D&D 5E Theatre of the Mind or Miniatures?

[justinj3x3]

I voted play with miniatures. I also like using Hirst Arts molds to make locations. I'm building the TOEE moathouse ATM.

 

[Mithreinmaethor]

Have been using miniatures since 1977 for battles.

Been using miniatures and a play mat since 2000 for battles.

 

[ninjayeti]

I have used both though I have mostly gamed using minis/tokens/digital maps going back to 1E.

Like KarinsDad I find that TotM is often the harder to pull off for any combat more complex than a big melee scrum. I am not a fan of uber tactical play (yes, I am looking at you 4E), but minis on a map are worth the proverbial "thousand words" in conveying the situation to players and avoiding confusion in the middle of the fight about who is where. In particular AoE effects are often tough to adjudicate accurately in TotM. I ran a combat recently with a bunch of hell hounds attacking the party from different directions and it would have been problematic without a tactical map. Sure, I could have used some abstract system to determine who was being hit, but that would have eliminated what made that fight distinctive and interesting.

I also find that players tend to be more engaged in the fights using tactical maps, and more likely to take actions beyond hacking away with their main attack at the guy in front of them. Without minis it is easy for combat to feel like the same thing over and over again.

So while both styles work fine, I find minis make things easier to run and keep fights more interesting.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I have used both though I have mostly gamed using minis/tokens/digital maps going back to 1E.

Like KarinsDad I find that TotM is often the harder to pull off for any combat more complex than a big melee scrum. I am not a fan of uber tactical play (yes, I am looking at you 4E), but minis on a map are worth the proverbial "thousand words" in conveying the situation to players and avoiding confusion in the middle of the fight about who is where. In particular AoE effects are often tough to adjudicate accurately in TotM. I ran a combat recently with a bunch of hell hounds attacking the party from different directions and it would have been problematic without a tactical map. Sure, I could have used some abstract system to determine who was being hit, but that would have eliminated what made that fight distinctive and interesting.

I also find that players tend to be more engaged in the fights using tactical maps, and more likely to take actions beyond hacking away with their main attack at the guy in front of them. Without minis it is easy for combat to feel like the same thing over and over again.

So while both styles work fine, I find minis make things easier to run and keep fights more interesting.

Interestingly I find the opposite. With minis the players just do the same thing over again. With TotM they try more RPing stuff, terrain stunts and other antics.

 

[Talmek]

I have used both over the years and personally prefer miniatures along with my group of players; however, I've always been fascinated with TotM and wanted to run a game using nothing but that. I just can't seem to be able to keep up with positions and so forth to be able to do it with any regularity.

 

[EthanSental]

I use minis for combat with the old chessex battlemap, or in the case of recent gaming, we have a top down projector that throws the map onto the table. I've also begun using the VTT Tabletop Connect and the projector for 3D environments. Looking for to him adding more minis to the program in the future.

 

[El Mahdi]

I use both. I can't honestly say which one I use more. I simply use whichever one works best at the time. We almost always have the miniatures on a game mat as a general representation of relative position. Sometimes there's the need to "zoom in" and use all the miniature movement/scaling rules, but default is theater of the mind with miniatures for general relative position.

I view the rules as a tool box...or like math...I use the tool or equation that works best for the situation. I don't let the rules dictate the play style, I let the play style or circumstances dictate what rule is best at the time...with common sense as rule #1.

 

[Brian M]

I use both. Totm for quick and small encounters and minis for larger and more dramatic encounters. With 7000+ minis and tons of dwarven forge and homemade scenery I like to use it when I can but don't want to waste gameplay setting up and taking down too much.

 

[Nebulous]

100% use miniatures all the time, not because we need them necessarily but we just like them.

 

[Wuzzard]

Theatre of minis? Go big or go home!