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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 4475855" data-attributes="member: 3586">The other day, I forgot to bring the dry-erase pen I needed for my battlemat. Well, no matter - we were running the final two encounters of Keep on the Shadowfell, and they already had maps. However, they took less time than was available in the session so we started on Thunderspire Labyrinth. In normal circumstances, I'd draw out the map for it.However, I decided just to wing it - to run 4e without miniatures. I've run every edition of D&D without miniatures at some point (about 50% of 3e, more of earlier editions). However, as I described the action, the players just set up the miniatures on the mat, imagined where the walls were, and went from there.Well, that was fine, and we had a good combat and then some roleplaying after it.However, this is just one of my two groups, and the one that is the most action-orientated and least roleplaying inclined.So, what do my other group think of minis? Well, for Bradford, my most rules-challenged and roleplaying-gifted member of the group: miniatures all the way. They help him visualise the action. And the reaction is the same from most of the group: they prefer miniatures.(Bradford's a great player, who doesn't like overly complicated rules. He's found 4e to be a great, great improvement from 3e: easy to create characters, easy to play).I've no doubt that the way abilities and combat are structured in 4e (and, to some extent, 3e) has a great effect on this. When there are mechanical implications to your position, you tend to want a more accurate way of tracking it. I also feel that miniatures, at least to my game, have a detrimental effect on great descriptions during combat. Mind you, I'm not big on descriptive passages anyway.However, are those great descriptions during combat just a way of making the combat more interesting without the miniatures and manuevering rules making it more interesting? Certainly, a lot of AD&D combats really boiled down to "I hit. You hit" with nothing more significant going on. If the players' attentions are being focused on avoiding being pushed into a pit and getting into the best position to aid their fellows, are we really losing that much: the game is equally fun, but the fun is coming from a different source?Cheers!</blockquote>

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