Topic: Counters

[JohnK]

What type of counters do you use at your game? I think some players use miniatures and I don't know what other options "circulate" out there!
In our game during combat we use cardboard stand-up figures. We find them not only useful but that they add some flavor. I use my skill in drawing to make some of them, and I try to mimic the style of the stand-up figures found at the MERP accessory pack.
We print new ones when needed and use small plastic clip binders to keep them standing.
Here are some of them.

[arakish]

Most often we did the same.  We would find an illustration we liked, scanned, printed on card stock, and made stand ups.  If we did not have one already made, I used colored glass nodules I would find at hobby stores to represent those who did not have a stand up (both PC and monsters).  Some also brought miniatures, but that was rare.

rmfr

[Cory Magel]

We're pretty full blown.  Miniatures usually on bases, dwarven forge stuff, generic wood toy blocks, some trees and foliage, some rock terrain.  We use small cardboard counters to number the foes like F1, F2, etc and M1, M2, etc.  I recently picked up some Gale Force Nine stuff like death markers (little white skulls or body outlines), fire walls, smoke clouds.  I have some templates for radius and range (balls and cones).

I used to have an entire tavern/bar fully painted (by a damn good competition painter) that went missing during a move .  I've rebuilt up all the parts I lost and added parts to make it an inn also, but have yet to do anything about painting them.  I'm debating buying a building online for it (which are kinda small for my taste) or building my own using foam and balsa wood.  It's rare we have a dedicated diorama like that, but an Inn/Tavern is so commonly use it's worth it in this case.

[Old Man]

I've got a largish collection of miscellany originally based on Cardboard Heroes (plus similar paper figs from other sources like the MERP box) plus assorted plastic figures scavenged from not-so-good Fantasy boxed games (Battle Masters for example). On top of that a small set of assorted metal figs collected over the years, some orcs painted by a friend, and one or two painted adventurers. Most recently, invested in the Reaper Miniatures Bones I & II Kickstarts, so have a hoard (and horde) of white plastic monsters as well.

Now only if I was actually GMing ...

[jdale]

We use miniatures. We haven't used terrain but two players in our group got the Dwarven Forge kickstarter (and at least one ordered their second pack) so we will no doubt start. I also went in for the first Reaper kickstarter and one of the others got the second. I told the players that my new campaign is not merely an excuse to buy miniatures, but it's not clear whether I was trying to convince them or myself. 

I do greatly prefer having some kind of map (rather than just a description), and I like the visual element of miniatures for that. When I have time, I also like painting them.

[VladD]

Miniatures and hex battlemap. With 6-7 players and 10+ characters (not to mention npcs and creatures) we need some way of visualizing and record keeping.
A fellow GM uses numbered and colored wooden counters. It has its merits but it looks incredibly dull.

[JohnK]

We have never used plastic models of buildings since we keep recording position and distance on millimeter paper with some drawing of trees, bushes, the inside of rooms etc.
Also I'm thinking of posting maybe some of the figures I have drawn if people on the forum could find them nice and useful. Maybe the guild companion could accept them or else the vault on the forum. There are about 100 different characters that are already drawn from trolls to a beggar, elves and horses etc. Most of them suitable for a middle earth setting.

[darb]

I started back in the day with miniatures, but after so many moves and now limited gaming budget, I have really liked the world of paper gaming aids.  For figs, I really like Arion games (although it is hard to tell if it is still running.... feeling building rant about small companies that don't communicate with customers....) but you can get their stuff on rpgnow.  Ditto worldworks games for terrain, but it is not going to produce anything new it turns out.  There is lots of good, inexpensive, transportable stuff out there.  I would like more true 'counters'  ie top down views for flat chit to put on a map, but that is just personal preference from years of tabletop wargaming.

[Marrethiel]

We are pretty low brow, I must admit.
I have a sheet of white card the size of our table ruled up with pencil in 1 inch squares and lay a sheet of glass on that. We then use white board markers for maps and tactical considerations. We also use this for PC's tracking of damage and OB/DB buffs or negatives.
Then we use dice for the "minitures", which has proven to be quite useful (we used to have minitures) as White d6 with a 1 is the orc leader, numbers 2-5 are normal orcs. The green d6 1 and 2 are the uruk hai's ... etc. This d12 is the cave troll.

We find this quick, easy and helps game play in identifying mobs.

[Cory Magel]

Dice are what we used 'back in the day'.   Very useful with different die colors and sizes.  It really is, by far, the cheaper route and probably costs even less than the plastic counters you'd by from Litko or GF9.

[Alwyn]

SJG's Cardboard Heroes!  I am still using these after all these years.