Why do you like minis?

[TheGallantGoblin]

Greetings, friends!! Tomorrow I'll be guesting on Roll for Combat live and we'll be discussing why D&D and Pathfinder fans like minis. I'd love to get your input! Why do you collect miniatures? What do they add to your games? -Theo

[Imbalance]

Apparently, as a lifelong toy nerd, I'm simply addicted. Tiny, action-hero-esque effigies are the mainstay. That there's a game attached maybe justifies it slightly more. Collecting them had been simple and affordable, too, but both of those aspects have recently changed for the worse. There are only a few basic ingredients required for a game, but the visual elements - particularly the three dimensional ones - truly are the spice, bringing more variety then any number-crunching rules or mechanics can. IMHO

[Brophy]

For me D&D started as a "theater of the mind" concept that even in the 2E days had those 3 dimensional rules already established. Back then we rarely had miniatures to represent anyone or anything and often just used dice on the game mat.
The fact that you can get a representation of almost any monster, or even multiple variations, if phenomenal and addicting. Miniatures add to the immersion of a game that mostly takes place in our minds, around a table of like minded individuals. It's the same reason we like movies, every story is better with visual concepts brought to life.

[greyhaze]

The play grid (and therefore minis) did away with the "theater of the mind" issues, like; no descriptions, bad descriptions, placement, and maneuvering. I loved seeing just how big these monsters were intended to be by comparison. And, they're tiny, so a huge collection doesn't normally take up too much space!

[berk the black]

Theater of the mind can be subject to different views of the same scene by different players. The DM can only do so much to describe the situation, and misinterpretations are bound to happen for a variety of reasons. Minis are placeholders that get everyone in alignment. There’s still plenty of imagination going on, even with map, minis and terrain. You mini doesn’t accurately depict exactly what you are doing at an given time (although players with multiple poses for the character mini can come close).

Minis are also good as showing size differences, and depending on how fanatical the DM is with mini selection, things like armor and weapons can be determined at a glance.

D&D started baking in mini movement rules much more formally in 3rd and 4th edition. Combat itself started being more dependent on mini position, and limitations to movement were imposed by other minis. This made them more important to the game. I believe 5th edition tried to divest itself of this requirement, but it certainly still supports their use. And players who played previous editions both have minis and might prefer to use them when given the option.

My goal with minis and terrain, is to use them to convey the situation the players find themselves in. Good terrain should allow the players to quickly identify their surroundings so they can act accordingly. It should not interfere with or steal the show. And it shouldn’t take to long to deploy or remove from the table. Minis should allow for a quick assessment of what the players are up against. At least what the foes look like and where they are positioned. It is a bonus if they don’t know too much detail about the creature, but instead have to rely on the fact it has long sharp claws…

[Clint]

Miniatures scratch a lot of itches for me.

Like many nerds, I have collector impulses. D&D miniatures are inherently collectible; as a DM, I want enough to be able to represent lots of different situations and creatures. And I enjoy organizing and categorizing them. So they scratch that collector itch.

Then there's creativity and the aesthetic. I like to paint miniatures. I use terrain, and I like to build sets and see the miniatures played on them. And I love looking at and appreciating a gorgeously sculpted or painted miniature. Miniatures are art that can make the things that we imagine more tangible, if that makes sense.

Finally, miniatures can make D&D tactical and function as game aids. When it's just theatre of the mind, encounters can become very hard to track and understand. Miniatures allow players and the DM to follow the action, follow the rules, and see tactical possibilities as they unfold in front of them.

[TheGallantGoblin]

I'm really loving all your answers. It's so interesting to hear how their appeal differs from person to person, from the utilitarian uses of helping with tactical combat to purely artistic appreciation all the way to just being fun to collect and organize (I can certainly relate to the satisfaction that comes from a good organizational system). If anyone else has any thoughts, I'll be checking this thread through tomorrow! Thank you all for contributing your thoughts! -Theo

[Yack]

30 years plus in with minis

I started AD&D back in the early 80s before 2nd ED. It was pretty much theater of the mind and a just a table full of kids sitting around a table working together for a cause.

Around 2nd ED we started to play less but I remember coming across Ral Partha's AD&D line of metal minis and I fell in love.
I needed to have them all , the collector in me took over. And I just did not need them all... I needed a good group of minions ones like orcs, goblins and ogres.

We did play once in a blue moon with the metal minis but they were harder to paint at the time (or I just was not very good at it yet) and they were heavy to carry. In that time period it was a collecting thing and to be honest the monsters always interested me even more than the game itself (those cool , cheezie black and white art... loved it)

3rd Edition and Harbringer changed everything for me, it was cheap, plastic and pre-painted. This to be honest got me back into the game more than ever before plus Thac0 was gone! (whoohoo simple D20). So it was great to get a nice handful of minis to play with to represent the monsters on the table plus looked cool on display. (until 20 years later the collection can no longer be displayed the same as back when the first 3 sets came out. (Harbringer, Dragoneye and Archfiends). But 3rd edition also made the minis more useful and needed as tactics actually became the 3rd must on the table for movement, flank and such.

Than prices started to rise and I started to get better at painting and than a another new thing came to my love for minis, creating them to be on the table by painting them. Which made me love the character type minis again when unpainted came out in plastic.

So my love for minis grew more and more with each edition.
1.AD&D: love collecting and the memories of the old school orange monster manuals that got me into the game
2. 3rd Edition Cheap and could keep collecting even more due to cost and display them off and also use them for tactics as it became more important in this edition up Plus as a DM I want to be able to throw anything on the table that is possibly needed for my lifetime of gaming (I am well beyond that but I just cannot stop looking and buying)
3. Unpainted brought my love of buying to create memorable characters and still semi cheap.

[firespitter]

I played with little green army men and cowboys/indians and civil war soldiers as a little kid. That combined with my introduction to D&D in my very early teens and now 35 years later, having renders that look like they popped right out of the illustrations in the books has solidified my addiction.
Many folks I play with prefer theatre of the mind or don't understand the mini obsession, and I feel sad for them.

[TheGallantGoblin]

Thank you all again for your stories and ideas! I shared your thoughts during my appearance, though it was a bit of a challenge bringing Mark and Stephen back to the topic sometimes. But I think I accomplished my goal of sharing our love for minis and the happiness they bring us! -Theo

[berk the black]

Yikes, almost 2 1/2 hours. I started into this, but didn’t have time to finish.

For what it is worth, I prefer physical books over pdfs. But, pdfs are more searchable, so they certainly have value. I’m sad to say, I think this is a generational thing. Bookstores have slowly been giving way to eBooks and more. I think I hang on to the physical because I don't trust the web and that the resources I use will always be there.

[Clint]

Yikes, almost 2 1/2 hours. I started into this, but didn’t have time to finish.

For what it is worth, I prefer physical books over pdfs. But, pdfs are more searchable, so they certainly have value. I’m sad to say, I think this is a generational thing. Bookstores have slowly been giving way to eBooks and more. I think I hang on to the physical because I don't trust the web and that the resources I use will always be there.

I love physical books and keep a shelf of old leather-bound ones in my classroom. For D&D, nothing beats going through a physical rulebook, at least for me.

However.

I switched to an E-reader for my regular reading and LOVE IT SO MUCH. I will never go back. I read a ton, and I used to build up boxes and boxes of books that I was forever trying to get rid of - most of them just wound up in recycling. It was incredibly wasteful of money and paper, and totally cluttered up my home. Now I have everything on one device that I can pack anywhere. When I finish a book, I just download another.

It kind of sucks because I used to love bookstores and I know this is killing them. But it's way better for the environment and just makes more sense in so many ways.

[Alec1015]

All of these answers are ones I can definitely relate to. But, as I think about it, I realize that deep down, I’m just a sadistic DM lol.

As in I thoroughly enjoy planting a hidden miniature down in front of my players and watching them figuratively, and possibly literally, crap their pants.

[Cusm]

Starts from a life long addiction to plastic. Started with Fisher Price action figures and then A MOVIE occurred and all plastic crack was forever changed! I got into table top gaming due to plastic crack and transitioned over to RPGs. I am very visual so having a mini for my character or monsters helps complete my immersion. I will get inspired to create characters or scenarios based on some minis.