Miniatures for Star Wars RPG

[fjw70 298]

If FFG makes minis, please make them cheap.

 

Unless they're made of cardboard, there's no way to make this a reality.

 

Read this part:

 

I don't need expensive works of art when making a collection for RPG use.

 

d20 minis are an example of "cheap". FFG X-wing are beautiful, but expensive, "works of art". That's the difference I was going for. I don't want to spend $10 per RPG mini. I just would prefer the cheaper minis as opposed to the high end ones since I tend to buy much more when it's for an RPG (I can field a full platoon of Stormtroopers using d20).

Yes, price and usability are much more important than quality. I like that the WotC minis are cheap and durable. I would like some "green army men" type Star Wars minus that were compatible with the WotC minis.

I would be interested in more minis.

[rgrove0172 140]

After nearly 30 years as a miniatures war gamer Ive found that including miniatures in a Roleplaying game just distracts from the atmosphere. Instead of "visualizing" the setting, the players concentrate on the damned table top. Same issue with D&D, Savage Worlds or any other game Ive ever played.

 

My advice, save yourself a ton of money and use a dry erase board if you absolutely HAVE to show how some elements of the situation relate. Otherwise, leave it in your heads and play.

[MTaylor 137]

My players love the fact there are no minis and no battle maps.

 

The hobby in general seems to be moving away the wargamey aspect of things like D&D4 and Pathfinder.   Games like One Ring, 13th Age and D&D5 all have 'theatre of the mind' as default in combat.

[r2trooper 1,242]

I once had just a white board and some dry erase marker dots to show the relative position of some enemies. It was nothing definite and scientific in terms of distance or "squares" or range. Just a quick idea of where people where at. A player had thought two dots were really close together and wanted to use a special attack on them both like auto fire or something. I said no they are not that close, and then an argument ensued over how close the **** dots were on the white board and "what he would do if he were the GM". Needless it did not end well. So even when not using minis, things can get out of hand when trying to "help" players visualize the battlefield. At times I guess this can, at times, it can really bring the game to a grinding halt. It really depends on the players, the GM, and the mood of the day... For the most part, I find using this stuff does not help to tell the story though. Now mind you I have dropped some serious money and time into Hirst Arts molds and plaster casting stuff!!! So I'm not just saying boo no minis for the sake of being a big 'ol meanie.

[tenchi2a 433]

I tend to use the star wars maps my friend has

they are square based, but with the idea that every one or two is a range band they work fine.

two for PC

one for vehicles 

[tenchi2a 433]

example 

[x][x]= short 

[x][0][x] or [x][0][0][x] =med

[x][0][0][0][x] or [x][0][0][0][0][x] =long

[x][0][0][0][0][0][x] or more = extreme 

extreme and out of LOS = disengaged 

[Concise Locket 1,027]

d20 minis are an example of "cheap". FFG X-wing are beautiful, but expensive, "works of art". That's the difference I was going for. I don't want to spend $10 per RPG mini. I just would prefer the cheaper minis as opposed to the high end ones since I tend to buy much more when it's for an RPG (I can field a full platoon of Stormtroopers using d20).

D20 minis are/were cheap because when they were in production they were in randomized boxes. The mixture of common/uncommon/rare figs evened out into a decent price point, though you couldn't control what you could find. D20 after-market minis (which they all are now) are cheap because they aren't in high demand and the material is low quality (highly rubberized plastic).

You want a blister packed miniature of the exact miniature you want? Expect to pay $10+ per for it. FFG doesn't do cheap, especially on a high license-fee IP like Star Wars.

[Donovan Morningfire 8,667]

Yeah, WotC was able to crank out so many minis because of the collectible/random factor that largely assured that most people would be buying multiple boosters, either in the hopes of pulling those rare/very rare figures they were hoping for, or having stuff to sell/trade on the after-market.

 

But the quality was pretty low, especially for their aborted attempt at a starship minis game, and if it's one thing that FFG doesn't do, it's low quality products.  The models for X-Wing and Imperial Assault are proof enough of that.

[CrunchyDemon 263]

https://www.google.com/search?q=star+wars+paper+miniatures&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY2N-7nZnKAhUK1WMKHWHSDegQsAQIHA&biw=1680&bih=890

 

I like these.  Fold em in half, weigh them down with a paperclip.  We use cardstock from Walmart and scotch tape.

[bilosta 9]

why you want mins. for RPG? it is stupid.

[Daeglan 3,812]

why you want mins. for RPG? it is stupid.

Because nothing in my experience creates more arguments than a GM and a Player having different opinions on where everything in the environment is. A visual representation of where everything is is far faster and more accurate than asking where everything is. And saying it is stupid is not a good way to back up your point of view.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Daeglan

[Sturn 2,299]

why you want mins. for RPG? it is stupid.

 

Decades of millions of $'s spent on millions of minis for RPGs. All of those hundreds of thousands of mini-using RPGers were just stupid? No other reason you could think of to use them other then just stupidity?

[rgrove0172 140]

Guess it depends on the group. Ive never had an argument pop up that couldn't be solved by one sentence by the GM. "Im running this one guys." end of argument

 

Miniatures are cool, no denying that but to me fundamentally change the experience of roleplaying, and not always in a good way. For some they are a must though so have fun but are a waste of money as far as Im concerned and actually detract from the imagined elements.

[mouthymerc 4,478]

why you want mins. for RPG? it is stupid.

Pot? Kettle? Black? Any of these things ring a bell?

 

Let's not insult how fellow geeks and nerds choose to enjoy their hobby. I've seen some interesting and some (to me) not so interesting concepts that people go with in this game. But I would never call someone stupid for doing so. Might discuss it, but not tell them they are doing it wrong or anything else.

[Daeglan 3,812]

Guess it depends on the group. Ive never had an argument pop up that couldn't be solved by one sentence by the GM. "Im running this one guys." end of argument

 

Miniatures are cool, no denying that but to me fundamentally change the experience of roleplaying, and not always in a good way. For some they are a must though so have fun but are a waste of money as far as Im concerned and actually detract from the imagined elements.

I have never had a GM be able to give me the situational awareness my character should be able to have with theater of the mind. Which is why i generally ask for maps and where the bad guys are and were significant features in the environment are, 

[Donovan Morningfire 8,667]

 

Guess it depends on the group. Ive never had an argument pop up that couldn't be solved by one sentence by the GM. "Im running this one guys." end of argument

 

Miniatures are cool, no denying that but to me fundamentally change the experience of roleplaying, and not always in a good way. For some they are a must though so have fun but are a waste of money as far as Im concerned and actually detract from the imagined elements.

I have never had a GM be able to give me the situational awareness my character should be able to have with theater of the mind. Which is why i generally ask for maps and where the bad guys are and were significant features in the environment are, 

 

I used to be a "theater of the mind" GM for a great many years, and I've also made good use of WotC's minis for my Star Wars games.

 

To be honest, both approaches have their merits and flaws.  Use what works best for your group, and have fun.

[SoCalGamer 3]

Yes, I would love to buy those minis.

Assuming they were reasonably priced.

[drbraininajar 142]

I'd buy a set of the cardboard tokens matched to the Adversary Decks. That would be stellar.

[KingStannis 1]

Didn't want to start a whole thread on this but here is a little BB unit I did for my daughter's character. It is just a wooden necklace bead and a screw. I dolloped some rubber cement on the head to smooth it out.