Author: 666 (---.ufl.edu)
Date: 08-10-2000 10:09
I think miniatures are great. Without them PC's somehow are all either farthest from the beholder, or closest to the treasure chest (unless of course it was trapped and has just been sprung. To illustrate:
1) you see a beholder, where is everyone? -
xxx
xxxxx | \ \ \ O n
(PC's) (cover) (arrows in floor)(beholder)(treasure)
2) Wow, a 20, actually it was only a gas spore and explodes, whats your marching order? -
xxx
| \ \ \ .... xxxnxxx
3) Oh oh, you've just discharged a gas trap, who needs to save? -
xx ~~~
xxxxx| \ \ \ .... xn
(disgruntled thief)
I bought some miniatures at my local gaming shop a while ago. The guy showed me some of his painted ones which were very well done, but I said that I prefer to game with unpainted ones. He twisted his face and gave me a look that could only mean, "I'm sorry I must have misunderstood you". I said that I like to keep each piece as a symbolic representation of the creature and use them for relative positioning purposes. If you buy a large dragon miniature (is this like jumbo shrimp?), and it is a dragon, if you do the same and then paint it red, it is a red dragon. My current group tends to choose miniatures that depict their general disposition as opposed to trying to exactly match their character descriptions, so the ranger is using a large orc brandishing two very large swords, because he looks like he is about to kick some ass, as opposed to the more thoughtful ranger miniature in the box who is carefully inspecting a handful of dirt. No problems.
Keep in mind that we really only resort to using them when we are in battle mode or when the party separates in a larger room, and then use only rough estimates of distances moved per turn (i.e. no rulers). I have one of those hex mats where you can easily wipe off washable markers to quickly sketch out the more interesting settings that would be difficult to describe otherwise. All of this actually saves us time when it comes down to figuring out who is just out of a spells area of effect, who can flank who, how many can fit in a location, who can get past the battle zone to the trapped, ohhh..., I meant mapped chest. Simple, meaning quick, rules are that each hex is ~5 feet, and that a PC may move into one adjacent unoccupied hex per round if engaged in combat without considering themselves breaking out of combat, i.e. the effects of dodging, weaving, etc. If one does not focus on moving miniatures as the point of the game thereby turning it into Warhammer, then it is a practical tool that helps everyone better visualize what is going on. If you have not tried it, give it a go, you might find it worthwhile.
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