As a certified dice-rolling dorknerd, I must admit my failure to really get the idea of miniatures. They're expensive and I find that they undermine the creative, imaginative aspect of the game. Besides that, I love making custom creatures and messing with the conventional perceptions of the monstrous usual suspects, and it's limiting to have to have half the field taken up with loose change to represent the stuff that exists only in my campaign. Which is one of the reasons 4e's shift to a more miniature- and grid-centric gameplay kind of irked me. I don't want to have to spend the extra time explaining to newbies what the little dolls mean, I don't want to limit my battlefield options to stuff that can be represented on a two-dimensional grid (did I also mention I LOVE aerial combat?), and I don't want the stigma associated with the miniature-painting nerd, even though I'm essentially a breath close to becoming one.
I WILL, however, mess with your mini collection and have dragon tea parties while waiting my initiative turn.
