Miniatures, yay or nay?

[Summer-Knight925]

What are your thoughts on miniatures and role-playing games?

Should a new game use miniatures or not?

Please try to stay away from the history lessons of "D&D came from chainmail which was a miniature game" because frankly that's not my question, it's what YOU think of miniatures and role-playing games

 

[Pentius]

I don't really care if a game has minis specifically made for it, but I always want to use minis when I play, or at least loose change and grid paper. If we don't, I start to lose track of where things are, or I get a somewhat different picture in my head of where things are than the DM does, and it either leads to a once-per-battle-or-so instance of, "Uh, dude, you can't do that, you aren't even close to that thing and there are like 5 enemies between you and it." or it leads to me prefacing every action with, "Uh, am I close enough to do X...?"

 

[Bluenose]

That would seem to depend on how much importance positioning and movement have. A game where these aren't important can manage perfectly well without. Something where, say, combat is almost entirely individual duels such as a wrestling game probably wouldn't need minis to keep track of positions in the way that a game of swashbuckling heroics a la d'Artagnan would probably want to keep track of where people are in large fights involving multiple combatants. And if you're happy not keeping track of individual movement and position, you can run almost any RPG without.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I have used miniatures since the '70s.

I like painting miniatures, and have even won painting competitions.

I like looking for just the right mini for a character and creating just the right character to go with a miniature.

I like hard plastic miniatures because of how easy it is to customize the models.

I love the solid feel of lead or pewter.

I like the crisp detail of some of the newer resins.

I like being able to look at a miniature and recognize who sculpted it without looking at the package.

I like using the back of my hand to wipe my brush for drybrushing, or using it as a temporary palette if I don't have one handy.

I love the smell of a freshly opened container of Valejo color.

I like looking down at a map, and seeing the forces arrayed in battle.

I like looking at one of my older miniatures, and flipping it over to look at the date I painted on the bottom of the base.

I like giving my players miniatures that I have painted for their characters.

I love looking at miniatures that my players have painted for their own characters.

I like miniatures.

The Auld Grump

 

[Kzach]

I love minis. And I love mini terrain. Speaking of which, I've really gotta get around to buying some of those new Terraclips sets.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I like minis and I think they can add a lot to a game, but I can go either way with them in an RPG.

I run games with minimal maps and miniless combat, and I run games where every post must have exact positioning and I'll brutalize th character with AoO or OA if they step out of line a bit.

And they are both fun.

Actually the game with no minis or combat maps is an experiment for me, and I am enjoying it a lot. Definite different feel from my other games.

 

[Ron]

When I started with D&D, back in early 1982, I already have some experience with wargames. I still remmember how I became fascinated with the concept of a game that required no board and was played entirely in the imagination of the players. There is no way to beat the images evoked by narration, especially with static figures and a limited set of maps. As such, in my personal and very restricted view, there is no space for miniatures in a roleplaying game and I avoid playing any game that uses them.

 

[delericho]

What are your thoughts on miniatures and role-playing games?

I used to use them; now I don't. I don't mind games that do use them, but I won't run (or buy) a game that requires the use of minis. (Or that 'requires' them as much as 4e - that is, you can run the game without, but lose an awful lot from the system in doing so.)

Should a new game use miniatures or not?

Not unless they can guarantee availability of a suitable range of minis. For fantasy that's probably a non-issue, but what about Ancient Rome, or Space Opera (non-Star Wars of course!), or Modern Day?

However, if suitable minis are available, then the game should use them if the designers want to use them, or not otherwise. But, as above, I won't buy a game that requires minis.

New editions of D&D should not require minis. But that's a special case - I want to feel comfortable running and playing the current edition of D&D!

 

[Rechan]

I don't mind if I need to use some sort of mini, but I won't invest money and space in little figurine men.

No, at my table it's pennies, lug nuts, bullet casings*, aquarium stones, token printouts glued on cardboard, and so forth.

*We played in a guy's garage, he had used shell casings lying around.

 

[Cergorach]

I see miniatures as a tool, sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's a hindrance. When it's a hindrance, don't use them.

In complex combat situations miniatures are generally helpful, not only for the players but also for the DM. But sometimes you want to create a certain atmosphere were miniatures are a hindrance instead of an asset, I am generally not afraid to just abandon the minis. It also depends on the players, the DM, the adventure, mood, etc. Sometimes we want and have fun with a Heroquest like dungeon crawl, other times it's done without minis, sometimes it's an hybrid. Don't let yourself be limited by miniatures.