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DM on a Budget Wants to Spice Up His Game
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<blockquote data-quote="Nareau" data-source="post: 139696" data-attributes="member: 969"><p>Rings can be made from stirps of paper (get some metal-colored pens/markers and color the paper. Then use black ink to write the inscription on the inside. Glue the ends together, and viola!)</p><p></p><p>You can print notes from your computer. If they're in a language none of your PC's know, print it in a non-standard font (like Tolkien's Tengwar). Better still, come up with a font for every language that comes up in your game. Any note found in that language should be printed in the appropriate font. I also use particular fonts to represent recurring NPC's handwriting.</p><p>Notes should also be modified to reflect their condition/age. The wizard's note is clean and smooth. The ogre's note is covered in mud, torn, and crumpled up. You can burn the paper around the edges to give it that "aged parchment" feel. Use a cheap candle, as it produces a lot of soot. You can also dye paper in tea to make it look aged.</p><p></p><p>Always look for things that can be used. Give them a marble when they find a bead of force. Give them a bag of pennies if they find some important stash of coins (hell, even make 'em count them out themselves.) Burn incense when they enter the temple. I think the easiest way to spice up a game is to appeal to all the senses of your group.</p><p></p><p>I usually play in front of my computer, so I try and have images of all the monsters they're likely to face queued up. I also find sound effects for certain critters, and play them at the beginning (or throughout) the battle.</p><p></p><p>It all depends on how much time/energy you want to put into your games. I usually don't prepare for more than a few hours before a session, but sometimes I go overboard.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nareau, post: 139696, member: 969"] Rings can be made from stirps of paper (get some metal-colored pens/markers and color the paper. Then use black ink to write the inscription on the inside. Glue the ends together, and viola!) You can print notes from your computer. If they're in a language none of your PC's know, print it in a non-standard font (like Tolkien's Tengwar). Better still, come up with a font for every language that comes up in your game. Any note found in that language should be printed in the appropriate font. I also use particular fonts to represent recurring NPC's handwriting. Notes should also be modified to reflect their condition/age. The wizard's note is clean and smooth. The ogre's note is covered in mud, torn, and crumpled up. You can burn the paper around the edges to give it that "aged parchment" feel. Use a cheap candle, as it produces a lot of soot. You can also dye paper in tea to make it look aged. Always look for things that can be used. Give them a marble when they find a bead of force. Give them a bag of pennies if they find some important stash of coins (hell, even make 'em count them out themselves.) Burn incense when they enter the temple. I think the easiest way to spice up a game is to appeal to all the senses of your group. I usually play in front of my computer, so I try and have images of all the monsters they're likely to face queued up. I also find sound effects for certain critters, and play them at the beginning (or throughout) the battle. It all depends on how much time/energy you want to put into your games. I usually don't prepare for more than a few hours before a session, but sometimes I go overboard. [/QUOTE]
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