Think some of my sighted friends also just like the miniatures since they
actually paint/characterise them, etc. - another form of role-playing for
them, and, for example, in the old, sighted days, my one ADND character was
a sort of halfling thief/scout, and I went as far as drawing up plans for
his home that he was working on/having built up - we even went as far as
handling buying/bargaining scenarios with regards to building materials, to
a certain extent, etc....<smile>
But, at moment, I focus more on skills development/focus, etc., and we
definitely try to promote character/personality development, etc. - my one
current character is actually a form of NPC side-kick to my one previous
character who ended up turned to stone, and instead of rolling up a brand
new character, we converted his NPC side-kick into a full character, since
one of my characters areas of interest had been in trying to help him along
in terms of skills, fitting in a bit better with other civilisations/races,
etc. etc., since he was sort of an abandoned outcast/captive we'd rescued
along the way, etc. etc.
But, yes, this doesn't have much to do with actual mechanics of game-play.
Stay well
Stay well
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
"Roger Wilco wants to welcome you...to the space janitor's closet..."
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeremy Brown" <[email protected]>
To: "gamers" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2015 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] tabletop rpg (minis)
As to minis, that was something we edged into using. Two of my
players liked having them, the rest of us didn't care that much. D&D
3.5 tries to heavily encourage use of minis in the literature, but
it's not necessary at all. As you noted with Mutants & Masterminds,
it's not really necessary, and it's not really necessary with D&D 3.5
if everyone has a good idea of ranges etc. We started using the board
and the minis for a couple of reasons. First, my one player made it
for me so I could use minis without causing chaos. Sort of rude to
discard his work:) Second, there are times when having a clearer
understanding of the battle, or the terrain, is necessary. We don't
break out the board for every single combat. Generally, we reserved
it for large scale combats or tricky situations.
We have used Excel as a recording venue to show where characters were
on a battle map so we could save a complex battle until the next week.
However, generally excel maps are used more as maps of locations the
characters are entering and exploring. I have a GM version that I
mark secret doors, traps, etc on and a player version. It cuts out a
lot of did you say this was T intersection going east/west/south
discussions. It causes some metagaming occasionally, but my players
are good about trying to keep character knowledge and player knowledge
separate.
When I was running, and our game currently, generally only runs about
1.5 to 2 hours. Time is of the essence. If my players tell me they
are searching and being careful, I have them search when there's
something to find. If a big battle on the board is necessary, I try
to lay it out ahead of time. The excel map of an area is another
convenience. All of these speed up play, and allow us to enjoy the
game rather than arguing over minutiae.
I personally can take minis or leave them. There's times when they
really clarify a battle, but about 80% of the time they're not really
necessary.
Take care,
Jeremy
---
Gamers mailing list __ [email protected]
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to
[email protected].
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected].
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the
list,
please send E-mail to [email protected].
---
Gamers mailing list __ [email protected]
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected].
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected].
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list,
please send E-mail to [email protected].
