Miniatures and Role-playing games

[darjr]

I can use chits as well instead of full fledged mini's. But when I do use mini's I'd like them to be accurate and painted.

Also I sing while playing D&D. Not always, and only when the story calls for it, and absolutely not well but I will sing. You have been warned!

 

[ExploderWizard]

The initial positioning of both parties and the terrain features are all arbitrarily decided by the DM anyway. To me, all relevant questions have always been pretty easy to answer without miniatures, unless the number of participants exceeds a certain threshold. I don't see that everyone needs to visualize the space effectively, as long as the DM can.

Really? Your players never execute an ambush, or get to fight any battle where the terrain and distance get to factor into their tactics? Constantly fighting battles where the ground and distance are dictated by someone else is an optimal plan for losing battles.

How can the players make effective decisions without visualizing the space effectively? I'm not saying that minis are required for this to happen but if it doesn't in SOME form the players are simply flailing around blindly engaged in a furious exchange of maths, without any reasonable way to exert influence over the situation.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Really? Your players never execute an ambush, or get to fight any battle where the terrain and distance get to factor into their tactics?

Sure they do. It still usually boils down to "who can I attack, and when?"

How can the players make effective decisions without visualizing the space effectively? I'm not saying that minis are required for this to happen but if it doesn't in SOME form the players are simply flailing around blindly engaged in a furious exchange of maths, without any reasonable way to exert influence over the situation.

I think the term "theater of the mind" takes that into account. The DM describes the space, the players visualize it. They either determine their course of action from the initial description, or ask questions and then decide what they want to do. The battlemap can be helpful if the situation is too complex for people to visualize, but that's quite a high bar.

In D&D at least, most characters have the same foot speed, the same reach, the same space, and ranged abilities that fall into a a small number of discrete range categories. There's no facing, and the actions that one can do during a turn are highly standardized. That makes combat situations pretty easy to think of abstractly.

 

[pogre]

"The goal is for everyone to imagine what is happening. On that level, miniatures are a crutch, and like a crutch they are not conducive to normal utilization of one's ability."

I wouldn't call them a crutch, of course, I like minis. Miniatures and terrain are game props for me and often add to the entertainment level of our game. I like to draw maps. Create deeds and other legal writs in caligraphy. I sometimes draw art. I hand these things over to the players as props during the game too. I've never viewed these tangible props as taking away from the imaginative part of the game. To me props are an important part of the hobby that have been with us since the beginning.

BTW - I'm not saying you need props (including minis) to play - I just don't view them as a crutch at all.