How do you feel about miniatures?

[Henrix]

I wouldn't be in this hobby without minis, and I've used them in D&D since 1st Ed AD&D - not quite as long as Diaglo.

I like all sorts of minis - beautiful pewter to be painted carefully, and cheap plastic that gives me time to paint the ones I really like.

 

[Gladius Legis]

I could take 'em or leave 'em, honestly. I do use them, but I'm not reliant on them, and contrary to popular belief 4e really isn't, either.

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

We used them off and on in 1e & 2e, but have used them for all but the simplest combats in 3.x and will do the same in 4e. I like painting them and think they help the players visualise the action.

Cheers


Richard

 

[CountPopeula]

I'm kind of torn on this one, because I love Anima Tactics and Warhammer 40K, and I just like painting miniatures in general, even if i'm not that good at it.

But I never really saw D&D as a miniatures game... I think because I started playing it with the hardback 2e books, the second edition of second edition AD&D if you will, which never mentioned miniatures. In fact, my friend who taught me how to DM and I used to play over the phone.

I have wanted to design a grand dungeon game board to run a party of D&D characters through as sort of a side project, but that doesn't seem like D&D like I learned to play it, it seems more like Warhammer.

I guess it's that I don't think D&D is a very good miniature game, and if I'm going to go to the trouble of setting up a game board for a miniatures game, I'd rather play Space Hulk or Anima.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

No sir, I don't like it.

 

[Vanuslux]

I like miniatures a lot and I'm glad they're gaining a bigger foothold in RPGs. I find there are less arguments when minis are used and that players are more likely to think tactically instead of simply spamming their basic attack.

 

[xechnao]

I like miniatures a lot and I'm glad they're gaining a bigger foothold in RPGs. I find there are less arguments when minis are used and that players are more likely to think tactically instead of simply spamming their basic attack.

Old school.

 

[Greylock]

My group has always used miniatures, but not always consistently the same way. 3.5 was more dependent on them and we used them all through an evenings session. In 1st Edition and Castles & Crusades we mostly used them to indicate marching order, or position at the beginning of battles. Overall, we tend to use them as static illustrations.

 

[EATherrian]

I hate miniatures. I've played since 1980 and 3rd Edition was the first time I used them. Using miniatures reminds me of the combat screens in old RPGs. There's no way the players don't know somethings coming because you lay out the map and have them put their minis down. If I can figure out how to play 4E without them I'll be much happier.

 

[Drammattex]

Always enjoyed them to some extent, but never had enough to use them effectively until Steve Jackson's "Cardboard Heroes," which is great value for your dollar. We used these at the end of 2e to diagram certain situations, lay things out for everyone's understanding and as an aid to imagination.

There was a time in 3e where I got a little minis-happy and went overboard with them.

Now, though I own thousands of minis, I use them only when necessary (combat, special situations), and rely on storytelling and role-playing outside of that.

However, I really love the strong board (and cinematic) game elements of 4e combat. I'm a huge fan of using minis for combat; that aspect of the game is very strong. I think a DM just needs to be judicious about his use of them. I couldn't live without the immersive narrative/interactive aspects of the game that come about only through good storytelling & role-playing.