Ideas for broader sets of miniatures
Oct 17, 2014 4:56:35 GMT -9
Sirrob01, Vermin King, and 2 more like this
Post by mproteau (Paper Realms) on Oct 17, 2014 4:56:35 GMT -9
Sorry if this is the wrong forum - I picked this over general discussion...
The topic of bridging the gender gap in minis comes up often enough when folks see human minis, but I wanted to pitch some ideas for broadening the scope of the types of minis folks might be interested in making. Most of the monster figures I see (and I'm not saying ALL of the figures I see - there are always exceptions) are geared towards the battle aspects of RPGs. It paints a very narrow view of what existence might really be like, and I think limits role playing with minis.
I often play with my kids, and focus more on the role playing than the game play. If we can act our way through a great scenario without worrying about dice rolls and charts and what not, that's great. I am also fully aware that you can play-act through anything without minis - we do it all the time just pacing around the kitchen while doing the dishes and stuff. I'm just throwing out some ideas.
Some questions I would ask:
Do the creatures you're making just appear as battle-aged, weapon wielding anthropomorphic men? Or are they creatures that are born, mature, and die? Are they creatures that live in some social structure?
Here are some ideas:
Even if you envision a monster as genderless, they may not be ageless. For example, you might include one of your humanoid creatures clearly aged and battle scarred. Perhaps your boss orc is missing a limb or an eye. Perhaps there is an elder of a tribe that is protected by the rest.
For any creatures that are hatched, how about some eggs? What do they look like when they hatch? You can imagine a protective parent watching over the eggs when the party arrives. Or perhaps the treasure is in the nest. Maybe the giant eagle arrives to find the eggs have hatched around the party, and they try to pretend to be baby eagles to avoid being found out. Mmmm... regurgitated deer meat.
If they're a creature of society, are different social classes represented? Are there different professions that could be represented? Perhaps there are families of creatures in a camp - kids playing/fighting, adults cooking/hunting/laboring.
Maybe it would be a welcomed feature to have half as many different figures that are in different poses. Rather than have eight of a particular monster, have four of them in different levels of activity (battle ready, at ease, resting, sitting...)
I realize there's a lot of work in making minis, and perhaps putting together a handful of NPC-level creatures with each set is not financially worth it. What do others think? I love the idea that not every monster is standing around with a sword in each hand and drool coming from their mouth.
The topic of bridging the gender gap in minis comes up often enough when folks see human minis, but I wanted to pitch some ideas for broadening the scope of the types of minis folks might be interested in making. Most of the monster figures I see (and I'm not saying ALL of the figures I see - there are always exceptions) are geared towards the battle aspects of RPGs. It paints a very narrow view of what existence might really be like, and I think limits role playing with minis.
I often play with my kids, and focus more on the role playing than the game play. If we can act our way through a great scenario without worrying about dice rolls and charts and what not, that's great. I am also fully aware that you can play-act through anything without minis - we do it all the time just pacing around the kitchen while doing the dishes and stuff. I'm just throwing out some ideas.
Some questions I would ask:
Do the creatures you're making just appear as battle-aged, weapon wielding anthropomorphic men? Or are they creatures that are born, mature, and die? Are they creatures that live in some social structure?
Here are some ideas:
Even if you envision a monster as genderless, they may not be ageless. For example, you might include one of your humanoid creatures clearly aged and battle scarred. Perhaps your boss orc is missing a limb or an eye. Perhaps there is an elder of a tribe that is protected by the rest.
For any creatures that are hatched, how about some eggs? What do they look like when they hatch? You can imagine a protective parent watching over the eggs when the party arrives. Or perhaps the treasure is in the nest. Maybe the giant eagle arrives to find the eggs have hatched around the party, and they try to pretend to be baby eagles to avoid being found out. Mmmm... regurgitated deer meat.
If they're a creature of society, are different social classes represented? Are there different professions that could be represented? Perhaps there are families of creatures in a camp - kids playing/fighting, adults cooking/hunting/laboring.
Maybe it would be a welcomed feature to have half as many different figures that are in different poses. Rather than have eight of a particular monster, have four of them in different levels of activity (battle ready, at ease, resting, sitting...)
I realize there's a lot of work in making minis, and perhaps putting together a handful of NPC-level creatures with each set is not financially worth it. What do others think? I love the idea that not every monster is standing around with a sword in each hand and drool coming from their mouth.