Miniatures for TOR

[Gorbulas]

A question has been on my mind since a while: exactly how do you use your miniatures in this system?

Do you just put them on the stance/journey map and enjoy their 'prop value'? That's the way I've been doing it and I think they're a great way to visualise monsters and very efficient 'size reference'.

But I gues you guys have other uses for them. I do understand that miniatures can help clarify pc/npc location in tactical situations. But as there is no real tactical movement in the game/only abstract stances there seems to be no real use for a scaled battle maps, large numbers of miniatures, etc.
Somehow I think I'm overlooking something. Could you please elaborate?

[Butterfingers]

No, you're right. That's exactly how we use them, they're just glorified tokens...

But I think in TOR miniatures can actually be more useful than in some other RPGs, as you could just use pen and paper to handle combat situations in those. In TOR, if you use the combat mat, then you'd need at least some sort of tokens, dice or whatever. So minis are good, and you can see instantly who's who.

And we play other games too, like MERP, HARN, Mythras and others, where we use miniatures, and most of the same minis have utility in all them. It's a matter of habit, I guess. There aren't many games where we don't use minis, but Call of Cthulhu is one such game.

[Glorelendil]

Playing TOR with minis is kind of like having a particle accelerator. Having one wouldn't actually help me do anything that I do, but whatever I was doing would be more fun for having it.

[Rich H]

Yeah, agree with this. The miniatures we use in our game are really just fancy token for use on the Journey and Combat Stance sheets during play. And a very nice job they do, too!

[Majestic]

So you're saying they're sort of like many American celebrities. They don't actually do anything; they're just there to be beautiful.

[Butterfingers]

Well, they do have a function besides just looking pretty, but you could use any tokens. And tokens are necessary with the combat mat. But as far as tokens go, they're pretty handy.

One might also say that its nice to have some sort of visualisation of what your companion looks like, some like to draw a picture, others like to paint a miniature etc. I've even heard of people dressing up as their character... how weird is that! (joke)

Other people find these type of visualisations too limiting and feel that they make you focus your attention in the wrong things (external rather in your mind and imagination). I say use what you enjoy most.

[Rich H]

Not sure if you're still looking Butterfingers, but I bought a couple of sets of these for thralls:



Paint them up in a palid skin tone and I think they'll work without the need to alter.

[Butterfingers]

Yeah, I've seen them and like them - but I've already started converting some Victrix nude gauls for the the purpose. I will dress them up a bit though.

[Matt Clark]

A question has been on my mind since a while: exactly how do you use your miniatures in this system?

Do you just put them on the stance/journey map and enjoy their 'prop value'? That's the way I've been doing it and I think they're a great way to visualise monsters and very efficient 'size reference'.

But I gues you guys have other uses for them. I do understand that miniatures can help clarify pc/npc location in tactical situations. But as there is no real tactical movement in the game/only abstract stances there seems to be no real use for a scaled battle maps, large numbers of miniatures, etc.
Somehow I think I'm overlooking something. Could you please elaborate?

Unfortunately I didn't get to the point where I could convince the RPG group from my early adulthood to get back together again but there is a complementary and aesthetic benefit to using figures as more than just fancy tokens... I just never got chance to try it out as an LM...

I built a diorama/game board of the battle stance chart on which the figures are placed. I think having figures on a chart is rather jarring and is neither one thing nor the other but certainly practical as you have already pointed out. But, I did find it was possible to represent the battle stances visually without the need for text and boxes. More than this, in the same way that using words to tell and construct narratives is a creative and satisfying principle, so also is projecting one's imagination into the construction of scenery on which carefully painted and evocative figures sit well in and (in my opinion) serves to complementi or even add to or evoke the imaginal aspect for players and LM alike.

My experience has been primarily in wargaming Tolkien battles (amongst other more historical wargames) and creating a visual look to correspond to my image of Middle earth. Representing figures relationally to one another always carries some abstraction of distances and all one can do is convey proximity that allows something specific like a hand to hand fight to take place - not how long necessarily it takes to get into the position relative to one another. It has always seemed odd to me that, at least in wargames, people would go to great lengths to create fabulous scenery and figures but then use plastic blue and red tokens and written labels which then detract from it when you can also use a more pleasing visual reference.

Now if I only had the tech know how to post images here I would do but I like to think my diorama was flexible enough to create different scenes with some simple additions or removal of the elements. This was nothing more sophisticated than having 4-5 individual, removable trees on the small board to represent a wood/Mirkwood. You then take these trees off and you then see the underlying board which has been built up, textured and flocked (stream, cave, raised ground etc)- then it is 'any place' representing wild lands. Onto this board were lightly drawn a series of concentric circles, the middle one being representative of forward stance, the next open, then defensive then rearward but an abstraction.

I built mine out of a mouse mat and use 15mm scale figures. Minimal space taken up on the table allowing for the other props like maps, scrolls, dice bags bought from the Viking centre, etc. I'll post a link to an image later when I get chance.

I edited this post a little for further clarification...

[Rich H]

Yeah, I've seen them and like them - but I've already started converting some Victrix nude gauls for the the purpose. I will dress them up a bit though.

Yep, no one likes to see dangly bits!