Had one game in which the DM represented otyughs with chocolate truffles. Excellent, homemade chocolate truffles.
"Really, dude, you're going to eat an otyugh?!?"
Wherefore "mini-less" D&D assumptions?
- Thread starter Henry
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Had one game in which the DM represented otyughs with chocolate truffles. Excellent, homemade chocolate truffles.
"Really, dude, you're going to eat an otyugh?!?"
Scribble
First Post
Now that's my kind of combat!
DM: Now, the two Doughnut Hole Giants move to a flanking Position, right by the Petit Four Mindflayer...
Player: I cast a spell! (scoops up the mind flayer and scarfs it down)
DM: What was that?!?!?
Player: Power Word, Kill.
Bigby's Grasping Hand???
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Thanks for the links! I had many of these. I wish I still had the old big bulky big faced orcs but Otherworld does a nice job on them. That assassin from the specilaty line looks pretty good, especially for back in the day. I love me some old school but man, half of them are like little blobs of metal. On the other hand, relatively buckle, belt, little hanging crap free!
Some warnings about using edible "counters":
1) If the stuff isn't just edible, but actually tasty, you'll soon realize you're playing a FRPG...a Fattening Role Playing Game.
2) Neutralize Poisson will be an important spell. So will Cowkill, and Lesser/Greater Orb of Refined Sugar. Grease will be utterly vital.
3) "This SOB is toast!" may in fact be the literal truth.
4) Mini-onions will be killed by a single point of nibbling damage.
5) Revenge is a dish usually best served hot or at room temp- it congeals when it cools too much.
6) No matter how much you want to, don't represent PCs with "cheesy combos" with actual cheeses- esp. the more fragrant varieties. You can't get those stains & smells out of a battlemat. And no, a Rogue named Roquefort is not an excuse to do this.
1) If the stuff isn't just edible, but actually tasty, you'll soon realize you're playing a FRPG...a Fattening Role Playing Game.
2) Neutralize Poisson will be an important spell. So will Cowkill, and Lesser/Greater Orb of Refined Sugar. Grease will be utterly vital.
3) "This SOB is toast!" may in fact be the literal truth.
4) Mini-onions will be killed by a single point of nibbling damage.
5) Revenge is a dish usually best served hot or at room temp- it congeals when it cools too much.
6) No matter how much you want to, don't represent PCs with "cheesy combos" with actual cheeses- esp. the more fragrant varieties. You can't get those stains & smells out of a battlemat. And no, a Rogue named Roquefort is not an excuse to do this.
Last edited:
CharlesRyan
Adventurer
To be clear, I'm not talking about using them in a tactical sense. More like "Okay, Gaspard and Madeleine are talking to the Count's seneschal" [put three minis in the centre of the table] "The rest of you are still at the Pike and Boar." [put the rest of the PC minis off to the side.] Social scene go!
No battlemat, no specific positioning. But now there's a focal point to the activity, and everyone is reminded who is where.. And as someone else mentioned, players like having their own little "avatars," this uses those avatars to connect the real person to the in-game activity in a slightly more concrete manner.
I totally respect this position, and the desire to maintain immersion and avoid unrealistic decisions. But in my own experience, no visual representation of the world means everyone is picturing the scene somewhat differently. The inevitable confusion that results ("What do you mean I can't stop the bad guy? I thought I was standing between him and the door.") is more damaging to immersion, and leads to more unrealistic decisions. Your experience may of course be different.
TheAuldGrump
First Post
All a part of the experience that is... Doughnuts & DragonsNow that's my kind of combat!
DM: Now, the two Doughnut Hole Giants move to a flanking Position, right by the Petit Four Mindflayer...
Player: I cast a spell! (scoops up the mind flayer and scarfs it down)
DM: What was that?!?!?
Player: Power Word, Kill.
Quick! Run! It's a carrion cruller!
The Auld Grump
I think I almost always agree with CR. Like in this case.
I find that having a tokens on the board (be it dice on a the table or as minis on the grid) helps players understand the situation. Especially if they WEREN'T paying attention between their turn (because its taking so long to describe, clarify and decide for each player).
It also helps prevent the "I'm everywhere, I'm nowhere" player who is always next to the treasure when the bad guy dies, but never near the blast when the AoE goes off.
additionally, why would objects in the real world be jarring to the use of your imagination. Heck, grabbing your coke or dice has nothing to do with imagining your PC in a fight with a dragon and that doesn't jar your imagination.
Why would seeing minis on the table that actually represent your PC fighting a dragon doing be disruptive to your imagination anymore than the other myriad of objects and movement that is constantly going on before your eyes while you imagine fights with dragons?
Plus, it has worked on children for centuries to play with a figure that represents what they are imagining.
Additionally, minis opens up another hobby. Making stuff. Personally, I like making props and models for my gaming sessions. It's fun.
I wonder if the use of miniatures doesn't have something to do with culture and socio-economic class. The people I played AD&D when I was younger were mostly working-class metalheads. A lot of us simply didn't have the kind of disposable income that allowed for large miniature collections. Many players didn't even own the books. We played the way we did almost by necessity. Once we got out of High School and into our 20s, we wanted a game our girlfriends would be interested in. So we played Vampire, mostly live action (which we had already started doing a little in AD&D anyway). So, even today when I play 3rd or 4th Edition with miniatures, it feels a little "wrong." I never use miniatures when I DM, but I only DM pre-WOTC D&D or Castles & Crusades (none of which require miniatures at all). As DM I keep track of monster and player positions by writing on my maps, or in particularly difficult cases, drawing a diagram.
Even though I never DMd with miniatures for reasons that were partially economic, now I see other reasons not to use them. For me, immersion, immediacy and excitement are necessities in combat. A fight scene ought to make the player excited, and too much time spent on tactics and working out perfect combos takes away from the adrenaline rush. When I DM, I make it clear that players must react quickly to events in combat, whether or not they are ready. If a Classic D&D round is 10 seconds, the players shouldn't get much more than 10 seconds to decide what they re doing. If you hesitate too much, it means your PC hesitated. I think the top-down miniatures view usually (although not always) works against the adrenaline rush by introducing too much careful reasoning into the mix. The one thing you don't get to do much of when a yard of steel is heading towards your face is careful reasoning.
Of course, for many people, tactical combat and the intellectual workout it provides are exactly what they want from the game. For them, play without miniatures lacks the very things they enjoy. I understand that. I simply suggest that play without miniatures promotes a different kind of combat experience, where the thrills are more primal than intellectual.
Even though I never DMd with miniatures for reasons that were partially economic, now I see other reasons not to use them. For me, immersion, immediacy and excitement are necessities in combat. A fight scene ought to make the player excited, and too much time spent on tactics and working out perfect combos takes away from the adrenaline rush. When I DM, I make it clear that players must react quickly to events in combat, whether or not they are ready. If a Classic D&D round is 10 seconds, the players shouldn't get much more than 10 seconds to decide what they re doing. If you hesitate too much, it means your PC hesitated. I think the top-down miniatures view usually (although not always) works against the adrenaline rush by introducing too much careful reasoning into the mix. The one thing you don't get to do much of when a yard of steel is heading towards your face is careful reasoning.
Of course, for many people, tactical combat and the intellectual workout it provides are exactly what they want from the game. For them, play without miniatures lacks the very things they enjoy. I understand that. I simply suggest that play without miniatures promotes a different kind of combat experience, where the thrills are more primal than intellectual.
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