at the table. A good dungeon master screen does three jobs: hides your notes and your merciful fudged rolls, puts your reference tables one glance away, and — let's be honest — announces who's running this show.
What to look for when choosing (or 3D printing) one:
- Medium height. Tall screens wall you off from your players. At 6-8 inches you hide the dice and still see the panic on their faces, which is the whole point.
- Customizable panels. The tables YOU actually check — combat actions, conditions, price lists, emergency NPC names — not the ones a publisher picked for you.
- 3D-printed and modular. Current designs come with built-in dice trays, initiative card holders and printable hinges. If you own a printer it's a very satisfying weekend project; if you don't, any print shop can run one for you.
Dnd dice and the rest of the liturgy
No guide to the D&D table is complete without the dice. The 7-piece set (d4, d6, d8, d10, percentile d10, d12, and the d20 drama engine) is the first thing every player buys and the last thing they stop buying: nobody owns "enough" dnd dice, the same way nobody owns enough unpainted miniatures.
Three quality-of-life upgrades for any table: a dice tower (no more d20s bowling over the wizard), a dice tray (quiet rolls, zero dice on the floor), and a proper box so the lucky set travels with dignity. All of it exists in printable form, styled to match your 28mm table.
How we do it at Drakholm
We come from the same place you do: a dad who got back into the hobby, saw the prices, and bought a printer. Today it's 32 of them, all pouring out high-definition 16K resin, printed on demand and shipped from Spain worldwide. What that means at your table:
- Real detail: chainmail weave, scales and runes that practically paint themselves with one wash.
- No supports, no surprises: minis arrive clean, cured and ready to prime.
- Fair prices: single heroes from around €5, troop packs for what one blister costs elsewhere.
- Print on demand: we don't sell warehouse leftovers — we print what your campaign needs.
Browse the full fantasy catalog and give your table the bestiary it deserves.
Frequently asked questions
What scale are D&D miniatures?
The standard is 28mm (the approximate height of a human figure to eye level), with fully compatible "heroic" 32mm variants. In play, the base is what counts: 25mm for Medium creatures, 50mm for Large, 75mm for Huge.
How many miniatures do I need to start playing?
One mini per player, 10-15 generic mooks (goblins, skeletons, bandits) and one villain with presence will cover the early levels of any campaign. Expand by encounter, not by catalog.
Don't resin miniatures break easily?
Classic rigid resin did. Modern flex-calibrated resins — the kind we print with at Drakholm — survive table drops and backpack trips. Resin detail is no longer at war with actual play.
Can I use wargame miniatures for D&D?
Absolutely. An orc is an orc: if the base matches the creature size (25/50/75mm), any 28mm fantasy miniature works — and wargame troop packs are the cheapest way to fill a dungeon with enemies.
Are pre-painted or unpainted miniatures better?
Factory pre-paints are convenient but rough up close. An unpainted mini costs less, carries better detail, and painting it is half the hobby — and if brushes aren't your thing, dark grey plus a silver drybrush already looks great on the table.
D&D and Dungeons & Dragons are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast. Drakholm is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast — we just play the game like you do.