I confess... after becoming a GM for my group (and following the lead of one of my friends), I dug out all the Micro Machines figurines from Kenner. Anyone remember, the ones about 15mm high?

I find they're incredibly useful for combat and establishing position even better than the 2D cardboard tokens. I've got a bunch of those action figure sets on my wishlist just so I can have them on-hand for battles in the campaign (especially stormtroopers!)

But who else would want them? Anyone have a want/need for figurines that small for gaming? Anyone know where to get some?

Were they really 15mm? 15mm is a common wargaming scale; plenty of sci fi metals available that tall.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/15mm-sci-fi

I say 15mm because when I eyeballed some miniatures figures they seemed about as big as the micromachines. The MM ones may be a little smaller when I think about it...

That being the case, anyone have any good recommendations for proxies in the star wars universe? Stormtroopers at 15mm would be awesome.

I'd be happy with some cardboard pawns akin to the Pathfinder ones. Reasonably priced and a horde available in a box? Yes please!

I'd love a few sets of pre-painted minis like FFG's Cthulhu games line.

I actually like this system precisely because it doesn't call for figuring out positions and distances and the like.

That said, I'd probably still collect them.

I've already offered up my Micro Machine ship collection for use in our Star Wars games, though I confess to lacking enough copies of each fighter, and my poor Tie Fighters haven't fared well crammed in a box with everything else. On the bright side, I've now got components for Uglies!

For individual characters, though, I have plenty of Micro Machines and D20 Star Wars miniatures. We don't plan to worry too much about positioning or map use, but we all agree that it is more fun to play with figures in hand.

I use mine for abstract narrative positioning and player locations on maps. I believe having these maps on hand helps inform player decisions on where they'd like to go. They also have some use in combat to establish range bands and where people are when combat's occuring. About the only "special rules" I envoke when it comes to positioning is whether someone gets a boost or setback die- usually the latter if there's someone in the way of a target (like tackling or engaged with the back to the shooter player).

I also use a dry-erase mat on which I can quickly draw a rough map, on which we use the figure tokens that came with the Beginner Box.

I've found with our players it has really helped visualize a scene if they have a very rough understanding of the environment.

I'd love some Edge of the Empire miniatures and/or more cardboard tokens!

Tokens, figures, beads, pennies... doesn't make any difference to me. All I ask is that you don't start adding things like free steps or measuring reach to see if someone got close enough for free attacks, please!!! Ugh...

I'm VERY happy that EotE makes me imagine action scenes with jumps, flips, dodges, running around, etc. Certain other games really just made me imagine checkers.

I wish the vocal minority hadn't pitched such a fit in '09 over WFRP 3E. Every day I see requests for cards, stand-ups or tokens, and other bits that FFG is generally known for. If that system had received some louder support from the folks who actually love it I can only imagine the cool optional accessories that could have been made available for Star Wars when this line launched. Instead I feel like a small band of pdf zealots and campfire Euro traditionalists at least had a small part to play in what seems like a product placement marketing retreat on FFG's part. An optional box of standups, npc stat cards, and map packs would be gobbled up by this community. Fans are making them already. Other games like Pathfinder and Shadowrun see the opportunity and are making products players want. I hope FFG ignores the irrelevant backlash from earlier attempts to bring components into rpg play and offers some interesting options to this line. The spec cards seem like they're testing the waters, so I guess we'll see.

I'll now sit back, grab some popcorn, and wait for the Usual Three to show up and tell me how an rpg needs nothing but a stack of index cards, a single d20, and a pack of marshmallows. They're not wrong, of course, but they're also why you don't have a box of npc standups in front of you right now

Cheers.

When I found EotE and realised THIS was a Star Wars game I wanted to play, I started to buy up some of the Star Wars Minis packs. These can be picked up around here fairly cheaply. A box of 12 boosters for $50 provides a good supply of models. For space combat you just can't go past the X-Wing models which includes most of the iconic ships.

Then my game started and my friends and I play online. My gaming buddies have scattered, so our get together includes folks from Singapore, Townsville,, Tamworth and the other side of Sydney. The tokens and maps have proved to be ideal and my collection of minis sits there waiting.

As such I tend to think as a GM do what works for you. If you have a picture that paints 1,000 words then use a map and mini's and save 1,000 words. If you can explain your location to the players satisfaction in 50 words play that way, even better if they understand that they can provide their own detail to the environment, because then they can make the environment to suit the narrative of their actions.

Would I buy FFG minis? Probably not, since I have a boatload of WotC minis that are perfectly serviceable. However I wouldn't turn up my nose at them being made either.

When I found EotE and realised THIS was a Star Wars game I wanted to play, I started to buy up some of the Star Wars Minis packs. These can be picked up around here fairly cheaply. A box of 12 boosters for $50 provides a good supply of models. For space combat you just can't go past the X-Wing models which includes most of the iconic ships.

Then my game started and my friends and I play online. My gaming buddies have scattered, so our get together includes folks from Singapore, Townsville,, Tamworth and the other side of Sydney. The tokens and maps have proved to be ideal and my collection of minis sits there waiting.

As such I tend to think as a GM do what works for you. If you have a picture that paints 1,000 words then use a map and mini's and save 1,000 words. If you can explain your location to the players satisfaction in 50 words play that way, even better if they understand that they can provide their own detail to the environment, because then they can make the environment to suit the narrative of their actions.

Spot on.

I'm currently using a buddys old collection of WotC minis. They're pretty terrible, really, as far as minis go... but there's enough nostalgia there that makes them fun to use, even if some of the lightsaber blades and gaffi sticks are in the shape of an S now

The x-wing models of course are perfect for space combat. I'm hoping to make a homemade version of the Heroclix 3d battle boards to solve some of the 3d spatial requests my table have.

We built our characters out of Legos. They are a bit big for the maps, but we have a lot of them.

I would LOVE pawns similar to what Paizo has put out. While they're not as "cool" as the figurines, they provide an incredible value for the quantity and and quality of what you get.

I don't really know how much we'd use the pawns (as our EoE game hasn't even started yet) due to the narrative nature of combat, but I'd love to have the option for when it made sense.

I somehow inherited a collection of 300+ Star Wars miniatures, so each of my PC's has selected a unique minifig for their player, and we tend to just use that + some hastily drawn maps or legos or even just table debris (beer bottles as trees, etc.) to abstract out range bands and rough positioning.

When we first started I had nice maps printed out from some of the online sources, but not only was that incredibly time consuming (if fun), I also found it limited my players imaginations. They would only really use things if they saw them in the map, whereas now if I describe a room with computers and fuel tankers, they'll say things like: "Is there a fuel line going through the room?" to which the answer is almost always "yes, there are many, the room is now on fire."

I also will build little speeders and such out of lego if I don't have the appropriate model. My players (all in their 30's) really seem to dig them.

Forgot I had some pics on my phone, I was super lucky and got a 8' by 4' table from work that's wonderful for gaming, even with 6 players, myself GM'ing, our podcast recording gear (we record our sessions), sheets, dice, maps and figures. Admittedly adding beer and snacks makes for a pretty full table, but is worth it

I've used minis and stuff like that in other games, but a common problem is that it takes up a lot of table space, which we use to have food and snacks on, in addition to the dice and character sheets... it makes for a messy situation. I have tons of the WotC minis, but they're all stashed in the loft...

I would LOVE pawns similar to what Paizo has put out. While they're not as "cool" as the figurines, they provide an incredible value for the quantity and and quality of what you get.

I don't really know how much we'd use the pawns (as our EoE game hasn't even started yet) due to the narrative nature of combat, but I'd love to have the option for when it made sense.

The Warhammer standups I mentioned earlier are exactly this, except with the usual FFG heavy stock. Even with combat being mostly narrative I use them extensively, especially in large combats or environment-heavy scenarios to keep track of range and relative positioning. i love and appreciate a good TotM but sometimes there's simply too much for me to keep track of, and the standups are a fantastic tool that lets me put my GM mind in other places during the session. Since actual grid distance is replaced with abstract positioning, I use beads between characters to denote range band and they take up very little space on the table.

I'm VERY happy that EotE makes me imagine action scenes with jumps, flips, dodges, running around, etc. Certain other games really just made me imagine checkers.

agreed. i wouldn't oppose FFG for making minis for those who want them, but i really like how they have the rules as narrative, not measureing angles and such (despite my love of math). if minis, maps, etc. can help your game, great, just as long as it doesn't stiffle the imagination.

I've been gaming since the 70's, and I've never known a game to not be made a little more clear by having something to represent where everyone is in relation to everyone else, and the environment. I understand playing out the scenes in your imagination, and I even agree that too much mini's emphasis can break you out of the scene. However, I hate explaining a scene in detail, and then having the first player describe something impossible by the layout in my imagination. Mini's and maps clear all this up instantly.

They don't even have to be used all the time, but they are a great tool for when you do need a little more tracking.

(Plus, I really like to have a lot of fluid and dynamic movement to action scenes, and mini's/tokens/etc help me remember where every Stormtrooper is, which blast doors have been closed, etc.)

Plus, Mini's and maps are like little toys that we still get to play with as adults!

If FFG didn't make actual miniatures, I would definitely buy up a nice heavy cardboard set of Ships, Vehicles, and characters/monsters. Those would be awesome!

I'm also relieved that EotE isn't mini-centric, but I also (like many of you) have scads of the WotC ones and would definitely use them to help lay out a combat scene, even if just for the 'pizazz' factor. It would be nice to justify the purchase! Drawing a basic map and saying, "you can move one 8" pipe cleaner in any direction" is about as far as I would go.

FFG is in a funny position, here. No doubt they would like to sell us minis, but they must also know that many of us are sitting on 5-or-so years' worth of WotC minis. How can they better that? I don't know, but it would take an amazing gimmick to make me buy a new line of SW minis all over again...

I'm firmly planted with Grimmshade as far as experience and usage. I think many players have a very limited and particular view on minis based on Pathfinder or D&D 4. You say "mini" and people automatically think about grids, movement rules, and "board game" play. That's just one tiny slice of the pie. Even my best Mind Theater players are hard pressed to keep up with everything in an urban combat when there are 5 player characters, 10 allies, 20 enemies, and environment/terrain features all over the scene. In-depth fleet battles with AoR will no doubt fall under the same spotlight. The whole abstract nature of narrative play allows for huge, expansive encounters, not simply 4 heroes vs. a cube in a hallway type scenarios. Having a small, aesthetically pleasing visual representation on the table generally encourages faster, smoother narrative that focuses on the actual engagement, rather than details of how the stage is set. My table sees a nice mix. Many times there's nothing on the table outside of character sheets and the whole thing is worked out verbally. Other times we have a table full of minis and maps. The worst thing I could do as a GM, in my mind, is subscribe to one method or another exclusively and force it on my players. As always, your mileage may vary.

Forgot I had some pics on my phone, I was super lucky and got a 8' by 4' table from work that's wonderful for gaming, even with 6 players, myself GM'ing, our podcast recording gear (we record our sessions), sheets, dice, maps and figures. Admittedly adding beer and snacks makes for a pretty full table, but is worth it

I like the snowball mic. It's what I use for "rough recording" at home for my songwriting.

What's the podcast? I'd love to listen!

I'm firmly planted with Grimmshade as far as experience and usage. I think many players have a very limited and particular view on minis based on Pathfinder or D&D 4. You say "mini" and people automatically think about grids, movement rules, and "board game" play. That's just one tiny slice of the pie. Even my best Mind Theater players are hard pressed to keep up with everything in an urban combat when there are 5 player characters, 10 allies, 20 enemies, and environment/terrain features all over the scene. In-depth fleet battles with AoR will no doubt fall under the same spotlight. The whole abstract nature of narrative play allows for huge, expansive encounters, not simply 4 heroes vs. a cube in a hallway type scenarios. Having a small, aesthetically pleasing visual representation on the table generally encourages faster, smoother narrative that focuses on the actual engagement, rather than details of how the stage is set. My table sees a nice mix. Many times there's nothing on the table outside of character sheets and the whole thing is worked out verbally. Other times we have a table full of minis and maps. The worst thing I could do as a GM, in my mind, is subscribe to one method or another exclusively and force it on my players. As always, your mileage may vary.

balanced and flexible. do you do yoga, keeop?