el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
As I was deep into my new obsession, crafting modular terrain for my D&D games (designed to be usable in different situations), I started to wonder how frequently people mix or alternate their approaches to establishing the encounter area. Basically, do you use minis (or the digital equivalents on a VTT) exclusively, theater of the mind exclusively, or mix them up depending on factors?
Personally, I used TotM for the first 13 years of playing/running D&D. While sometimes we'd draw crude map on paper and/or line up minis or representative dice to show a marching order or other positioning, 99% of everything was based on description. When I transferred colleges after a short break, I joined a group that used minis a lot more often, and we had an in with a comic store owner who let us order minis at wholesale prices so I jumped on board. The adoption of 2E Combat & Tactics helped codify that for us, and when 3E came out it was nearly what we had already been doing, so it felt like a "natural" progression for us. So for the last 24 years or so, my D&D games have mostly made use of minis, though sometimes we rely on theater of the mind for quick fights or when minis would not clarify much (for example - the PCs and a band of orcs are exchanging arrow fire across a wide and deep ravine).
So that is what the poll asks, but I have other questions I am curious about.
General mini-users
Theater of the Minders
While I did not make this a "[+]" thread, I just want to put it out there that I don't want this thread to devolve into a flame war btwn those who prefer one approach over another. I am actually most interested in when and if you switch between them and to what degree, and what the benefits or downsides of the approach you prefer that you try to play up or mitigate?
I'll swing back by later to see how it is going and maybe answer some of these questions for my own games.
Personally, I used TotM for the first 13 years of playing/running D&D. While sometimes we'd draw crude map on paper and/or line up minis or representative dice to show a marching order or other positioning, 99% of everything was based on description. When I transferred colleges after a short break, I joined a group that used minis a lot more often, and we had an in with a comic store owner who let us order minis at wholesale prices so I jumped on board. The adoption of 2E Combat & Tactics helped codify that for us, and when 3E came out it was nearly what we had already been doing, so it felt like a "natural" progression for us. So for the last 24 years or so, my D&D games have mostly made use of minis, though sometimes we rely on theater of the mind for quick fights or when minis would not clarify much (for example - the PCs and a band of orcs are exchanging arrow fire across a wide and deep ravine).
So that is what the poll asks, but I have other questions I am curious about.
General mini-users
- How much does what is depicted on the battlemat limit what is in the environment? For example, if the drawn scene does not depict rocks or a tree in a particular spot, can they still be there based on player query? A room depicts a fireplace but no fireplace tools, does that mean they are not there or might they be there if the players ask the DM about it?
- Do you (or your DM) draw out encounter places ahead of time?
- If you use pre-printed battlemats do you end up using the same locations over and over?
- If you use minis in a dungeon environment, do you (or your DM) draw out the dungeon on the battlemat as you explore it or simply describe it, drawing particular rooms/areas when and if there is a combat there?
- Connected to the previous question: Do you use minis for non-combat circumstances? (like when a party fans out and searches a room).
- If you use minis, how do you handle things like running fights through a city or when the party gets split up?
- Anything else you think is important to know about how you use (or don't use) minis/grid?
Theater of the Minders
- How much say (if any) do the players (as opposed to the DM) have in describing the environment?
- Do you use other visual aids to help the players picture the area (a map, a quick sketch?)
- How do you keep track of distances, ranges, and movement?
- Anything else you think is important to know about how you use (or don't use) minis/grid?
While I did not make this a "[+]" thread, I just want to put it out there that I don't want this thread to devolve into a flame war btwn those who prefer one approach over another. I am actually most interested in when and if you switch between them and to what degree, and what the benefits or downsides of the approach you prefer that you try to play up or mitigate?
I'll swing back by later to see how it is going and maybe answer some of these questions for my own games.