mac40k said:
I'm only using minis in place of the standees. As the existing system is abstract, there is no need for terrain or maps. The minis are only used to show relative positions and ranges. I will describe the setting. If a picture is necessary, I will sketch a rough layout on a small piece of paper, but I will not be using terrain or maps drawn to scale of the minis as I don't want to have to define ranges in scale. Since there is already so much other stuff on the table for this game, the beauty of the abstract system is that two minis with 3 counters between them are at long range, but don't take up more than a few inches of play area. With a scale map, you have to start positioning figs halfway across the table to represent long range and that really isn't necessary in this system.
I do the same; though I use the standees for NPCs and "boss" type monsters (or vice versa depending on whether I have enough models). I usually have a map or sketch of the area for flavor, but I don't prescribe distances.
Lastly, instead of littering the table with multiple range tokens, I use colored glass beads (I have tons of things like glass beads, colored cubes, chits, etc. from years of proto-typing board games). I use green = close, yellow = medium, red = long, blue = extreme.
