What are the coolest props you've used?

[Deaths_Fist]

Don't recall the reindeer, no.

As for props, I've done all sorts of things. Besides the standard aged maps, I've also collected some interesting bottles and used them for "potions," and cheap coin-operated-vending-machine jewelry has made a good prop once or twice. Once I had a character that I enjoyed playing so much that I did my best to dress as him at each session. It was a modern-setting game, so nice shades and snazzy clothes were the watchwords.

Best example of prop use I ever saw, though, was done by a DM friend of mine. I don't remember the specifics so well, but I do remember the DM acting out his part as an NPC fortune teller by light of a lone candle. He brought each player singly into a closed off room, and told each of us our character's fortunes (all rather dark and creepy ones) while we stared into the candle. As the end of these "visions" concluded, he blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. A startling effect, and very well done.

 

[dwarfdorn]

Lo...

1. Yes. San Antonio Zoo. they were brought in for Christmas and they were the meanest creatures I'd ever met. Called Satan's Reindeer by the handlers...

2. Props. Yeah.
Mini and and maps.
Letters and the like when necessary.
One of my ferrets favorite games was acting out as a garguantan dire weasel, although never when you wanted him to...

The geekiest was in college. We played a Star Trek based game and everyone bought pips (rank insignia) for each of the characters... PLus other toys such as phasers and the like. Even roleplayed out a dinner with one of the other crew members with real food... THe whole thing definitly was more Role playing that Roll playing... we'd go a couple of sessions without rolling dice. Incredible GM... I miss that....

 

[Kyramus]

I think the best prop i've used is one i made myself. I tore up paper and made it into a 3inch by 4 inch booklet that acts as a journal. The way I folded the paper it allowed for each page to be a pocket. Without knowing it, the players read through the whole "journal" without checking to see if the "pockets" had secret notes.
It took them another game session or two to find that there was something in two of the "pockets" and that it was the info they needed instead of their running around to sages and paying them for no info return. ehhehehehe

other than that, I like the mini chocolates acting as bullette on the map and when they slay the bullette, they get to eat the "bullette" chocolates. hehe

 

[dogoftheunderworld]

2) ....

-- Very Nice!

1.) Domesticated Caribou? Not that I recall.

2.)a. For our last campaign, the players were up against a Formian hive taking over the Underdark. Once they actually caught up to the first formian enclave, they started hearing the Hive-Mind in their heads. I recorded some select sayings (i.e. "We are the Formian, resistance is futile"), added some low hum, and lots of re-verb, and then played it over the surround sound at a decent volume. The players (and characters) really started to hate those formian

b. We usually game before and after lunch, so one meal the wife and I made special platters and labeled them in Dethek and common: Troll Intestines (spaghetti), Beholder Eyes (meatballs), Halfing Fingers (chicken strips), MindFlayer delight (Jello mold), etc. Really got the players in the mood for an underdark street market.

c. Every once in a while, the party will meet a halfing or gnome NPC, at which time I would hold up my 18 month old daughter and use a little ventriloquism act.

 

[Pyrex]

For one gaming session near easter I placed marshmallow Peeps on the board to represent Giant Mill Slugs from the Creature Collection.

 

[Jolly Giant]

1) I've patted a few domesticated once on the neck, yes. On skiing holidays up in the mountains I've seen herds of wild reindeer many, many times. ...and of course, I've cooked and eaten my share of reindeer dinners! Yummy!

2) I made my players a "book" once. Ok, it was only like 7 or 8 sheets of paper folded double and stapled together, but the players loved it. Especially once they started reading it!

The title page named the party's elf wizard as the author, and showed that this was volume two of his chronicles of the party's great deeds. Both of which took everybody by surprise...

The first part was about their most recent exploits. The second described the glorious success of various things they were planning to do pretty soon. The third was about things they had never considered doing, but the book soon convinced them doing those things would be a very good idea!

They decided the book had to be from the future somehow, possibly sent back in time by the future self of the party wizard, and was very exited about it. It seemed to be a recipe to success in future endeavors!

Much, much later they found out the book was a forgery, planted where they'd be sure to find it. The real author had used the book to get them to do the stuff HE wanted them to do!

 

[Frostmarrow]

1. Yes, at the zoo.

2. The coolest prop that I've ever used in a game is a book that I use for my current character. The book is called The Encounter Journal.

Every time our party has another combat encounter I write down the details in the book. Every page fits one encounter and has text printed on them. The text says: What was our objective, what did we face, what did we lose, did we reach our objective, and other questions. I fill in the dotted line by each question thus creating a diary of sorts.

Now, I'm not very good at writing a journal for the party even though I would like to have one written. During the game I'm usually busy role-playing, sketching or fiddling with dice so I can't seem to find the time and inspiration to write a full-blown journal.

However, The Encounter Journal is easy to fill in and the inspiration to record what you've just defeated (or been defeated by) is easy to get. Probably the same thing that makes so many of us write kill-lists (or have so in the past).

In the end I can go back and see what we've done because the combat encounters makes me remember the story and why we fought those enemies in the first place. Also it reminds me to make sure I know the party's immediate objective and far reaching goal. Something that can be lossed otherwise.

The diary itself has pictures (bow and longsword from the Lone Wolf) and is typed with a woodcarvy font. It's been soaked in coffee and shrinkled. It feels like it's old. I love it.

Tonight it's game night! Have fun.

 

[Ferret]

I think my crowning achievement was using K'Nex to make the party build a rube-goldberg machine to capture a fox. They built a cart that moved under its own power and dropped a cage.
NCSUCodeMonkey

HOW?!?!? Tell me now!!

Uh I mean please?

 

[Zappo]

No reindeers that I can remember, but I've made an NPC's diary once (7 or 8 pages).

Another time, the PCs had to rebuild a stone arch that used to be a portal. The pieces were scattered among the ruins of the huge building which used to surround it, and finding them wasn't exactly easy. Whenever the party found a piece, I handed them a bit of paper shaped like the piece, with arcane symbols on it. They had to fit them together to rebuild the portal.

 

[Dogbrain]

My wife had painted a giantess figure that was quite large for 25mm scale--it was essentically GI-Joe (old GI-Joe, not the midget GI-Joe) scale. The party "adopted" a fairy character who happened to be just about that height in inches. The "miniature" was almost exact size compared to the players of this fairy, and it actually improved interaction when I ducked under the table and they spoke "to" the "miniature".