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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ulrick" data-source="post: 6008711" data-attributes="member: 775">I started playing D&D around 1989 when I was ten. I didn't bother with miniatures for a couple years. I had my players write down their marching order on paper. And then I got my hands on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeroQuest" target="_blank">HeroQuest</a>. And later, <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1149/dragon-strike" target="_blank">Dragon Strike</a>. <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1634/warhammer-quest" target="_blank">Warhammer Quest</a> finally rounded out my collection.I've used the miniatures from those game many, many, times over the years. Sometimes I'd use the game boards but for the most part I'd use the miniatures for placement in combat. Occasionally I'd buy some Ral Partha miniatures, but they were true 25mm and looked a bit odd next to the warhammer stuff. I lived in a small town in Iowa and we really didn't understand the intricacies of collecting and painting miniatures nor did we want to spend a lot of money.In fact, it really wasn't until 3e that I fell like I needed to collect miniatures for my games. And boy did I. I bought some reaper miniatures, and nearly collected all of the miniatures for the Chainmail line. I even started getting into wargaming. Basically, I was young, had disposable income, and just didn't know any better. I had underestimated how long it would take for me to paint them up to a decent standard...yet I kept buying more. Some of my lamentations about that time can be read in this thread: <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/327440-miniature-painting.html" target="_blank">Miniature Painting.</a>Oddly enough, although I spent hundreds of dollars on miniatures, I was cheap on the battlemats. I laminated the one in the back of the DMG and used that for years. Or, I would use some old battlemats for terrain from issues of Dragon or Dungeon. When the D&D miniatures line first came out, I didn't buy any of them. I didn't think they looked good. I had plenty of miniatures anyway. It wasn't until the War Drums line that I started buying them occasionally. They started looking decent, and had some cool miniatures you couldn't get elsewhere, like the Sorcerer on the Black Dragon. I eventually stopped buying them because I got annoyed with how they were randomly distributed.Dungeon Tiles were the next money trap. At first, I thought they were cool. Mostly they're just a pain to use. You have to have them pre-sorted before the session if you want to keep the session moving. I now only use them for climactic or other special areas. I don't think they really add much to the gaming experience, however. Now I just use a regular vinyl Chessex battlemat and wet erase markers. I still have all of those miniatures and use them, too. When I run my next campaign, I plan using the battlemat even less.</blockquote>

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