D&D 5E (2014) Theatre of the Mind or Miniatures?

[MerricB]

Quick question - which I expect to become a lengthy thread - Are you playing D&D 5E mainly with miniatures or without?

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

I run a lot of D&D 5E- it ranges between 6 and 11 hours each week. While during 4E I primarily used miniatures, these days I find I'm running most of my combats without. This is partly due to not having the time to find the right minis, and partly just because it speeds up sections of the game (like I don't have to be drawing a battlemat and organising minis).

I was talking to one of my friends who recently got back into D&D. In his 5E campaign, he began by using minis, but has now abandoned them.

It sort of makes me sad - I have all these lovely Dwarven Forge cavern and dungeon tiles to use, as well as many Reaper Bones and even more D&D Minis - but it's mostly working for us at present.

Cheers!

 

[Gilladian]

We break out minis for any fight with over 5-6 combatants. And since there are 7 pcs right now, and often a few henchmen too, well...

 

[MerricB]

We break out minis for any fight with over 5-6 combatants. And since there are 7 pcs right now, and often a few henchmen too, well...

Obviously, the members of your party need to fight each other to bring numbers down to manageable levels!

I'd love to hear more about your use of henchmen. How are you running them? They've been a feature of my AD&D games in the past (and a couple of 4E games), but I haven't used them in 5E yet.

Cheers!

 

[Sunseeker]

I do a little bit of both. Theater of the mind works great if you're very descriptive, or conversely, if you're in a situation that doesn't require much description. I do like minis, even if the grid isn't perfectly laid out or the map isn't perfectly drawn, to help give people a rough idea of their surroundings.

The map and minis are aides to theater of the mind, it's not an either/or.

 

[iserith]

I use both depending on the complexity of the scene. Perhaps an option on the poll can reflect this?

 

[MerricB]

I use both depending on the complexity of the scene. Perhaps an option on the poll can reflect this?

I considered that, but it wouldn't have given back the information I wanted. There's a reason the poll says "majority". Even when I do use minis, there are combats I don't use them for.

Have a think back over your play. Are you using minis for most of the combat? Or running most with TotM?

Cheers!

 

[Yaarel]

Theater of the mind is better for casual and routine gaming - and is much better for immersion in the story.

Minis are awesome for climactic battles and tactical play.

 

[Morrus]

Mainly without.

 

[Sunseeker]

I considered that, but it wouldn't have given back the information I wanted. There's a reason the poll says "majority". Even when I do use minis, there are combats I don't use them for.

Have a think back over your play. Are you using minis for most of the combat? Or running most with TotM?

Cheers!

I refuse to answer your poll because I play with both all the time.