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Post by dm1scotty on Dec 17, 2012 10:54:46 GMT -5
Question: Aren't you supposed to use your imagination for d&d....isn't making terrain turning it into a tabletop war game?
my Answer: Some players like to use total imagination and use no minis or props. Others, like myself enjoy using minis to mark the position of combatants in combat. Most people use dry erase gridded mats for this. I am just replacing the mat and making the locations instead. Keep in mind I do not craft every detail of a location and I still use a lot of description.
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Post by onethatwas on Dec 17, 2012 16:04:09 GMT -5
I have found that there are two "extremes" when it comes to D&D. There are those that prefer the "Theatre of the Mind" and those that prefer a physical visualization. Most of use fall somewhere in between those two on a scale of sorts.
And in the context of a DM, most of us have a variety of people who are at different places on the scale. In my own game I have one who is very far to the "Theatre of the Mind" type, and another who is closer to the "Physical Visualization." The others in my game are somewhere closer to true neutral on the scale, so they don't care.
BUT, crafting the tiles AND "Going Gridless" accomplishes two things. 1) It gives a visualization that is satisfactory to those who need it, while not ruining the freedom of the mind theatre thingy 2) The Gridless style accomplishes all the necessary aspects of the game to make a rules lawyer happy, but doesn't irritate someone who is is (again) into that theatre of the mind thingy.
So it's a happy medium that makes all people happy, and is really cool to boot.
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Post by hideousprime on Dec 17, 2012 18:30:56 GMT -5
I just enjoy crafting as much as I do playing the game, so for me its a win win situation. And I think it depends on the party you play with and what they like. I believe the fun is in the pcs coming up with crazy ways to avoid or destroy the obsticles you place in front of them. Whether those obsticles are in the mind or on the table is a matter of personal preference.
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Post by danielc on Dec 17, 2012 22:19:51 GMT -5
I think your answer, dm1scotty, was well put.
I find that when I am honest about the past, we have always added a bit of the "war game" to our RPGs. Regardless of what we used as "tokens" in our games (chits, tokens, pennies, figures) we (my group) liked to have a visual to help out our imaginations. That didn't stop us from using our imaginations. It helped.
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Post by vipertek247 on Jan 14, 2013 9:09:21 GMT -5
I have to agree with hideousprime on this one. You truly could play this game without a single piece of anything physical. You could honestly play a D&D game via talking on the phone, lol. But for me, and most of us forum members, it's not just a game, it's a hobby. We basically build dollhouses... Really cool dollhouses!
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Post by dm1scotty on Jan 14, 2013 10:11:02 GMT -5
Good comments guys...we are on the same page.
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Post by traxzwolf on Jan 14, 2013 13:26:48 GMT -5
I have to agree with hideousprime on this one. You truly could play this game without a single piece of anything physical. You could honestly play a D&D game via talking on the phone, lol. But for me, and most of us forum members, it's not just a game, it's a hobby. We basically build dollhouses... Really cool dollhouses! I've been known to stories via email/face book. I present a situation and let the next person continue it. Like a story pass. Usually you just present a few rules. Like not killing another's main char with out permission unless your the head story teller and some one did something above and beyond craptastic
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chugosh
Cardboard Collector
The Mighty Dabbler
Posts: 21
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Post by chugosh on Feb 11, 2013 17:50:20 GMT -5
My problem is that I sometimes forget to tell my right from my left. I get a bit mixed up and then I'm picturing the scene all wrong as to who is where. Miniatures and maps help that a lot, whether it is a whiteboard or a fancy set of terrain.
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