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Post by catcharlie on Jun 5, 2016 16:29:53 GMT
That's a really interesting article joatmoniac, I never realized that was a thing and I feel quite sorry for the guy, though it sounds like he does just fine without having a 'minds eye'. Personally I think that I have a good minds eye, I can visualize fairly complex things in my head to the extent of it being almost like a film. Though I much prefer to play the battle sections of D&D with a map and minis; outside of combat, they are fairly unnecessary for most situations, but for battles, where unless your character is blind, confused or just plain dumb, your character would be fighting as strategically as they could. So Maps and Minis for me are for two main reasons 1. I have a tendency to get lost with the fairies, during battles if it's not my turn I'll ether think abut what I want to do on my turn or visualize what everyone else is doing on their turns, and because of this I find that having a Map with Minis helps me ground my self at the start of my turn. 2. The vision is collective; this probably sounds silly and I know that this is on me, but still. If I'm thinking of something purely for me I can visualize it really easily; if someone give me a description of something, I can visualize that fairly easily; but if I'm given something like a battle, that is strategic in nature, with a brief description of the surroundings my brain seems reluctant to fill in the unknowns, it's waiting on the details from the GM and other players as if it's not wanting to step on the other player's toes. I know it probably sounds strange, though I have always tended to have a unique approach to things (dyslexia related according to my wife). Also I'm a stickler for rules and information.
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Post by blakeryan on Jun 12, 2016 23:11:16 GMT
If there is one big foe against the party, I just describe it. But if both the party and the bad guy have minions/summoned allies, its easier to keep track of who is where/doing what with a few minis.
That said you don't have to lash out on expensive stuff, lego, second hand pokemon or skylanders work just as well.
I made some landscapes with paper mache and cardboard boxes, each landscape will be used for a scene, then I will use them again in a years time to make use of my efforts. If you've got time its cheap and good stress relief.
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Post by Tesla Ranger on Jun 13, 2016 16:34:24 GMT
You can do a lot with paper and craft foam for pretty cheap too. A couple bucks of foam from Wal-Mart/Michaels/wherever can be shaped into just about anything with an xacto knife and some time. Then you print a color design (stonework, wood planks, etc) and glue it to the foam and Bang! Not-So-Instant end-boss castle.
Unfortunately I don't usually have that much time but we do get a lot of mileage out of LEGO. Having enviroments/structures we can interact with during play yields a lot at our table. Walls don't have to be permanent.
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Post by DM Stretch on Jul 7, 2016 16:00:00 GMT
I really like to use miniatures and scenery, but only for pivotal scenes with combat being planned. I feel it helps me keep track of all that's going on at the table during a fracas.
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Post by joatmoniac on Jul 7, 2016 22:41:33 GMT
Here is an epic example of minis and maps. The game runner was on the official D&D podcast recently, and has apparently been running the same game for over 30 years. I think they mentioned that the mini collection was over 20,000 minis. www.instagram.com/the_gamednd/
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Post by halfacreoffun on Jul 12, 2016 20:30:35 GMT
A game I PC in has recently had a few issues with TotM combat lately. During 1 of a battles the dm described the hall way and a room where we found the baddies. There where 3 different perceptions of what this description looked like in our minds. The results were a jumbled confused combat sequence with me the ranger and our cleric in melee the barbarian stuck behind an open door in a corner and the mage around a corner with no line of sight. I could also see the DM getting visually frustrated having to describe the spacing and placements multiple times. I just really prefer combat with minis or at least a crude map so everyone is on the same page. I hate having to ask if I'm in range or if I can hit multiple tagets with this aoe. If it all laid out in feel like the flow is better between turns and there is less room for flubbing around
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dmmoleman
Commoner
Carving stone buildings in the caverns of the underdark
Posts: 7
Favorite D&D Class: Psion
Favorite D&D Race: Human
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Post by dmmoleman on Aug 29, 2016 4:01:21 GMT
Hey guys, just joined-I hope that I'm not the only one using shrinky dinks paper- it's about 60 cents a sheet, just draw up you character, cut em out, put em on a baking tray in the oven @ 300 for 10 min, we make our own bases too, that's even easier than the character. They should only cost about 10-15 cents a piece to make, and they're personalized and look really good. If anyone is curious about this method, please feel free to im me. ( I know we're terrible artists and made plenty of mistakes, but I think they still look awesome) and tell you everything we've learned so far, to try and help keep your's from sticking. _ or just go for it, it's super easy!
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Post by Tesla Ranger on Sept 6, 2016 17:30:58 GMT
They look pretty good to me! I reckon anything that adds a little custom touch to a game is generally for the better.
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Post by catcharlie on Sept 30, 2016 13:50:18 GMT
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Post by friartook on Oct 5, 2016 20:52:00 GMT
Would you elaborate as to why? I listened as well, and came to the opposite conclusion. Curious what turned you off. Edit: Upon completion of the episode, I'm not surprised anyone was turned off. The attitude was a bit sanctimonious and he kept trying to shoehorn map/mini concerns into made up TotM "mechanics". Pretty much everything he said was accurate; the content was good advice for making a transition. But the presentation left something to be desired.
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mysticfedora
Commoner
Get off my lawn!
Posts: 3
Favorite D&D Class: Monk
Favorite D&D Race: (Elf?)
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Post by mysticfedora on Oct 6, 2016 2:47:44 GMT
Hi all! New here, hello. I'm very conflicted on this issue and finally came to some resolution about. When I was reared in RPs back in the 90s we never used minis for anything. But we were very lax on rules and tactics. When I started up again with 5e last year I went in with that mindset and immediately struggled. Then I went to minis and maps and then lost some of the theatrics that the other method provided. So... I've entered a compromised. I will do theater of the mind for normal non-complicated encounters and the break out the minis for any encounter that will require a certain measure of tactics.
Without minis and maps it is hard to do creative tactics, with minis and maps it is hard to emote narrative impact. I think both methods are fine, but should be used circumstantially.
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DMsardu
Commoner
Started my first game and they liked it!
Posts: 8
Favorite D&D Class: Rogue
Favorite D&D Race: Any Elf
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Post by DMsardu on Dec 5, 2016 15:37:26 GMT
New to forum. Sorry for the Thread Necromancy.
On TotM vs Minis/Grid I think there is no VS they can easily go hand in hand. I think its really up to your players and the story the DM brings to the table. Im an on and off again player but a New DM. In order to entice my friends and family to play D&D Ive decided to try to go with Minis without breaking the bank. I found a Drop box of "Heroclix" fantasy figures. I never heard of it before which is no surprise. Anyways the box comes with 24 or 25 pre-painted figures for about 28 dollars for the box. I really think that it dont or cant get any cheaper than about a dollar or so for a pretty good looking figure thats prepainted and ready to go out of the box. I lucked out and will have enough PC figures and orcs that came in randomly to run my campaign.
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