Minis vs Tokens Part 1: The Eternal Struggle

*Note: this was meant to be a stand-alone article, but as I was writing it I realized that it was too much for one blog post. I've split it in two. This entry presents a Problem. The sequel will provide a Solution. Stay tuned. -DS

A certain topic has caused me much thought and stirred considerable disquiet within my DM soul. Ever since the Red Box Dungeons and Dragons 4e Starter Set was released many moons ago, I have been stricken with a conflict regarding how to adorn my tabletop. The main question of this inner discussion is this: how should one represent Monsters at the game table? Pre-Red Box, my answer was easy. D&D Miniatures! But when I cracked open the Red Box, Wizards of the Coast threw me a curveball: D&D monster tokens.

At first I dismissed them: a weak substitute and something to be tossed aside. I started handing them out as Action Points at the table, so my oft-forgetful players could keep track of whether they had spent one or not. The idea of tokens as monsters at my table was preposterous. I had tons of miniatures. Why would I need tokens?

But then I bought the Shadowfell box. And the Gardmore Abbey box. This Christmas I received both Monster Vaults. Now, suddenly, I had tokens out the wazoo. What was I going to do with them? And why did I find them so… eerily captivating?

What is your secret, you one-inch-square meerkat?

I’ve since battled with myself on this subject, and reached a few conclusions re: Minis vs Tokens. I will attempt to boil them down to a few points here, and hopefully by the end of this series I will be able to give some advice on how to incorporate either or both Minis and Tokens into your game.

First on the Chopping Block...

D&D MINIATURES

PROS 

Miniatures are the best table aids a DM has in his 4e game. They provide a three-dimensional scale representation of the monster the Players are fighting. These monsters are usually in way-cool poses: swinging axes, bursting into flames, raining death on the PCs etc. and so forth. They provide an accurate PC to Monster ratio (usually: if your Player has a comically oversized custom Reapermini job, it might not be so precise. But most of the time you're good). 

And let’s be honest here: they’re pretty. They look great, perform well, and are everything you could ask for in a visualization tool. Miniatures are the high-water mark for quality Monster Representation in Dungeons and Dragons.

But then why am I even debating this? Why don’t I just shut up now?

Because there are also…

CONS

Miniatures are expensive. If you buy them in traditional booster packs the prices range from about $15-$40 a pack. And for this exorbitant price, you are only receiving at most 6 miniatures. While the recent Lords of Madness expansion pack guaranteed you one huge miniature, in that pack you couldn’t see any of the visible miniatures, whereas in any of the older releases you got to see at least one. That means that more than a few of us got more Iron Golems than we asked for. The randomization of the miniatures coupled with the cost made them extremely hard and expensive to collect.

But if you only fight that Wizard who exclusively 

deals in Iron Golems and Rime Hounds, you're set.

Another issue is that not every monster received the Miniatures treatment. Sure, I got plenty of Goblins and Dead Villagers and Foulspawn. But how many Devas did I find? Or gnolls? Or Demogorgons? Short answer? None. That meant that if I wanted to include a race, but didn’t have enough miniatures of that type, I had to either scrap the idea and switch it to fit the minis I had, or I had to use substitutes. The second option worked, but my players saw what I was doing and made jokes at my collection’s expense. 

One of these Kobolds is not like the other!

Suddenly the Tribe of Kenkus that looks suspiciously like a half-dozen Goblins isn't as mysterious or awesome anymore. And the encounter suffers because everyone keeps saying “I attack the Goblin with the Crossbow” when it’s supposed to be a Kenku Wing Mage. See what I mean? Totally lame.

In addition, Minis are difficult to store and to transport. This isn’t as huge a deal for me anymore, as I now play exclusively out of the home. But when I was stuck for a space a few months back and had to cart my minis around with me it was difficult and stressful. I was always worried they were going to get lost. Some of them did. I can’t even imagine if I went to conventions and brought them with me. I’d have to be insane.

The final blow against Miniatures: they’re addictive. The collectible nature of them had me crazy with combing ebay for perfect miniatures, buying random packs “just in case”, and hoping I’d get lucky. The truth is that they’re too beautiful. You want more, and you want them all. Which is good for Wizards of the Coast, but bad for my bank account. Not worth it to get my Miniatures fix.

Yeesh. That’s a lot of cons. Let’s leave this for now, and look at the competition.

D&D MONSTER TOKENS

PROS

First and foremost, Monster Tokens provide an abundance that miniatures do not. And they’re cheap. If you buy the Monster Vault, you are getting ten sheets of high-quality, durable, and attractive-looking tokens along with an incredible book. Even better than that: very monster in the book has a token. Every single one. That means with one forty dollar purchase you instantly have a whole arsenal of Monsters to chuck at the party. Sure, you can’t have ten liches at once, and some types of monster use the same token, but you can have a clan of Orcs at your disposal instantly.

The tokens are cross-compatible with a lot of the new products coming out, as well. With the Monster Vault, the Dungeon Tile Master Sets, and the Gardmore Abbey box, you have absolutely everything you need to run the Gardmore Abbey adventure as it was written and intended to be run. That's what I call D&D Essentials!

And the tokens are nice. Both the glossy Monster Vault and the grittier MV Nentir Vale tokens look great on the table. You can write on them with a dry-erase marker, cutting down on the number of tokens you need on-hand during play. And when your monster gets bloodied, boom: flip ‘em over, and you’ve got yourself a bloodied monster.

Now we're in real trouble.

On top of all that, they’re extremely portable. I can fit five products worth of tokens into the original box that the Monster Vault came in and pull them out as I need. They’re lightweight, thin, and very easy to transport. Suddenly tokens aren’t sounding half bad.

Too bad that these, too, have their…

CONS

They’re two-dimensional. This sucks in a lot of ways. Which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering that, unless you have Dwarven Forge or some other comparable 3D terrain, you’re playing on 2D Dungeon Tiles and Battle Maps anyway. So why should 2D monsters be a problem?

Easy. Precedent. 

If you’re like me, by now your players are used to Miniatures. They’re used to you whipping out a new and exciting 3D bad guy for them to fight each session. They likely have custom-made 3D miniatures for their PCs that they like to put next to your 3D monster when they’re fighting it in 3D combat. You've given them nothing but 3D the whole campaign so far. You've set a precedent.

Now, suddenly you put down a 2D monster token, and the players are non-plussed.

"......well, this sucks."

The token doesn’t offer the scale, grandeur, or physical presence that a miniature offers. While it does have a picture of the monster, it often doesn’t show the whole monster’s body. So it’s harder to visualize the monster just from the token on the table. In short, it doesn’t drop your players into the world in the same way.

Because this...

...will never be as awesome as this.

And finally, while the tokens provide options for all the Monster Vault creatures, they do not provide monsters for the entirety of the past releases. That means that, even though the Monster Vault is pretty comprehensive, I still won’t have my tribe of Kenkus. 

"Guys, go home. The dream is dead."

For me, this isn’t as huge a deal, since I’ve come to realize that almost all pre-Monster Vault monsters are pretty broken in the PCs favor, and not very fun to run. I can see, however, that this would be a huge problem for some people, and so I am addressing it here.

So where does this leave us?

Miniatures are beautiful, but they have huge limitations. Tokens are supremely versatile, but can’t even hope to live up to the legacy of Miniatures. At least, not alone…

In the next article, I’ll look at the issues presented here. I’ll lock Tokens and Minis into a room together. And hopefully, through extensive therapy, the three of us can come to a compromise that works for everybody, and hopefully provides some applicable advice for your table at home. Until next time, just keep gaming. 

Whatever you use at the table.

-DS