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<blockquote data-quote="Orryn Emrys" data-source="post: 4486928" data-attributes="member: 6799">I suppose the interest in tactical play may vary a bit from group to group.&nbsp; In my own experience, both with and without minis and maps over the years, I've learned that the battlemat can be more of a detraction from my game than an advantage.&nbsp; The flavor of my narrative is very fluid and visual, and despite the rare occasion where someone expresses some confusion over positioning, my players have demonstrated a willingness to trust my exposition to give them everything they need to suitably enjoy the encounters.&nbsp; Use of a tactical display has proven to distract them significantly from the narrative, creating an odd sense of disassociation as players shift their focus from the scene occuring in their imagination to the static figures and symbols presented on the table.I do have a few players who enjoy both approaches to gameplay, and participate in another game on another night that uses tacticals.&nbsp; They find themselves more immersed in the roleplaying in my game... which is consistent with my goals.&nbsp; They certainly enjoy both kinds of games, but I've learned that the other group has to listen to a lot more dramatic reminiscing about my game that we do about theirs.Hardly proof of anything... just an opportunity to observe the contrast.&nbsp; I'll readily admit that the insistence on maps and minis kinda soured my group's experiments with 4E.&nbsp; I insulated the group from any popular online discussions regarding the new game, and we approached it with enthusiasm.&nbsp; Even so, by the second session, I had at least one of the players referring to her miniature as a &quot;Monopoly piece&quot;.*shrugs*Despite that, we do intend to play some more 4E at some point... just not as our primary campaign.EDIT:&nbsp; Incidentally, I do keep a map with counters on my computer... so I suppose that makes a bit of a difference.&nbsp; I'm the only one who sees it, but it's a huge help in describing the scene to individual players from their characters' perspectives...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Orryn Emrys, post: 4486928, member: 6799"] I suppose the interest in tactical play may vary a bit from group to group. In my own experience, both with and without minis and maps over the years, I've learned that the battlemat can be more of a detraction from my game than an advantage. The flavor of my narrative is very fluid and visual, and despite the rare occasion where someone expresses some confusion over positioning, my players have demonstrated a willingness to trust my exposition to give them everything they need to suitably enjoy the encounters. Use of a tactical display has proven to distract them significantly from the narrative, creating an odd sense of disassociation as players shift their focus from the scene occuring in their imagination to the static figures and symbols presented on the table. I do have a few players who enjoy both approaches to gameplay, and participate in another game on another night that uses tacticals. They find themselves more immersed in the roleplaying in my game... which is consistent with my goals. They certainly enjoy both kinds of games, but I've learned that the other group has to listen to a lot more dramatic reminiscing about my game that we do about theirs. Hardly proof of anything... just an opportunity to observe the contrast. I'll readily admit that the insistence on maps and minis kinda soured my group's experiments with 4E. I insulated the group from any popular online discussions regarding the new game, and we approached it with enthusiasm. Even so, by the second session, I had at least one of the players referring to her miniature as a "Monopoly piece". *shrugs* Despite that, we do intend to play some more 4E at some point... just not as our primary campaign. EDIT: Incidentally, I do keep a map with counters on my computer... so I suppose that makes a bit of a difference. I'm the only one who sees it, but it's a huge help in describing the scene to individual players from their characters' perspectives... [/QUOTE]

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