If you’re anything like me, the website I’m going to link will suck up a large chunk of your time. You won’t meant to. You’ll “just try it.” And then you will lose track of time. You will spent far, far too long on the site, picking and choosing and tweaking. Even if you don’t end up spending any money (you may or may not), you will never get that time back.

This link is to HeroForge.com. Here, you can make models of your characters. Or someone else’s characters. Or really, any little person that you please.

It’s really quite addicting.

(For those of you who have read my book, yes, I have made miniatures of Toman, Esset, and even Sergeant Warthog. I tried making Erizen, but I ran out of time and didn’t save my progress. And by “ran out of time” I mean looked at the clock and realized I should have gone to bed an hour… or two ago.)

Now, the options aren’t endless, so you might not be able to get the miniature to look exactly like your character, but that’s almost part of the challenge. How close can you get it with the tools provided?

And just as tantalizing is random character creation. The site is designed (I think) to make Dungeons and Dragons characters, so the items etc. are themed accordingly. But for someone like me who just loves fantasy stuff, I can go all out however I like. I have a random Druid that I created. She has horns. Because.

Now, I find it addicting enough just seeing my characters come to visual life (close enough) on the screen, but it is a little tantalizing knowing that you can also have these miniatures created and shipped to you. I will admit that I am tempted. Very. You can even paint them! (Which, of course, would allow you to add details that the designer does not include.)

So what about you, dear readers? Am I responsible for a giant new waste of time for you? Did you get to create something cool? Or is this just all very silly? Share your thoughts!