Gaming Without Miniatures

[Daxos232]

My group and I are used to playing with miniatures and a board, that's the way we have always done it. I am interested in GMing a game without the use of such things.

I wanted to give it a try, to see if it makes my players more imaginative and inventive. It sounds a lot less restrictive, but my players are used to playing D&D, and tend to be less open to new ideas. Is there any advice that you would recommend for running a true "pen and paper" game?

[soltakss]

Don't bother with things like "Marching Order" when walking through a wilderness or scenario location. If something happens to a PC that does not depend on where they are physically, roll randomly to see who is affected, or use common sense to determine the target (A spell mght be used against the biggest warrior, for example, or the sorcerer might be hit by missiles).

Sketch out locations on a piece of paper. Don't be too detailed, nobody cares about the exact dimensions or every single little alcove. Use numbered dots or crosses for major NPCs and ask people to draw where they are and what they are doing. That way, you get a rough idea of the mechanics of a combat but don't get hung up over the "I am moving 3m to him, do I have enough Movement?" issues.

Don't get too bothered about ranges of things. Use what feels right. If you are throwing a dagger at someone across a bridge it's probably too far, but OK for someone across a small room. Spell ranges are generally OK because most locations are small enough to be in spell range. If, after some discussion, the GM rules that you are in/out of range then so be it.

If you finish a session halfway through a combat, then draw a sketch of the situation and keep it for next week. It's easier than trying to remember what is happening.

[Rungard]

If, once melee combat is engaged, some player complains that he needs to know EXACTLY where his/her PC is, tell him or her that combat does not mean standing and maintaining the same exact position, as in a RPG videogame (Neverwinter Nights, for instance). That's not real. In a combat, every combatant is constantly moving away or around the point where the melee was originally engaged (think of movies), so if they want to know where exactly they are, in order to know who gets first to some point or if they are close enough to a friend to heal him/her, just roll a dice to determine randomly how far they are, or make them roll against their highest combat skill to determine that.

[rust]

Miniatures provide a bird's eye view of a combat that is highly unrealistic, in the

real world each of the characters would be busy to deal with his immediate op-

ponents, and would only occasionally have a chance to look around and see how

his companion's are doing - the "fog of war" also covers skirmishes, not only the

big battles.

Take away the miniatures, and you can use this to give combat an entirely dif-

ferent and more realistic and grisly "feel", with the characters unsure where the

ongoing combat has taken them, where exactly the others are and everything

else is, who would need or could provide help, and all that. It is no longer sitting

comfortably on a cloud and watching and controlling the events from a safe dis-

tance, it is being right there in the midst of confusing chaos.

In other words, it is the difference between a miniatures wargame and a roleplay-

ing game.

You can support this change of "feel" by avoiding overly precise descriptions and

calculations (who would have the leisure to measure distances during a combat

anyway ?), keeping the action fast and providing input for all of the character's

senses (screams, sound of weapons, smell of blood ... you get it). And keep the

rules as much as possible in the background, the "flow" of the scene is far more

important than perfect adherence to the rules mechanics - it is about experien-

ces, not about 1 meter squares.

Well, just some thoughts ...

[Merak Gren]

Some very good advice here.

Just to chime in, with a bugbear of mine.

Keeping a watch at night. As with the Marching order thing, just roll randomly to see who will be awake at the time of the encounter.

[GianniVacca]

Use a Luck roll every time any of your players complains about one of the items mentioned above.

[Daxos232]

Thanks for the advice, I can't wait to try this method.

[Daxos232]

I'm really looking forward to trying this method, but I guess whats concerning me the most is player issues. My players are very used to D&D's specific combat rules. I can totally understand their position, its comforting to know the rules and how they work so you can plan out your movements or actions and get the advantages, and disadvantages, you expect every time.

My first idea was to use a big drawing pad, and sketch out the environments in pencil, then use our miniatures as normal, but use a string with knots or a pencil with knife marks in it for measurements, but then that's like going back to having the chessex board all over again isn't it?

[Rungard]

... but then that's like going back to having the chessex board all over again isn't it?

I'm afraid it is, yes.

But you could use it as a transition to "more imagination and less board game". Start with this, and progressively take out elements from it till everything or most of it happens in your mind.

But of course, if your group is more comfortable with what you suggest, go for it. Make your players like the game. :-)

I usually sketch out the environments in pencil, I draw some circles detailing where the enemies are, then I ask the players where they are and draw their initials of their characters on the makeshift map. When combat is joined, I redraw the PCs initials and the enemies appropriately, and from there on, I remind the players that is where they are in combat MORE OR LESS, maybe in a 10 meter radius from the original "melee start", as combat means constantly moving.

[Daxos232]

That's a great idea. I like that way of slowly removing elements until its all in your imagination.

Rungard, when you use that method with the initials on the paper map, do you have it behind your gm screen where no PC's can see it? That came to my mind when I read your post. That would allow me to keep track of the action, so I can still effectivly manage the combat, but my PCs would still get to experience the chaos and uncertainty that combat provides.

Man I can't wait to try this stuff.

[Rungard]

No, I usually place the paper map on the middle of the table for all to see.

I usually keep a paper behing the screen where I take quick notes of all enemies (who is lacking an arm, for instance, who is fleeing, who's gone back to heal, etc.)

But you can try your method. Trial and error until you're happy! :-D

[Merak Gren]

I just scribble a rough diagram to let people know what the scenery is, as well as the rough positions. Long arrows will be used to indicate long movement etc.

If there are hidden opponents or reinforcements let you players check if they see / hear them coming rather than announce it and placing them on the table. Sometimes enemies can sneak in and surprise them because they were not expected.

[Solinor]

About four months ago I stopped using figs and now I can't imagine going back to them. The players grumble a little that they like figs but none have pushed to use them.

[Daxos232]

About four months ago I stopped using figs and now I can't imagine going back to them. The players grumble a little that they like figs but none have pushed to use them.

My players are somewhat receptive to the idea, but want to know specifically what the advantages are of pencil and paper over minis, and frankly, besides saying that we wouldn't need a battlemat and minis, and that it encourages imagination, I couldn't think of anything else. They beat down my discussion with that one.

[soltakss]

Advantages of not using miniatures:

1. You don't need a table to play on, so people with small apartments or without a room to play in can host.

2. You can play the game far more flexibly, combat is far easier (in my opinion)

3. You don't have to have characters that look like miniatures

4. It reduces the cost of playing the game

[Pete Nash]

Snap. Number 2 especially...

[Rungard]

5. Combat becomes quicker

6. Combat becomes more realistic, as PCs can't realistically know exactly where all their friends are in the middle of combat (I guess actual combat is very different from moving figures on a board).

[Daxos232]

Yes! Thank you all. That's the kinda stuff I couldn't think up on the spot.

[Pete Nash]

6. Combat becomes more realistic, as PCs can't realistically know exactly where all their friends are in the middle of combat (I guess actual combat is very different from moving figures on a board).

So very, very true...

[seneschal]

When I introduced my kids (now 10 and 13) to role-playing 1-2 years ago, they absolutely had to have miniatures of some sort to get into it. I wound up using household toys, little action figures, as well as actual gaming miniatures and a Hero-Clix battle mat to help them "see" the scene. They were and are extremely visually oriented. My son nearly quit a session when I forced him to lay aside a battle mat (which didn't fit the scenario) and instead set things up using kitchen bric-a-brac and verbal description. Eventually he got into it but he put up quite a bit of resistance. Now, that's from a family that reads a lot, doesn't watch network TV, and limits DVD movies to the weekends. Imagine the needs of players in the same age bracket from media-saturated households.