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Message: <blockquote data-quote="teitan" data-source="post: 8828280" data-attributes="member: 3457">I would argue D&D has not always been both. 0-2e were definitely not both. Miniatures were mentioned but not integral to play in those early editions by any stretch nor practical due to the cost and availability. Even 3.0 they were not necessarily essential to the game by any stretch. The grid was not even a part of the game as it was suggested in inches and the 1e DMG had loose guidelines for both squares and hexes but equally supported the use of measuring tapes or rulers for distances and the scale was one for floors and another for heights but outside of Battlesystem for mass combat they weren’t an expectation of play but a fun addition if you could and all but a luxury by the time 2e was released and then the grid became a very cool skirmish module for the Combat & Tactics Player’s Option rule book that became the foundation for modern grid play. Theater of the Mind was the default and the doubling down on the skirmish aspects of 3.x in 4e was a big drawback and Chief criticism of that edition for many considering that shortly after launch WOTC raised prices, changed the approach and then scaled back the D&D miniatures line, undercutting a primary component of the game with 1st party support. The micro measurements have always been part & parcel of RPGs with many theater of the mind games still using them because we still use distances to describe things in relation to one another. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. Champions, for example, uses measurements in the same way and is not a heavy miniatures game. Vampire: The Masquerade last I check, the TotM par excellence, uses them as well. So I don’t really see an issue here. Much like any other RPG these things are easier to conceive on a tabletop with a physical representation in all games and there is a reason even games that didn’t usually use miniatures before the 3.x era saw a creep in of miniatures to help with game play including Cthulhu. Could some things be better? Sure thing. Get rid of the grid. Abandon it altogether for a raw measurement using measuring tapes or rulers. Eliminates square counting, speeding up play, eliminates concerns with making everything fit into a perfectly mathematical grid size and shape. The grid should be a guideline to mapping but not within the play area for movement. Get rid of circular bases, helps to kill a whole host of other issues like centaur PCs being forced into medium size while being Large size because we don’t want them on the 2” circular bases. Realize that the adv/disadv mechanic isn’t the answer to every scenario. Does it help with the grid vs totm? No because with the 5e rules the only areas of complexity then become flanking.</blockquote>

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