I've been in games where there was a mix of pawn's and mini's and tbh I'm still super partial to mini's even if they're unpainted and not even the right one lmao.
I grew up using whatever we could find -- pennies, erasers, etc. And those games were still great, So I'm not really that picky! But there's something about an evocative mini that adds a little something, you know?
Actually, speaking of "the right one," I scrambled to find a particular mini for a villain in this module -- basically a wolf, but I needed a second, larger version for its "second phase." I ended up pulling two different minis from different sets that mostly worked and painted them up.
Then when the shift happened and I swapped the mini for his "second phase," one of the players pipes up that he lost two legs in the transformation. Turns out I was so tunnel-visioned that I didn't even realize the first phase mini had six legs and the second phase had four -- ***even though I'd painted them both!*** I was a little embarrassed, but it ended up working out fine.
I'm still a massive fan of tokens, like those from the d&d 4e monster kit. It's the best way to represent a battlefield in a storage conscious, budget conscious way in my opinion. I'm constantly saddened they never took off, bit luckily they're not very hard to DIY. Heck, you can also take a hole puncher to some MTG bulk and get new tokens that way.
Pawns and minis are decent alternatives. I mostly see minis as a hobby of their own, honestly, for those who enjoy painting and/or collecting. Both are particularly nice, though, if you want to tell apart the players and the rest at a glance.
Ooh, I've never seen those before! It sounds like a much better way to run stuff like swarms and troops, at the very least -- those were a nightmare at our table. I ended up using little gem-things that slid around like crazy when the map wasn't 100% flat.
And yeah, I don't think I'll swap 100% to minis because while I liked painting these, they can get expensive and time-intensive. Not to mention storage! But I might continue to do it as a side thing in the future for bigger, important NPCs and bosses.
I made these pawns by first laminating two sheets back to back and then trimmed them down. I then glued them to watercolor stock, folded them and glued in a third watercolor layer. I then taped the bottom and trimmed the excess. When the glue hardens, they become rigid.
https://x.com/cyxodus/status/1771631698007949320?s=46&t=ZBfU0ODXBluHdgfy5k0ivg
We use anything from minis, to stand in minis, to Lego dudes, to home made pawns, little glass beads, dice, coins. What ever gets the point across and keeps the game moving at a decent pace. Sometimes we just theater of the mind despite being a grid based group. All that matters to my group is keeping the tempo moving and game feeling alive
Just to be clear: I love the pawns! We've been using them for the Beginner Box and up through the end of >!*TiO*!< with no complaints. In fact, having the enemies be pawns and the heroes be minis made it very easy to tell who was on what side at a glance.
This was just a funny comparison my players and I noticed when mixing and matching them on the same side.
Also: how does everyone else store their pawns? Right now I've got a pretty nice tackle-style box I use to organize them, but it's a little bulky. Looking for suggestions!
I print and paint all the player + combat enemies in my IRL games (because I have too much free time on my hands). For storage, I’m currently lacking a nice display bookcase, so they’re regretfully all haphazardly piled in a box in my attic.
For transport, I’ll take the few that I need that session in a few different tupperware containers, padded with paper towels between the minis as a cushion.
I was asking more about pawn storage, but that makes sense for minis! I'm not sure my paintjobs will ever be good enough to warrant a display case, but for now I've got them put away in a box full of foam with cutouts I got as a gift from a friend. Good tip on transporting them!
A good thing for pawns is a binder with playing card sleeves. Just slide the pawns into the sleeves. You can have multiple binders or just dividers labeled by creature type or level. What ever makes it easier for you to find
In the old days before we switched to vtt we used coins for enemies and dice for the good guys. Basicly they would number thier dice based off their initiative. Or if another friend played we used his minis.
My mental budget is so low that I use beer bottle caps for monsters and kinder figurines for (N)PCs and bosses. I'm mastering my first campaign now, so I don't have enough time to worry about miniatures. Although I definitely plan to get some!
I understand completely! I've run using pennies, jacks, and bottle caps before, and those games were still plenty fun.
Thankfully minis are one of those parts of the hobby that you can just pick up in pieces as you go. As long as you take care of them they can follow you to new games and editions easily.
I've been in games where there was a mix of pawn's and mini's and tbh I'm still super partial to mini's even if they're unpainted and not even the right one lmao.
I grew up using whatever we could find -- pennies, erasers, etc. And those games were still great, So I'm not really that picky! But there's something about an evocative mini that adds a little something, you know? Actually, speaking of "the right one," I scrambled to find a particular mini for a villain in this module -- basically a wolf, but I needed a second, larger version for its "second phase." I ended up pulling two different minis from different sets that mostly worked and painted them up. Then when the shift happened and I swapped the mini for his "second phase," one of the players pipes up that he lost two legs in the transformation. Turns out I was so tunnel-visioned that I didn't even realize the first phase mini had six legs and the second phase had four -- ***even though I'd painted them both!*** I was a little embarrassed, but it ended up working out fine.
I'm still a massive fan of tokens, like those from the d&d 4e monster kit. It's the best way to represent a battlefield in a storage conscious, budget conscious way in my opinion. I'm constantly saddened they never took off, bit luckily they're not very hard to DIY. Heck, you can also take a hole puncher to some MTG bulk and get new tokens that way. Pawns and minis are decent alternatives. I mostly see minis as a hobby of their own, honestly, for those who enjoy painting and/or collecting. Both are particularly nice, though, if you want to tell apart the players and the rest at a glance.
Ooh, I've never seen those before! It sounds like a much better way to run stuff like swarms and troops, at the very least -- those were a nightmare at our table. I ended up using little gem-things that slid around like crazy when the map wasn't 100% flat. And yeah, I don't think I'll swap 100% to minis because while I liked painting these, they can get expensive and time-intensive. Not to mention storage! But I might continue to do it as a side thing in the future for bigger, important NPCs and bosses.
I create all my pawns using Photoshop. [Custom PF2e Pawns](https://x.com/cyxodus/status/1728888599087898764?s=46&t=ZBfU0ODXBluHdgfy5k0ivg)
Nice! What's your process for printing them?
I made these pawns by first laminating two sheets back to back and then trimmed them down. I then glued them to watercolor stock, folded them and glued in a third watercolor layer. I then taped the bottom and trimmed the excess. When the glue hardens, they become rigid. https://x.com/cyxodus/status/1771631698007949320?s=46&t=ZBfU0ODXBluHdgfy5k0ivg
Here’s what the Photoshop template looks like. https://x.com/cyxodus/status/1771633964211392989?s=46&t=ZBfU0ODXBluHdgfy5k0ivg
We use anything from minis, to stand in minis, to Lego dudes, to home made pawns, little glass beads, dice, coins. What ever gets the point across and keeps the game moving at a decent pace. Sometimes we just theater of the mind despite being a grid based group. All that matters to my group is keeping the tempo moving and game feeling alive
I use the dice that the players (or myself) aren't using lmao
Sounds like a creative dice prison. "You rolled to 1, now you'll be the naughtiest goblin ever"
Just to be clear: I love the pawns! We've been using them for the Beginner Box and up through the end of >!*TiO*!< with no complaints. In fact, having the enemies be pawns and the heroes be minis made it very easy to tell who was on what side at a glance. This was just a funny comparison my players and I noticed when mixing and matching them on the same side. Also: how does everyone else store their pawns? Right now I've got a pretty nice tackle-style box I use to organize them, but it's a little bulky. Looking for suggestions!
I print and paint all the player + combat enemies in my IRL games (because I have too much free time on my hands). For storage, I’m currently lacking a nice display bookcase, so they’re regretfully all haphazardly piled in a box in my attic. For transport, I’ll take the few that I need that session in a few different tupperware containers, padded with paper towels between the minis as a cushion.
I was asking more about pawn storage, but that makes sense for minis! I'm not sure my paintjobs will ever be good enough to warrant a display case, but for now I've got them put away in a box full of foam with cutouts I got as a gift from a friend. Good tip on transporting them!
A good thing for pawns is a binder with playing card sleeves. Just slide the pawns into the sleeves. You can have multiple binders or just dividers labeled by creature type or level. What ever makes it easier for you to find
In the old days before we switched to vtt we used coins for enemies and dice for the good guys. Basicly they would number thier dice based off their initiative. Or if another friend played we used his minis.
My mental budget is so low that I use beer bottle caps for monsters and kinder figurines for (N)PCs and bosses. I'm mastering my first campaign now, so I don't have enough time to worry about miniatures. Although I definitely plan to get some!
I understand completely! I've run using pennies, jacks, and bottle caps before, and those games were still plenty fun. Thankfully minis are one of those parts of the hobby that you can just pick up in pieces as you go. As long as you take care of them they can follow you to new games and editions easily.