What would you consider the best scale for Traveller tabletop gaming? Not mass combat, but enough to see good details on the minis and can fit on a normal table.
The best scale for gaming?
- Thread starter Spinward Scout
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15mm is low on details, but is VERY nice on the limited table space most people have.
28-30mm is best for details while still being playable.
52mm is cool for detail character models, but is too big for comforable play on a typical apartment-suitable sized dining table.
Yup, sometimes you've got to jigger things by adding a "scale within the scale" to make things "fit".
Well, even the esteemed GDW did that.
Striker
1cm=10m is 1:1000, but the figures are between 1:105 and 1:110.
Similarly, the official deckplans are presented for play in Snapshot and AHL at 1:118, while again, the figures recommended are 1:105-1:110.
Seeker Gaming Systems and Fasa also used the same 1:118 (0.5":1.5m, or 12.7mm:1500mm)
It was the defacto industry standard.
It has to be. It's the only way you can have a fig that looks like something other than a lumpy bb in scale where weapon/movement ranges aren't bigger than the table.
But what do you want to do? PC action with up to 15 or so figures max on the table? 25/28mm will do fine there. Deckplans could be blown up to this scale too, you'd just need a large table in the end to put everything on.
I use 15mm for my sci fi skirmish games. Things fit nicely onto a normal-sized table, & a ground scale of 1:167 seems to work well enough (this was originally derived from a base size in a game that had the ground scale intentionally ommitted...)
I use 15mm for my sci fi skirmish games. Things fit nicely onto a normal-sized table, & a ground scale of 1:167 seems to work well enough (this was originally derived from a base size in a game that had the ground scale intentionally ommitted...)
Awesome. Thanks everybody!
Traveller's one true scale 15mm.... With that there are some choices using small washers as bases and/or the integral bases on many Traveller and Traveller inspired figures you can use the Classic Azhanti High Lightning ,Snapshot and Fasa plans as they have a 1/2 inch grid. You can also use a 1/100th ground scale such that 1cm is equal 1m. Then there is the choice of both figures and vehicles, 15mm has vastly more in production than 25mm, 28mm or 33+mm(whatever scale GW and their clones are doing this week).
Note 25mm is a good choice except very few companies produce it anymore, there were a few very few Traveller figures produced, and a slight larger collection of works well with them 25mm. (Note "true" 25mm figures generally are a inch tall and fit well on a 20mm base (actually a penny)
Generally anything larger than those two is complete rubbish.
If all that you run is barfights I could agree with that...
Let's translate that, MOST Miniatures Wargames use different Figure and ground scales.
Now that y'all have mentioned 6mm, I must point out that 6mm has been seriously suggested for play on deck plans drawn out on graph paper. I have gone a step further and mounted individual figures on 6mm rare earth magnets and used either a magnetic whiteboard or sheet under the deckplan for a Travel Traveller combat set.... (Color coding PC's figures helps a lot)
A gent at the wargames club I go to refers to 25mm as "God's own scale", though he's Welsh so we know there's something not tracking right up top...
15mm definitely makes it easier to run games, and I'm biased as it's my preferred scale. But I still have plenty of 25/28mm, as the detail's fantastic and the range of figures you can get in hard plastic is growing constantly. There's so many benefits to both...
