Cheap RPG-themed gifts?

[MadLordOfMilk]

I'm looking to get something cool for my players for the holiday season, but I'm trying to keep from spending *too* much on it, especially as I have 6 players in my current campaign. Suddenly, a lot of cool ideas turned expensive when I multiplied the price by six (Seven, if I want a copy of it for myself!)

So, I was looking at cheaper ideas. My group is mostly newer players, so stuff like dice, etc. works well. I was thinking of maybe getting everyone in the group a glow-in-the-dark d20, perhaps. Another option was buying everyone a copy of the same dice bag or dice set. I like the idea of "everyone in our group has one of these"

I also considered getting them all painted minis of their characters, but I realized that I have no painting skills whatsoever (well, I haven't tried, but I'm assuming), and it might be tough finding appropriate metal minis. I've been wanting to get into miniature painting, though, so this might be a fun idea! Minis are (generally) a few dollars each, so it might be very doable.

Anyone have any other suggestions/ideas?

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

A miniature for each player is a nice idea. The same with a unique dice bag of some kind.

You can also find cheap RPG books at your local Used Book Store (depending on your area, of course).

I've seen every sequel and splatbook for 3.53 and 4e on the used shelves, all priced at 50% off.

 

[Merkuri]

Buy a six-pack of this and give one to each of your players.

 

[Thanee]

Painting miniatures to a decent level isn't hard, but takes a lot of practice and patience to get there. Most likely you won't be able to get decent results soon enough.

Good tutorials, and there are plenty around, help a lot to do things right from the beginning.

I would take dice bags before dice, because some players like their own dice or like to have their dice match their taste (or even their character) and therefore all in the group having the same dice might not actually work out. Dice bags, on the other hand, do not share this potential problem.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Mark Chance]

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[MichaelSomething]

If you're the DM, why not print out cool coupons for your players? Things like a free re-roll/action point/hit point healing. That sort of thing.

Another option is gingerbread versions of their characters. This assumes you know how to use frosting to decorate gingerbread cookies.

 

[fba827]

One of those larger-sized d20s (not talking the *massive* ones), but the size you can get for like $4 each. Presuming you play a d20 based game (D&D 3rd or 4th ed or something similar) then it will see a lot of use. If at all possible, coordinate the color of the gift dice with the dice that the player already owns/uses (or use a misc color if they don't have a dominante color already in the dice that they use) -- some people just like matching things and it shows more effort if it's individualized like that.

Or, as someone else said above, a dice bag for all isn't a bad idea either.

As for minis of thier PCs -- while a GREAT idea for now, it *might* (depending on the lethality of your game and mentality of the players) become a problem a month or so down the line when one player's PC dies and he needs a new PC ... or if you change campaigns, etc.

 

[weem]

This year I decided to get a birthday gift for each of my friends who plays D&D - for each of those who DM I bought a box of minis (monsters) and for the rest who just play, I got them the small set based on power source and what their preferences seemed to be. So, arcane for the guy who plays the wizard, etc.

That's not necessarily cheap though.

I also (for my last campaign) bought each player their own set of dice themed on the class they were playing . For example, swirled green/brown (very nature-ish/earthy) for the Ranger.

But for 6 people, that's going to be around $40.


So let's see...

For $10 you could get [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Gold-Action-Points/dp/B001P5VF80/ref=sr_1_81?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1259862375&sr=1-81"]these Action Point tokens[/ame] and give one to each player based on the class or race they were playing.

I think something like that is the way to go as far as getting one thing that comes with many different individual things that can be handed out to each player.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you're the DM, why not print out cool coupons for your players? Things like a free re-roll/action point/hit point healing. That sort of thing.

Another option is gingerbread versions of their characters. This assumes you know how to use frosting to decorate gingerbread cookies.

Hey, those are both pretty clever!

I'd suggest that you make them nibble their PCs as they take damage, but I don't know what you'd do when they got healed...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As for the handpainted minis thing- great idea, but you're running short on time.

You might want to do that for the NEXT Christmas...or perhaps each player's birthday.

Dice & dicebags are always welcome, IMHO, as would a gift certificate to where your players shop for their gaming gear.