DM Campaign Supplies? [Archive] - Wizards Community

DM Campaign Supplies? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Forged_Mistress
09-27-04, 03:13 PM My husband is going to be the DM in the campaign I will be involved in and since I have more time on my hands then he does I figured I would ask the board if they knew where we could get some supplies needed to run the campaign better.

My husband is looking for a square game mat and markers to use on it. We don't have much for game stores here and the places we do have don't offer any supplies like that. Would office supply type stores offer something like that? Anyone know of an online area that may sell these. I have already checked out ebay and had no luck.

Thanks in advance!

~Forged_Mistress~
ThanisKartaleon
09-27-04, 03:19 PM actually, I would recommend Tact-Tiles, from www.bc-products.net. I plan on getting some once I actually have some money to do so. The cost may seem high at first ($40-$50), but it'll make up for that by being a quality product that's *very* versatile.

More about Tact-Tiles in Dragon #323, if you've got it.
ThanisKartaleon
09-27-04, 03:23 PM also, look into the D&D Minatures booster packs. For $20, you get 9 random minis that are well featured and well colored. Plus, they're made of plastic, so you don't have to worry about them getting scratched, bent, or broken like normal pewter minatures (which usually retail for approx. $3-$6 a pop, at least at my local hobby store). Unless, of course, painting the minis is part of your fun. We get both.
Edymnion
09-27-04, 04:14 PM For $20, you get 9 random minis that are well featured and well colored.Thats a matter of opinion. I personally find the paint jobs on those things to be subpar at best. Anyone with a hint of painting ability could do the same job or better in 5-10 minutes, easy.

But, back on topic.
With a little work, you can convert a normal whiteboard into a gridded battle mat. First up, buy the whiteboard that is the size you want. Also, buy some dry erase markers, and a hobby knife. When you get home, take a ruler to the whiteboard, and mark it off in one inch increments, for both length and width. Line a yardstick or other hard, straight edge up with your marks, and score the board with your hobby knife. Do this two or three times per line to make sure they're relatively deep. Do this for the entire board, until you've carved a grid into it. Then, take your black dry erase marker, and color over the grid lines.

When you wipe the marker off, the dry erase ink will get stuck in the scores, and create a semi-permanent black line grid on the board. There, you've got yourself a marked battlemat, and you can draw on it with either dry erase markers, or wet erase, either will do nicely.
jonthegm
09-27-04, 04:22 PM Thats a matter of opinion. I personally find the paint jobs on those things to be subpar at best. Anyone with a hint of painting ability could do the same job or better in 5-10 minutes, easy.

But, back on topic.
With a little work, you can convert a normal whiteboard into a gridded battle mat. First up, buy the whiteboard that is the size you want. Also, buy some dry erase markers, and a hobby knife. When you get home, take a ruler to the whiteboard, and mark it off in one inch increments, for both length and width. Line a yardstick or other hard, straight edge up with your marks, and score the board with your hobby knife. Do this two or three times per line to make sure they're relatively deep. Do this for the entire board, until you've carved a grid into it. Then, take your black dry erase marker, and color over the grid lines.

When you wipe the marker off, the dry erase ink will get stuck in the scores, and create a semi-permanent black line grid on the board. There, you've got yourself a marked battlemat, and you can draw on it with either dry erase markers, or wet erase, either will do nicely.

So... this works pretty well? How does the surface hold up (like, do you have to be careful of it, or is it still pretty sound)?
Edymnion
09-27-04, 04:50 PM From what I've seen, it holds up pretty well.
As long as you aren't scraping hard objects across the edges (pick your minis up when you move them), it should stay in great shape for a long time. If you scrape things around, you'll risk chipping the edges of the squares. But generally, you don't make the cuts so deep they go all the way through the top layer, you just make them deep enough that the dry-erase ink will get trapped in there enough that a casual wipe won't push them out.
Forged_Mistress
09-27-04, 05:47 PM Edy~ That's a good idea. I bet it would be cheaper as well. I will see what my husband thinks. It's something atleast to start off with if you don't have the cash upfront for the Tact-Tiles. Thanks for the great idea! Have you personally used a map board like the one you described? How did it work for everyone? Where can you buy the white board without a frame?

Thanks
allenchan
09-27-04, 07:54 PM The map in the back of the DMG and the map in the mini's starter are both good and easily laminated. I got mine done for about 4 dollars (you can go to kinkos or something, but might be a bit more), and a set of marks including a dry-erase eraser and cleaning solution was like 8 bucks at office depot, works for me splendidly.
Argonel
09-28-04, 12:52 PM This thread is porbably perolously close to being lock for commercial links, but the battlemats you are talking about are very nice. Chessex makes a selection of vinyl maps the can have features drawn on with water soluable overhead markers. You could check their website to see if they have a size and style that you like at a reasonable price. I am personally having fun with my hex gridded map and mostly using the hex varient from unearthed arcana.
GMSteve
09-30-04, 01:51 AM My cheap and easy way of making battlemats, was to pick up some A3 graph paper (or if in the US- 11x17) then take them to a copy store or similar, and ask them to laminate them.

Then I just use dry erase markers of about 10 colors. I can mark on them ahead of time for maps prior to the game starting, and since I have two, I can easily use one for playing battles (where we just rough the room in, etc) and one for detailed maps.

I live near a Muji and I pick up all kinds of cheap cool stuff that I use for my games including some A5 sized graphpaper booklets - about 32 pages or so. Cheap about 100 Yen each, (about 1 USD) and each player gets one. I find they actually take notes that way, I collect the books and the character sheet at the end of the session. That helps me with the clean-up after each adventure.

Some other really handy resources that I use as DM:

- Make some player handouts of eberron for references including the dieties and dragon-marked houses.
-Make a list of random names - Put them in your DM screen, when you need to improvise you can. Pull from the name list. Likewise keep a list of NPC's on your dm screen like a casting call - makes it easy to keep the game moving and believable
-Make up some encounter cards - these are 3x5 index cards with all the information on a monster or NPC. Make up some generic ones like comoners, city guard etc, helps with the improvisation
-Make up a random sesries of boxes coneting circles - these can be maps, chase scenes, or dungeons.

I think some of these may have been discussed int he DMG so I don't want to take credit for them, but these are the ones that I use, and think speed up the game.
Save-vs-DM
09-30-04, 01:57 AM I've used a scored dry erase board for my battlemat going on two years now. It's held up really well, was cheap to make and hasn't shown any signs of degrading.
Cheers,
Save vs DM
Pravus
09-30-04, 09:35 AM Alternative for a battle mat, easel paper. Comes in 24"x36" sheets usually in 50-sheet pads and if you can find it with a 1-inch grid all the better. I like using these better as my players tend to revisit areas often and this way I don't have to keep redrawing.

D&D miniatures can be bought online (if not having a store near by is an issue).

Hmm what would a DM's Survival Kit Include?
Pad of 1/4" graph paper
selection of pencils
Colour markers
Binder
3-ring paper or pad
good ruler
Circle template
Pravus
09-30-04, 09:38 AM Oh and if you have more time then the DM how about lending a hand at making the NPCs. I am not talking about the bad guys but the owner of the tavern, the shopkeeper, the local priest and such.
ThanisKartaleon
09-30-04, 05:28 PM And a string! A 1-1/2 foot or so length of string, marked off in black by the inch. Use this to track unusual movement; diagonals, flight, etc.
Ch@pel
09-30-04, 07:03 PM I use the Tact-Tiles in my game and they work great. Incidentally, when I bought mine, I placed two orders by mistake, so I have a set that I'm looking to get rid of. If someone wants to buy an un-opened set, on the *cheap*, email me at erhagan@gmail.com.
Jkol the Butcher
09-30-04, 07:58 PM For DM's Notes -- I do A 90 Physics notebooks. They are about 100 double sided sheets, 1 side lined the other graph paper...

It is generally good for writinging adventures, because you can easlily draw your map on the opposite side of any description. I usually tape a spare sheet of paper to the inside of the cover, creating an envelope to store NPC character sheets and other goodies. The best part is that they are bound w/ a tough cover so they can last a while.

In fact, I have just started to write my first ebberron adventure in a fresh notebook and it was inspired by my brand new Giants of legend minis....

I used to use a standard set of grid paper from the D&D starter kit, we cut a sheet of glass that was lying around and taped the edges so that it could be placed over the grid... We then used Dry erase markers for convenience...
I also have a mastermaze dungeon grid, but for the most part I just use the cards out of the mini starter kit when we actually need a grid...

My DM's survival Kit...

Minis -- both badly painted reapers and D&D minis.
Pencils, Looseleaf
a Clipboard or two
Laptop -- for digital reference and mp3 music (optional)
Dice, including an extra large dice set for those important roles everyone should see a PC fail.
Core Books
Reference books (including Ebberon)
Extra Erasers
a cheap grid from starter kit or dm's screen for when needed
Dauntless
09-30-04, 11:36 PM Easel Pad, 1 inch graph paper

I've been using this for a while now. Picked up a couple packs relatively cheap at Staples. If you want, you can pre-draw all the locations you think you'll need, and write on them all you want, just recycle them afterwards. Alternatively, you can save them if you expect the party to go back there again later.
GMSteve
09-30-04, 11:53 PM Well here is my kit for DM'ing,

One DM Screen (doesn't matter what it has on it, just as long as it is a cool picture to hide roles and notes and such).

My 2-hole A5 Muji Binder with A5 graph paper in it.

My previously mentioned laminated A3 graph paper sheets

One A4 Map of Khorvaire

One A4 Map - zoomed in of Aundrail/Eberron Reaches

One A5 map of the local community

All maps on the tables so PC's can use them.

My DM Kit - behind the scenes so to speak-
One A5 sheet - summary of plots being tackled this session
One A5 - sheet - summary of master NPCs
List of NPC Stastics and any private maps

One random list of names
one Random "map" of circles and squares
One set of dice for me.
Dry erase Pens

Reference Books

That seems to be all I need, and have been using this session for about 10 years, and all goes well. I also usually have a short hand version of all the PC sheets pinned to the inside of GM Screen too.
Hrothgar the Dwarf
10-01-04, 12:38 AM The scored dry erase board is one of the best things our group ever bought. We have 3 huge boards and have used them all on numerous occasions. They erase well, stay clean, and we're pretty hard on them and not even a tiny crack.
fhilbrandt
10-01-04, 10:17 AM Flip chart pads from your local office spply store come in 1" grids. Get some colored flip chart markers, and instant game mats.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Forged_Mistress 09-27-04, 03:13 PM	My husband is going to be the DM in the campaign I will be involved in and since I have more time on my hands then he does I figured I would ask the board if they knew where we could get some supplies needed to run the campaign better. My husband is looking for a square game mat and markers to use on it. We don't have much for game stores here and the places we do have don't offer any supplies like that. Would office supply type stores offer something like that? Anyone know of an online area that may sell these. I have already checked out ebay and had no luck. Thanks in advance! ~Forged_Mistress~
ThanisKartaleon 09-27-04, 03:19 PM	actually, I would recommend Tact-Tiles, from www.bc-products.net. I plan on getting some once I actually have some money to do so. The cost may seem high at first ($40-$50), but it'll make up for that by being a quality product that's very versatile. More about Tact-Tiles in Dragon #323, if you've got it.
ThanisKartaleon 09-27-04, 03:23 PM	also, look into the D&D Minatures booster packs. For $20, you get 9 random minis that are well featured and well colored. Plus, they're made of plastic, so you don't have to worry about them getting scratched, bent, or broken like normal pewter minatures (which usually retail for approx. $3-$6 a pop, at least at my local hobby store). Unless, of course, painting the minis is part of your fun. We get both.
Edymnion 09-27-04, 04:14 PM	For $20, you get 9 random minis that are well featured and well colored.Thats a matter of opinion. I personally find the paint jobs on those things to be subpar at best. Anyone with a hint of painting ability could do the same job or better in 5-10 minutes, easy. But, back on topic. With a little work, you can convert a normal whiteboard into a gridded battle mat. First up, buy the whiteboard that is the size you want. Also, buy some dry erase markers, and a hobby knife. When you get home, take a ruler to the whiteboard, and mark it off in one inch increments, for both length and width. Line a yardstick or other hard, straight edge up with your marks, and score the board with your hobby knife. Do this two or three times per line to make sure they're relatively deep. Do this for the entire board, until you've carved a grid into it. Then, take your black dry erase marker, and color over the grid lines. When you wipe the marker off, the dry erase ink will get stuck in the scores, and create a semi-permanent black line grid on the board. There, you've got yourself a marked battlemat, and you can draw on it with either dry erase markers, or wet erase, either will do nicely.
jonthegm 09-27-04, 04:22 PM	Thats a matter of opinion. I personally find the paint jobs on those things to be subpar at best. Anyone with a hint of painting ability could do the same job or better in 5-10 minutes, easy. But, back on topic. With a little work, you can convert a normal whiteboard into a gridded battle mat. First up, buy the whiteboard that is the size you want. Also, buy some dry erase markers, and a hobby knife. When you get home, take a ruler to the whiteboard, and mark it off in one inch increments, for both length and width. Line a yardstick or other hard, straight edge up with your marks, and score the board with your hobby knife. Do this two or three times per line to make sure they're relatively deep. Do this for the entire board, until you've carved a grid into it. Then, take your black dry erase marker, and color over the grid lines. When you wipe the marker off, the dry erase ink will get stuck in the scores, and create a semi-permanent black line grid on the board. There, you've got yourself a marked battlemat, and you can draw on it with either dry erase markers, or wet erase, either will do nicely. So... this works pretty well? How does the surface hold up (like, do you have to be careful of it, or is it still pretty sound)?
Edymnion 09-27-04, 04:50 PM	From what I've seen, it holds up pretty well. As long as you aren't scraping hard objects across the edges (pick your minis up when you move them), it should stay in great shape for a long time. If you scrape things around, you'll risk chipping the edges of the squares. But generally, you don't make the cuts so deep they go all the way through the top layer, you just make them deep enough that the dry-erase ink will get trapped in there enough that a casual wipe won't push them out.
Forged_Mistress 09-27-04, 05:47 PM	Edy~ That's a good idea. I bet it would be cheaper as well. I will see what my husband thinks. It's something atleast to start off with if you don't have the cash upfront for the Tact-Tiles. Thanks for the great idea! Have you personally used a map board like the one you described? How did it work for everyone? Where can you buy the white board without a frame? Thanks
allenchan 09-27-04, 07:54 PM	The map in the back of the DMG and the map in the mini's starter are both good and easily laminated. I got mine done for about 4 dollars (you can go to kinkos or something, but might be a bit more), and a set of marks including a dry-erase eraser and cleaning solution was like 8 bucks at office depot, works for me splendidly.
Argonel 09-28-04, 12:52 PM	This thread is porbably perolously close to being lock for commercial links, but the battlemats you are talking about are very nice. Chessex makes a selection of vinyl maps the can have features drawn on with water soluable overhead markers. You could check their website to see if they have a size and style that you like at a reasonable price. I am personally having fun with my hex gridded map and mostly using the hex varient from unearthed arcana.
GMSteve 09-30-04, 01:51 AM	My cheap and easy way of making battlemats, was to pick up some A3 graph paper (or if in the US- 11x17) then take them to a copy store or similar, and ask them to laminate them. Then I just use dry erase markers of about 10 colors. I can mark on them ahead of time for maps prior to the game starting, and since I have two, I can easily use one for playing battles (where we just rough the room in, etc) and one for detailed maps. I live near a Muji and I pick up all kinds of cheap cool stuff that I use for my games including some A5 sized graphpaper booklets - about 32 pages or so. Cheap about 100 Yen each, (about 1 USD) and each player gets one. I find they actually take notes that way, I collect the books and the character sheet at the end of the session. That helps me with the clean-up after each adventure. Some other really handy resources that I use as DM: - Make some player handouts of eberron for references including the dieties and dragon-marked houses. -Make a list of random names - Put them in your DM screen, when you need to improvise you can. Pull from the name list. Likewise keep a list of NPC's on your dm screen like a casting call - makes it easy to keep the game moving and believable -Make up some encounter cards - these are 3x5 index cards with all the information on a monster or NPC. Make up some generic ones like comoners, city guard etc, helps with the improvisation -Make up a random sesries of boxes coneting circles - these can be maps, chase scenes, or dungeons. I think some of these may have been discussed int he DMG so I don't want to take credit for them, but these are the ones that I use, and think speed up the game.
Save-vs-DM 09-30-04, 01:57 AM	I've used a scored dry erase board for my battlemat going on two years now. It's held up really well, was cheap to make and hasn't shown any signs of degrading. Cheers, Save vs DM
Pravus 09-30-04, 09:35 AM	Alternative for a battle mat, easel paper. Comes in 24"x36" sheets usually in 50-sheet pads and if you can find it with a 1-inch grid all the better. I like using these better as my players tend to revisit areas often and this way I don't have to keep redrawing. D&D miniatures can be bought online (if not having a store near by is an issue). Hmm what would a DM's Survival Kit Include? Pad of 1/4" graph paper selection of pencils Colour markers Binder 3-ring paper or pad good ruler Circle template
Pravus 09-30-04, 09:38 AM	Oh and if you have more time then the DM how about lending a hand at making the NPCs. I am not talking about the bad guys but the owner of the tavern, the shopkeeper, the local priest and such.
ThanisKartaleon 09-30-04, 05:28 PM	And a string! A 1-1/2 foot or so length of string, marked off in black by the inch. Use this to track unusual movement; diagonals, flight, etc.
Ch@pel 09-30-04, 07:03 PM	I use the Tact-Tiles in my game and they work great. Incidentally, when I bought mine, I placed two orders by mistake, so I have a set that I'm looking to get rid of. If someone wants to buy an un-opened set, on the cheap, email me at erhagan@gmail.com.
Jkol the Butcher 09-30-04, 07:58 PM	For DM's Notes -- I do A 90 Physics notebooks. They are about 100 double sided sheets, 1 side lined the other graph paper... It is generally good for writinging adventures, because you can easlily draw your map on the opposite side of any description. I usually tape a spare sheet of paper to the inside of the cover, creating an envelope to store NPC character sheets and other goodies. The best part is that they are bound w/ a tough cover so they can last a while. In fact, I have just started to write my first ebberron adventure in a fresh notebook and it was inspired by my brand new Giants of legend minis.... I used to use a standard set of grid paper from the D&D starter kit, we cut a sheet of glass that was lying around and taped the edges so that it could be placed over the grid... We then used Dry erase markers for convenience... I also have a mastermaze dungeon grid, but for the most part I just use the cards out of the mini starter kit when we actually need a grid... My DM's survival Kit... Minis -- both badly painted reapers and D&D minis. Pencils, Looseleaf a Clipboard or two Laptop -- for digital reference and mp3 music (optional) Dice, including an extra large dice set for those important roles everyone should see a PC fail. Core Books Reference books (including Ebberon) Extra Erasers a cheap grid from starter kit or dm's screen for when needed
Dauntless 09-30-04, 11:36 PM	Easel Pad, 1 inch graph paper I've been using this for a while now. Picked up a couple packs relatively cheap at Staples. If you want, you can pre-draw all the locations you think you'll need, and write on them all you want, just recycle them afterwards. Alternatively, you can save them if you expect the party to go back there again later.
GMSteve 09-30-04, 11:53 PM	Well here is my kit for DM'ing, One DM Screen (doesn't matter what it has on it, just as long as it is a cool picture to hide roles and notes and such). My 2-hole A5 Muji Binder with A5 graph paper in it. My previously mentioned laminated A3 graph paper sheets One A4 Map of Khorvaire One A4 Map - zoomed in of Aundrail/Eberron Reaches One A5 map of the local community All maps on the tables so PC's can use them. My DM Kit - behind the scenes so to speak- One A5 sheet - summary of plots being tackled this session One A5 - sheet - summary of master NPCs List of NPC Stastics and any private maps One random list of names one Random "map" of circles and squares One set of dice for me. Dry erase Pens Reference Books That seems to be all I need, and have been using this session for about 10 years, and all goes well. I also usually have a short hand version of all the PC sheets pinned to the inside of GM Screen too.
Hrothgar the Dwarf 10-01-04, 12:38 AM	The scored dry erase board is one of the best things our group ever bought. We have 3 huge boards and have used them all on numerous occasions. They erase well, stay clean, and we're pretty hard on them and not even a tiny crack.
fhilbrandt 10-01-04, 10:17 AM	Flip chart pads from your local office spply store come in 1" grids. Get some colored flip chart markers, and instant game mats.