How have minis impacted your game?

[Nathal]

I was excited when the D&D miniatures were announced. The random aspect annoyed me, but I understood the good business sense behind that decision. Now I've collected some figures, and played in a few skirmish games, and it's fun, but it has me thinking about the future of the core rules.

It's been suggested to me that because the miniatures have been such a success with Wizards, that 4th Edition will have even more focus on battlegrid tactics. Still, some argue that 3.5 has made miniatures mandatory, but that's not the question that interests me. The more interesting question is directed toward collectors of the miniatures...

Do you find you're using creatures in your adventures simply because you found that figure in a booster pack? Are you reluctant to use a creature when you don't have its figure? Do you find you are designing dungeons differently, like focusing more on specific areas of encounter on a skirmish level grid? Who here allows the minis collection they keep dictate the sort of encounters their party faces?

In other words, has the focus on minis changed the way the game is played, at least for some? I've been told that for some DMs their minis collection becomes part of what dictates the content of their adventures. I feel that would be pretty darn restrictive, and I find it hard to believe that DMs would hem themselves in like that.

Yes, I'm bored enough to ask this question.

 

[EricNoah]

Haven't affected my game at all. I use counters, numbered poker chips, metal minis, whatever few plastic minis I do have ... i don't care at all if they represent the right creature, and usually don't care if they're the right size/shape. But I do play with a battle mat for most combats.

 

[ElvishBard]

The mini's I have don't effect me in the least. If I say that the orc figure is a dragon then it's a dragon and I expect you to cower in fear! I do use the cards that came with the figures though for when I need a random encounter or something, it's alot faster than cracking open the books and trying to find one that will work. But again, if I don't have a mini then you just your imagination and pretend one of the figures is what I said it is, and isn't imagination what D&D is about?

 

[Munin]

This is an interesting question, if you broaden it to include all minis.

I've found that when I run a combat and break out the minis, there is a 'disconnect' that the players go through. Roleplaying stops, there is little parley between pcs and npcs, essentially, it becomes a miniatures game.

I've considered not using them at all.

 

[Aristotle]

Miniatures have been nothing but a positive thing since I introduced them to my game a year ago. Before this we would use dice (color and upwards turned number were used to tell them apart) for situations that seemed to benefit from the visual aid (almost all combat).

I wouldn't have been able to use minis if it weren't for the D&D minis. I didn't have the cash for metal ones (even though some of the newer collections are awesome) and didn't have the time to paint them. By buying a case at a time the randomness of the collectable minis fades a great deal and I save a few bucks per pack.

Role playing never stops in my game because minis are on the table. I frequently place minis for NPCs, innocent bystanders, and so forth on the table; so my players might know combat is coming but they are never sure who it is they'll be fighting and they know that role playing through the situation is the only way they'll find out.

I love the miniature aspect of 3e and, while I don't want them to become mandatory for future editions, I like that the rules have taken the grid into account. I, and my players, like that we can all see where everything is in relation to everything else at any given moment. My players tend to think more tactically, and I feel that is a good thing. They are more willing to seek out cover, high ground, or other advantageous situations when they can see where it is and how they can get there.

I've always loved the bulette. I've used them in countless adventures over the years where adventurers quickly close to melee with the critter and the slicing and dicing commences. After getting a bulette mini I ran a little adventure featuring it, and was astonished at the difference. I placed that chunk of plastic on the table and the players stared at it and compared it to the size of their characters. Not everyone was brave enough to run in on the thing, and we had a fun encounter that was just as much about staying away from the big scarey monster as killing it.

I don't generally tailor games to fit my miniatures. I use "stand-ins" that are of similar size, or I go back to using dice for things I don't have acceptable minis for. I'm not reluctant in any way to do so. The creatures in my campaigns are dictated by the flavor and feel of the campaign.

I do focus on the combat portions of my adventures, but I also focus on the role playing. I want both to be enjoyable and memorable.

 

[Nathal]

Haven't affected my game at all. I use counters, numbered poker chips, metal minis, whatever few plastic minis I do have ... i don't care at all if they represent the right creature, and usually don't care if they're the right size/shape. But I do play with a battle mat for most combats.

I use foam cut-outs, different colors and numbered, created to match the standard D&D sizes. They don't blow away like paper and they last forever.

I don't like to mix them with my plastic minis...something about having flat counters mixed in with "3D" figures (not that my flat counters are somehow 2D, but you get the idea) seems weird.

I wonder if new, young players might think having the "correct" mini is important.
I agree it won't change the way the game is played for us, most people on this board have played for years.

Am I worried about this? No, not at all. But I wonder if kids today relate more to the "video game" aspects of D&D, and the tactical skirmish rules, over and above role assumption.

 

[fafhrd]

This is an interesting question, if you broaden it to include all minis.

I've found that when I run a combat and break out the minis, there is a 'disconnect' that the players go through. Roleplaying stops, there is little parley between pcs and npcs, essentially, it becomes a miniatures game.

I've considered not using them at all.

My experience with 3e is identical. 2 discrete games sharing some coincidental terminology.

 

[Wombat]

Personally, I find the mini-centric notion very annoying.

Some people find minis give a more "realistic" feel, in that they can see the whole situation before their eyes, plan their moves, and generally get in the swing of things. OTOH, from my limited time in fake combat (SCA, 2 Pensic Wars under my belt), I find that combtants do not have the whole situation before their eyes or are able to rationally plan out what their next move should be, or generally do anything other than quickly react to a constantly changing setting filled with mayhem -- and we didn't even have real weapons!

My players are definitely a split decision -- two like using minis of some kind (not the official ones), three hate them, and one doesn't care.

For me the minis constitute like a giant step backwards for me, but that is mainly because I got into rpgs to get away from miniature war games and the constant disputes over lines of sight, morale checks, and endless charge tables...

OTOH, I think the minis are here to stay, simply because it allows another area for potential sales, which is in any company's best interests.

 

[eris404]

Do you find you're using creatures in your adventures simply because you found that figure in a booster pack? Are you reluctant to use a creature when you don't have its figure? Do you find you are designing dungeons differently, like focusing more on specific areas of encounter on a skirmish level grid? Who here allows the minis collection they keep dictate the sort of encounters their party faces?

Nah, our DMs don't, though nothing makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck like seeing the mini for the actual monster we're facing, especially when it's something like a devil or giant or....worse.

We use all sorts of tokens for monsters, though, and the DM is just as likely to pull out those glass tokens as the to-scale plastic minis or creature counters. Yes, we do use the battlemat for almost every combat, which is my preference. I am not very good at tactics and it helps me to actually see where everyone is rather than just hear it described.

I will say that I personally really like searching for and painting special minis for my characters, but also important NPCs and fellow PCs. I really love to paint minis for other people, and I hope it adds to their enjoyment of the game, too.

 

[Driddle]

It depends on how hard they're thrown, I s'pose.

I remember one mini impacted the game with enough force to leave a nasty dent in my grandmother's dinner table. We had to fill it with wood putty and varnish it real good so she wouldn't notice. The offending player was given an "time out" until he calmed down.