Dlsharrock
First Post
Polystyrene makes quite nice boulders or ruins if you break it up.
Gaming Props - What do you use?
- Thread starter Rechan
- Start date
Phlebas
First Post
nobody seems to have mentioned initiative cards yet - best timesaver my group ever adopted.: - Take index card or 1/4 of A4, write character / player name on, laminate if possible. sort into order at beginning of every encounter and cycle through. a few extra for NPC's, allies and monsters work well enough. for that extra time save give set to a trusted player so DM can concentrate on DM stuff. Speeding up combats is the main intent - combine this with a '6 seconds to decide or you delay' rule.
(in one dragonwarriors where a player was playing several PC's he actually held up the specific card so we knew 'who' was talking - If you have recurring NPC's then that trick will work for Ref's as well)
instead of mini's print little coloured circles onto card (or paper then laminate). few minutes with a pair of scissors and you have dozens of different colour / size counters. laminated is best as you can mark with status - speaking of which
status cards - when PC is shaken, toss him the card with the shaken blurb on. there was a nice pdf knocking around with all the conditions on if you want to save time.
Some of the players have taken this idea to heart with cards for bless / prayer / bardic song or power attack which they can throw onto the table to remind everyone what to add. Long / high level battles now look like a game of snap, but it does make it easier to keep track of stuff.
I use flip chart pads (A1 with 25mm grid) and marker pens to rattle off maps ad hoc. I do pregen major encounters area's but find that covering up the unknown area is just a pain - so its easier drawing what can be seen while i'm describing it.
a world background printout is useful for everyone. i tried to print off a one pager newsletter for the local city every so often which i could use to update the background plus a bit of plot foreshadowing. Anything written that a PC finds i try to hand out as a printed prop (though using some wierd font, small size plus background to make it a bit of a challenge for the players - hint try to have a std font version for yourself especially if its a few weeks before they pick it up or you could find yourself struggling to remember what it is)
real world maps are always useful - now you can internet search anywhere in the world its even simpler to get a non-recognisable area with wierd names - you can even use the same country if you want familiar names but just 'delete/demote' the recognisable large towns and promote the small villages to metropolis status.
i'm starting to think about props for items / cash to avoid players losing track but thats even more work for a ref so .......
as for other props - i'd ask Arravis what his hourly rate is
(in one dragonwarriors where a player was playing several PC's he actually held up the specific card so we knew 'who' was talking - If you have recurring NPC's then that trick will work for Ref's as well)
instead of mini's print little coloured circles onto card (or paper then laminate). few minutes with a pair of scissors and you have dozens of different colour / size counters. laminated is best as you can mark with status - speaking of which
status cards - when PC is shaken, toss him the card with the shaken blurb on. there was a nice pdf knocking around with all the conditions on if you want to save time.
Some of the players have taken this idea to heart with cards for bless / prayer / bardic song or power attack which they can throw onto the table to remind everyone what to add. Long / high level battles now look like a game of snap, but it does make it easier to keep track of stuff.
I use flip chart pads (A1 with 25mm grid) and marker pens to rattle off maps ad hoc. I do pregen major encounters area's but find that covering up the unknown area is just a pain - so its easier drawing what can be seen while i'm describing it.
a world background printout is useful for everyone. i tried to print off a one pager newsletter for the local city every so often which i could use to update the background plus a bit of plot foreshadowing. Anything written that a PC finds i try to hand out as a printed prop (though using some wierd font, small size plus background to make it a bit of a challenge for the players - hint try to have a std font version for yourself especially if its a few weeks before they pick it up or you could find yourself struggling to remember what it is)
real world maps are always useful - now you can internet search anywhere in the world its even simpler to get a non-recognisable area with wierd names - you can even use the same country if you want familiar names but just 'delete/demote' the recognisable large towns and promote the small villages to metropolis status.
i'm starting to think about props for items / cash to avoid players losing track but thats even more work for a ref so .......
as for other props - i'd ask Arravis what his hourly rate is
Last edited:
Darkwolf71
First Post
We went one further, ya know the lplastic numbered 'table tents' that Wataburger uses? I tracked down something similar on ebay and we use those. They work great, highly visible to every one at the table.Phlebas said:
CharlesRyan
Adventurer
Emirikol said:
Thanks, but the issue isn't how to containerize them. It's how to live as an American in an English house. My children's bedrooms aren't more than 8 feet on a side, and my entire gaming library has to fit in a "room" that's literally only 6 feet on a side.
Survival in this environment requires elevating organization from a science to an art.
But mark my words, that Dwarven Forge will make its way down from the attic, and sooner rather than later!
SavageRobby
First Post
I tend to use lots of props when I DM, probably to make up for a general lack of skill. 
Here are some things I use:
* Minis (lots and lots of minis)
* Cardstock terrain, wargame terrain, dungeon tiles, homemade tiles, battlemaps, etc.
* Poker chips for bennies and certain conditions
* Red glass beads for wounds/shaken condition
* Card deck for initiative
* Adventure card deck
* Campaign Coins for coinage
* Paizo Item Cards (nifty items only)
* Pyrite, fake glass gems and beads as, well, gems (the kind used for vases are great)
* Random information handouts (background info on 4x5 cards)
* Maps, letters, journals, notes, etc (whatever I can cobble together)
* Sound (occasionally - used sporadically for effect rather than consistently)
The pizza box holders are great flying markers. The little plastic cases dice come in work well, too. Also, the bases of plastic wine/champagne glasses can be good for permanent and/or magnetic flying bases (I used those on some of my Ebbles Minis drones).
Here are some things I use:
* Minis (lots and lots of minis)
* Cardstock terrain, wargame terrain, dungeon tiles, homemade tiles, battlemaps, etc.
* Poker chips for bennies and certain conditions
* Red glass beads for wounds/shaken condition
* Card deck for initiative
* Adventure card deck
* Campaign Coins for coinage
* Paizo Item Cards (nifty items only)
* Pyrite, fake glass gems and beads as, well, gems (the kind used for vases are great)
* Random information handouts (background info on 4x5 cards)
* Maps, letters, journals, notes, etc (whatever I can cobble together)
* Sound (occasionally - used sporadically for effect rather than consistently)
The pizza box holders are great flying markers. The little plastic cases dice come in work well, too. Also, the bases of plastic wine/champagne glasses can be good for permanent and/or magnetic flying bases (I used those on some of my Ebbles Minis drones).
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