How important is it to have NPC's standing behind shop fronts or stalls on tiles? Do most Game Masters just use a figure as the shop keeper, or do you require the shops, wares, etc to be visually staffed by an NPC? Do the shops look too empty without people in them, or does having a specific figure in the shop limit your storyline? or doesn't it matter to you?

In the attachments shown, which one appeals more? a blank slate, or someone behind the counter?

I'm not sure what this is for, but I always want a moveable figure for location staff, separate from any sales table, because they can and do move around.

So #1 looks more useful, because #2 will look wrong if the clerk moves. Of course, #1 looks weird if he IS supposed to be there, because of the perspective used where you're showing a front view and the wall behind it. My maps and cardboard counters for map play usually use a top-view of furniture, as that's also useful to be able to see it to scale for tactical and cause & effect purposes.

You might want to explain your project a bit better, since I have no idea what kind of "tiles" you're talking about, but it seems to be something related to the use of miniatures in gaming.  If so, it's all completely immaterial to me, since I only use maps and minis for combat.  If they're going to a shop, then I give a verbal description and that's it, with no visual staffing, specific figures, etc. involved.

Quote from: Skarg;840523I'm not sure what this is for, but I always want a moveable figure for location staff, separate from any sales table, because they can and do move around.

So #1 looks more useful, because #2 will look wrong if the clerk moves. Of course, #1 looks weird if he IS supposed to be there, because of the perspective used where you're showing a front view and the wall behind it. My maps and cardboard counters for map play usually use a top-view of furniture, as that's also useful to be able to see it to scale for tactical and cause & effect purposes.

Hi Skarg, thanks for the reply. This is part of a project I am working on to create thousands of game tiles as a small business, (counters/pieces of cardboard you stand up or lay down to build a game world) and I appreciate your feedback. The majority of my tiles are top-down (please see attachment) and do not have NPCs or shown figures - I understand from experience that there are a wide variety of DM styles and preferences for particular ways to illustrate things so I am trying to offer a broad range.

Quote from: nDervish;840691You might want to explain your project a bit better, since I have no idea what kind of "tiles" you're talking about, but it seems to be something related to the use of miniatures in gaming.  If so, it's all completely immaterial to me, since I only use maps and minis for combat.  If they're going to a shop, then I give a verbal description and that's it, with no visual staffing, specific figures, etc. involved.

Hi, I apologise if the post was confusing, I am new and wasn't even sure if I had posted in the right section and thought explaining my project would seem too much like advertising and get me kicked. The tiles, Skarg has called counters, I'm australian so I probably know the same thing by another name. But if its immaterial I won't waste your time, thanks for replying all the same. SA

The example counter you posted in that reply looks great, and is the style I would use. I've used cardboard counters in almost all of my games, as they seem most functional (especially flat ones), and the games I play are almost always ones where placement of characters, objects, and terrain on a map is important (so figures that stand up can be problematic if/when several people fall down in a crowded area).

I'm not a mod and I'm relatively new to the site but it looks to me like you've posted this in exactly  the right place. I think you could post a question about how people use counters and what would they buy in the main RPG discussion section, too, linking here, if/when you want to do that. People already post there questions such as "What kind of generic supplements would you buy?" and so on.

Quote from: Skarg;841923The example counter you posted in that reply looks great, and is the style I would use. I've used cardboard counters in almost all of my games, as they seem most functional (especially flat ones), and the games I play are almost always ones where placement of characters, objects, and terrain on a map is important (so figures that stand up can be problematic if/when several people fall down in a crowded area).

I'm not a mod and I'm relatively new to the site but it looks to me like you've posted this in exactly  the right place. I think you could post a question about how people use counters and what would they buy in the main RPG discussion section, too, linking here, if/when you want to do that. People already post there questions such as "What kind of generic supplements would you buy?" and so on.

Hi, thank you for the compliment. I greatly enjoy RPG and creating a world for adventurers and really enjoy making highly-detailed tiles that others can buy inexpensively in pack sets. Flat cardboard is still in my opinion the best and most available way to style a table-top RPG. Its simple to store, inexpensive to buy, can give the Game Master a huge amount of new options and combinations for their game, and visually help cast a spell that lets the adventurers and the Game Master lose themselves in the game at hand. I've already created approximately 800 tiles and a starter kit that can be bought once and the stands used with any other set, also to keep costs down - so am well on the way to making my concepts a reality. Thanks for the advice, I will post some questions in that area.

I think NPC's might for some people be best represented as static parts of the shop or tile - and for others, require figurines - so I will create tiles with NPCs and without.