Using Visuals in Game

[darklight]

For the minicampaign our group just started playing, I created a 'player mini-screen'. A piece of A4 paper, folded in a way to make it stand. It is quite sturdy and uses only one paper clip and no glue, so it's easy to unfold. It's about 11cm x 17 cm on each side, and has a picture (stolen from the net, I must admit ) on the front and the condensed background and roleplaying notes on the back.

Once I get done fixing up my house and we start playing there, I intend to use pics on my pc for npc's, locations and objects. I will hook the pc to a tv facing the players, that way they can see what I want to show them. (I would love to get a projector, but sadly can't afford it.)

I hope using many visuals will help my players to get immersed in the roleplaying, it will certainly make it easier for me to describe what the pc's see.

darklight

 

[Elf Witch]

I used to draw magic items on the blank side of 3x5 index cards; on the lined side, I listed physical traits and quirks of the item (always cold to the touch, etc.). I really enjoyed this approach - even though I'm not much of an illustrator - and so did my players at the time. They kept the cards.

I had a DM do this. It works really well. The player who had the item or potion was responsible for keeping the card if he lost it there went the magic item. If the item was destroyed or lost in game the DM would take back the card. It stopped arguements over who had what, what was destroyed. Kept everyone honest.

 

[mythago]

Hm. I'm running a modern-day game, so I don't know if this helps much if you do D&D...but I spend a lot of time "forging" authentic-looking stuff by piecing together and editing things I find online.

For example, I needed to present the PCs with a (fake) interview with an old train engineer. I pulled together some old WPA interviews, transcripts of which you can find on the Web. I used a font, Orator, which was popular at the time the interview was supposedly conducted. I 'dubbed in' some dialogue about the evil nasty the PCs were investigating, and voila. I bet Sialla doesn't even know that she now knows pieces of real railroad lore

For D&D games: LARP LARP LARP. The LARP community has tons of resources on how to make everything from crackly aged maps to statutes of Great Cthulhu (garters optional). You can even find props on eBay, if you have more money than time.

 

[Waylander the Slayer]

Has anyone here bought the print and glue items from rpgnow.com? If so what do you think of these products? Is it too much of a hastle?