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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 2950206" data-attributes="member: 19675">1) While I haven't done it yet, I have often toyed with the idea of using an hourglass (1-3 minute) to put time-pressure on the players.  Most don't need it, really, but I do have the fortune/misfortune to play with some inexperienced/casual players who are not as familiar with RPGs as the bulk of our group.Of course, I wouldn't do that on the 1st round of combat, because everybody is switching mental gears...but after that, you have the luxury of using all the time all of the OTHER players are using to plan THEIR actions to plan YOURS, so I wouldn't feel particularly sorry if someone lost an action because their sand ran out.2) I try to have most of the minis needed for a particular evening's gaming set aside ahead of time.3) The Bucket 'o' dice- a big clear bucket of dice (all kinds) for those who can't find theirs, for whatever reason.4) The wire wrappers for champagne corks (the ones that help keep them in the bottle) are perfect for putting over 28mm or smaller minis to depict NPCs/PCs under persistent spell effects.  Ditto plastic dice block containers from companies like Chessex.5) The Star Fleet Battles Character Sheet technique: Use plastic sleeves for PC sheets and use "wax"/china markers mark off the temporary stuff- which spells are memorized or cast, HP damage, ammo use, negative levels, poison effects, etc.  You'll never erase a hole in a PC sheet again.6) Concerned about fudging/cheating on die rolls?  Buy some medium sized clear plastic boxes and put the dice in them- people roll dice by shaking the box.  All you need for higher level PCs is more rolls or a bigger box.  Such boxes can be found in all kinds of shapes and sizes in stores like Target, Wal-Mart, or if you must be fancy, the Container Store.Additional benefit- die never roll off the table or land <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />-eyed.7) Translucent hex or square area-effect templates make figuring out who you can hit with a spell or grenade speeds things up a lot.8) A laser pointer is perfect for determining LOS.9) Toy stores are full of plastic animals- especially dinosaurs and "life sized" insects (that scale to Huge vs 28mm minis)- perfect for use as RPG minis.  They already have color and are much cheaper than normal minis.  I personally have acquired hand sized spiders, scorpions and many others for @ $3USD each.  A buddy of mine bought a bag of Amazon poison tree frogs for about $5USD, each the size of the giant toad mini in the DDM game.The explosion in fantasy-related toys has also resulted in a bunch of things we gamers could "subvert"- a local Toys-R-Us had McFarland dragons on sale for $10USD each, and there is a big playset of quasi-bionic dragons out there as well.Heck, you could even use the Lego medieval/fantasy sets to game with!  Additional benefit- because they lock in place, characters don't slide around!</blockquote>

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