Minis or Theatre of the Mind? (Survey)

For combat with more than 5 I will pull out minis. Exploration going into towns 99% theater of the mind

 

[Lylandra]

Minis for everything combat related that's more complicated than 2-3 "easy" opponents or 1 big brute. Especially when you have a rogue or someone else with tactical positioning in your party. TotM for all other interactions and quick combat.

 

[Wepwawet]

I actually use the same map that I draw as the players explore. In complicated fights where positioning is important I just point out with a pencil where everyone is standing, as the map is too small for minis.

Ideally I'd like to use nothing but TotM because it makes fights look more real as minis aren't fixing your imagination. But on complicated fights you need clearer positioning

 

[Faenor]

Neither. I use engineering graph paper and sketch lightly with mechanical pencils. each character or monster is an initial. hold the pad in front of them and ask them where they want to move to, erase and write the initial in the new spot.

I never have understood why this isn't the most common way to do it.

 

[The Human Target]

Neither. I use engineering graph paper and sketch lightly with mechanical pencils. each character or monster is an initial. hold the pad in front of them and ask them where they want to move to, erase and write the initial in the new spot.

I never have understood why this isn't the most common way to do it.

We used to do that.

That's exactly the same conceptually as using minis on a battlemat though.

 

[JonnyP71]

Neither. I use engineering graph paper and sketch lightly with mechanical pencils. each character or monster is an initial. hold the pad in front of them and ask them where they want to move to, erase and write the initial in the new spot.

I never have understood why this isn't the most common way to do it.

Replace the graph paper with plain paper and that's how we did it before someone bought a whiteboard....

 

[Nebulous]

Miniatures by far. But, I also like to document our adventures in photos and story form, so having physical sets makes photos far more of an incentive.

 

[The Human Target]

These results are very, very interesting.

 

[chibi graz'zt]

Both.why is this argument still a thing?

 

[Cathayan]

Minis for combat are a must IMO. To many things require the exact placement of everyone.....backstab, attacks of opportunity, etc. Also causes far less confusion/discussion during combat that I found always bogged things down.
Everything else in the campaign is TotM though.

 

[umberfane]

Minis for combat exclusively...

 

[GameOgre]

Miniatures of course!

We are playing a game and not some safe place friendship room everyone wins and nobody losses imagination friendship circle.

 

[Aaron L]

We never use miniatures. To the people in all of my gaming groups, using minis reduces the game to a tactical miniatures game instead of a role-playing game, a more complicated game of chess, and takes us out of our characters' minds and thinking "what would my character do in this situation" and puts us into the mindset of "what is the best tactical option for me (the player) to take in this situation?" And this isn't just a prejudiced opinion, we have used minis at various times and always ended up ditching them after not too long because we felt like it didn't work.

 

[pogre]

All minis - all the time. Scenery, buildings, dungeons, monsters, PCs - everything has to be 3d and well-painted. Encounter with a peasant farmer where the PCs are asking for directions? Yep, barn, house, stone fences, animals, fields, the farmer - all of it in glorious miniature!

I'm exaggerating, but barely.

 

[GameOgre]

We never use miniatures. To the people in all of my gaming groups, using minis reduces the game to a tactical miniatures game instead of a role-playing game, a more complicated game of chess, and takes us out of our characters' minds and thinking "what would my character do in this situation" and puts us into the mindset of "what is the best tactical option for me (the player) to take in this situation?" And this isn't just a prejudiced opinion, we have used minis at various times and always ended up ditching them after not too long because we felt like it didn't work.

It might not JUST be a prejudiced opinion but it is a prejudiced opinion.

It tells us far more about YOU and your limitations than about the use of miniatures in a role playing game. I assure you that miniatures no more break immersion for players than does rolling dice, writing hit point adjustments down or looking at the DM's scraggly face instead of seeing the Elf Princess.

I have played great role playing with and without them and have often found some players and DM's have a need for the added detail they bring to a game. at the same time some players and DM's find them limiting.

It's mostly all a matter of taste.

*Also it gives people yet another subject to argue and debate and use to prove that the next fellows game is little better than a more complicated version of chess! As if we needed more help in that department.

 

[Aaron L]

In what way is it a prejudiced opinion? Prejudiced means pre-judging, as in asserting something is true without testing it. We have tested it, multiple times, and always found it to be lacking for us. That is the opposite of a prejudiced opinion.

Also, I said To the people in all of my gaming groups this was the case; I made no claims of it being a universal truth, and I made no value judgement about those who like to use miniatures. It is a matter of taste. Your hostility is misplaced and unwarranted. As to my "limitations", quite a few of these posts have been from people who use miniatures saying they do so because without them they are unable to keep track of movement and make tactical plans without them, which none my groups have ever had a problem with. We keep track of positioning, movement, Opportunity Attacks, and so forth just fine without requiring miniatures to mark it all out for us.

 

[Tony Vargas]

In what way is it a prejudiced opinion? Prejudiced means pre-judging, as in asserting something is true without testing it.

Or simply before testing it.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Theatre of the Mind, with Paint/Photoshop doodles as required.

 

[Vymair]

For D&D encounters, miniatures for tactical reasons. For FATE, ORE and other similar systems, Theater of the Mind.

 

[Wepwawet]

I used to use minis on complicated fights, but I've dropped them completely in the campaign I'm running.

I don't want to stop, clear the table, pull and find the right dungeon tiles, lay them out, find the adequate minis and only then start the battle.

And I especially don't want to be carrying extra weight on my back pack. MM+PHB+CoS+Notes+Die+Work laptop are already heavy enough

So now we simply point at the map to have a rough idea of positions and play it in our minds (which I feel makes it look more real)