Looking for Clear Plastic Rods for Battlemap Use...

[Pbartender]

Or just write the altitude with a wet erase marker.

The problem is erasing and rewriting the altitude while a mini is perched on top... the rubber bands have the advantage of being easily rolled up and down.

Honestly, I usually just use a d20... The number showing up being the number of "squares" of altitude.

But some people (myself included, though I can't always indulge it) like having that extra visual cue.

 

[ejja_1]

If there is room in the square I stack smaller 6 siders, or if the group isnt hung up on the visuals I just write it in the square next to the mini.
You could always use clear plastic drinking straws stuck in sculpy....

 

[Piratecat]

Why was this moved????

My question was for a prop used in RPGs. That's not off-topic!

Can a mod please move me back.

Because your original post made no reference whatsoever to rpgs.

We use the clear plastic boxes that dice come in, and we note down the elevation. It's handy in that you can put them over other miniatures still on the battlemap.

 

[Woas]

How about those doll-house tables that pizza places put in the middle of the pizzas?

As for pillars and the like... a piece of computer paper rolled up in a tight cylinder to give it some strength then taped or glued works good. If you have a decent printer you could even print a texture.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

If you go with a 1" diameter, and you intend to stand them up, I would recommend basing them. (Which may be why the elevation indicators aren't entirely overpriced because now you're making modifications and spending time.) Clear plastic anything is hard to find.

Google turned up lots of hits. One of the first sites sells it for $.90 a foot, but there's a minimum $25.00 order. http://www.jmkdisplays.com/acrylicrod.html

 

[ronin]

We use the really large six siders to designate height in our games. I don't know the exact size but they are a tad larger than one inch (they are just a bit larger than a 5' square on the grid). Usually we multiply the number shown on the die by either 5 or 10 depending on how high the character is at the time.

I purchased those small disks with the idea of using one of them for every 5' you were off of the ground. Unfortunately I underestimated how reliant we had become on using the large six siders- the disks have been largely unused since we bought them at Gen Con 2006.

The idea of the clear 1" stackable cubes sounds pretty good though. Or maybe a small clear rod clearly marked in 1" lengths that extends open (like a telescope). It could have a 1" square base at each end- one to sit on the ground, the other to set the mini on.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

I just bought (on clearance) a couple of Transformer's cubes full of candy. The cube looks like a Rubik's cube, but clear plastic with stickers. I intend to remove the stickers, take off the goo with WD-40, and have a set of clear plastic cubes to use for flying creatures and to represent wall spells.

 

[Zaruthustran]

How about using those thick plastic straws? The kind used for bubble tea?

Those are thick enough for you to perch a mini on top, or if your Jenga skills are lacking you can glue on a little cardstock platform. And you can't get cheaper than free. Just buy a bubble tea (they're tasty), and ask for a few extra straws.

Then create a bunch of bases (weighted with a quarter or thick washer) with sculpy, and keep a supply of bases and pre-cut lengths of straws handy. When someone takes to the air, you can stick the appropriate length into the base and put the mini in top. Change elevation? Swap the straw.

Alternative base: a tall (2 inch or so) stack of washers perfectly wide enough for the straw. Glue the washers together so they don't shift around.

You can use either base for obstacles when no one is flying. And the washers can be stacked to create pillars.

Hmmm. I'm totally doing this.

 

[Festivus]

I just recycle the plastic boxes that dice come in, and a sticky note on the side for altitude.

 

[Clueless]

You could go to Lowes or Home Depot and see if they have acrylic dowels. The guys there will cut them up into 1inch sections for you.