THE FANTASY TRIP - *KickStarter Campaign* Schedule

[Skarg]

I've always preferred TFT flat counters to miniatures or cardboard heroes.

They're very functional for TFT/GURPS where the facing matters and (at least in the battles we've often had in our games) there tend to be piles of dead and grappling bodies and other objects in the same hexes, which a 3D standing counter doesn't handle very well.

Importantly, flat counters are also much much easier to create, especially with modern computers and printers. And that makes having the pieces for lots of situations much easier and cheaper, and lets GMs make fun custom counters and stuff relatively easily instead of shopping for an painting miniatures, etc.

The Melee dropped weapon counters I like but they are tiny and fiddly. The Cardboard Heroes style flat weapon counters were larger and so easier to handle.

What I think would be ideal would be counters with backs that also show a body silhouette with the same ID as the front. Especially cool (though this could just be a fan project) would be if a two-sided PDF could be made without IDs but with a variety of body silhouettes on the backs, in a format that works to take to a copy shop... though I don't know if that's actually yet something that will reliably work.

[JLV]

When we used Cardboard Heroes, we generally used the flat counters to represent dead bodies (and, of course, removed the stand-up figure when that situation occurred). Never had much of a problem with it...

[Skarg]

Yes it's not a huge problem since when figures stop standing you can... not use them and use flat counters instead, as you say... :-)

I've even made my own cardboard heroes to fit in in games using them and/or miniatures, though it's rather more work than making flat counters.

[JLV]

To my mind, the biggest issue is with the dropped weapon counters. Those things really DO need an upgrade! ;-)

[tbeard1999]

Originally Posted by Rick_Smith

Hi everyone, Carnifex.
I hope that the miniatures are something that you can optionally buy in to. I have sold all of my miniatures (I specialized at one time in Demons and weird horrors). I have no desire to spend a lot of money on miniatures that I simply will have to dispose of.

Warm regards, Rick.

Hey Rick. Even if you can’t, I am 99% sure you can easily sell them to someone else. Some folks simply can’t have enough minis. I am occasionally afflicted with this condition.

[Rick_Smith]

Originally Posted by tbeard1999

Hey Rick. Even if you can’t, I am 99% sure you can easily sell them to someone else. Some folks simply can’t have enough minis. I am occasionally afflicted with this condition.

Hi all, Ty.
Yes, at a steep discount. I would rather not buy miniatures at 100% cost and sell them at 50% cost. It is a waste of time and money.

Rick.

[JLV]

That's a really good point, and why I too would like to see the miniatures as an option. I'm a huge fan of Ogre (just check out my avatar), but have yet to purchase (or back any Kickstarters for) miniatures for Ogre. However, if people want them, they certainly ought to be able to get them, it's just that I personally have zero use for them.

And yeah, undoubtedly I'm missing some really cool visuals or something, but at the end of the day, I lack the time, the space, and the inclination to deal with miniatures on any level, and being "forced" to buy some that I will never use and can only re-sell at a loss would be a huge disservice to me and people like me...

[Steve Jackson]

Current plan has no minis in the original release - I am somewhat disappointed but agree it's the right decision. That darn reality, always poking in!

Counter thickness for all counters will be about twice what the original game was. All dropped weapon counters will be the same 3/4" x 3/8" size.

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Current plan has no minis in the original release - I am somewhat disappointed but agree it's the right decision. That darn reality, always poking in!

Counter thickness for all counters will be about twice what the original game was. All dropped weapon counters will be the same 3/4" x 3/8" size.

I applaud this, too. I actually prefer playing with easily recognizable counters rather than the expense and hassle of minis, the painting, etc. plus having to have a good collection that makes available what you need when you need it. And flat counters let you use your imagination instead of dictating in 3D, like the difference between a radio drama and a 3D movie.

It means a GM can travel to play with a small briefcase, not a caravan loaded with lead figures.

And the itsy bitsy dropped knife counter was just too cool for words! :) It's one of the things that gave TFT its unique look and feel, along with double-headed bell-bottom wearing giants and realistic looking every day wolves and bears.

[JLV]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Current plan has no minis in the original release - I am somewhat disappointed but agree it's the right decision. That darn reality, always poking in!

Counter thickness for all counters will be about twice what the original game was. All dropped weapon counters will be the same 3/4" x 3/8" size.

And that, boys and girls, ends THAT discussion topic! I'd still bet that when the whole TFT shebang comes out though, there will be minis in there somewhere... ;-)

I was also interested to read that SJG will be running The Fantasy Trip at Origins this year -- so clearly they expect to have prototypes of at least Melee and Wizard available for use by then! (Which tells us that production is proceeding quite rapidly, really...)