I know a DM who gave each character a potion of healing at the beginning of the campaign, and then handed all the players a small glass vial with a red liquid. When they wanted to heal themselves with it, he requested they drink it in real life.
I myself have purchased some fantasy coins becuase I enjoy the tacticle feel of them and find them interesting. I once burned the edges of a (poorly) drawn map.
What are some other simple things you folks have done to spice up a session in a real way?
At conventions, I've seen people dress up in character. One day I must do likewise. (Record goes to a young woman costumed as a Drow who needed 3 HOURS to put on all the makeup.)
I like to use candle or lamplight when setting the mood for Ravenloft games.
Maps really go a long way. Tarot Cards, and decks of cards can be fun. I've played by candle light a few times during a ravenloft game, and that was pretty neat.
Giving the players the actual note their PCs get can be fun too.
Puzzle handouts are neat too.
I once handed out an encrypted note at the end of one session so the players in real life could spend time working on it between sessions.
BRJN wrote:
I've also given out notes and items that the PCs would find to the players. In a homebrew adventure I made, the PCs discover some symbols carved into a wall. At some point they find a magic crystal. I have given the players paper versions of the symbols that I created, and I used a real crystal to give them when the PCs found the crystal in the adventure.
Something that is not a prop but can be a interesting way to spice up a sesion is out of game timers.
Say a DM give his party a blessing from a shrine, then said the time the blessing lasted was unknown.
He said a timer that ran down for one hour and set it on the gaming table, telling the players the buff lasted untill the timer ran out no matter how much in game time passed.
It was interesting to see that the players where now more intrested in keeping the game moving along at a higher speed to get as much done as they could while the buff lasted.
Foam weapons. Plastic goblets. Old coins and glass "gemstones". A small wooden coffer with a bit of molasses smeared on the locking mecahanism to represent "poison".(The player spotted it.) Maps on artificially "aged" parchment. (dip in watered down coffee, ball up then roll out to dry).Cat wearing a monster hat and set loose on the tabletop full of buildings and miniatures to represent the Tarrasque.
I ran a horror-themed D&D game that involved murderous ventriloquist dummies while I kept a creepy ventriloquist dummy nearby, ever watching our game. During breaks, I'd sometimes move its head, legs or arms slightly.
I have used little Dollar Store glass vials filled with various things. I used Orange watercolor and tinfoil for Giant Strength, rice and blue dye for frost resist etc. I am going to buy some Sour Puss or something and use those for Healing Pots and the like. I always make something for each player, necklaces, little trinkets, etc. I made cheap cardboard dice towers for some of the group as well. I always make any magic items they pick up on nice little flash cards and such. I even made some "spell scrolls" for our mage, I took some handmade paper and the ol' calligraphy pen out and wrote the spell description and such on it.
I just generally like to make things for my group because they are all good guys and it makes it feel more immersive. easiest thing to do it make potions with booze or juice or pop or whatever. Also if you make stew or something call it something like "Rothe Stew" or "Stirge Wings" instead of chicken wings. Go to Forgotten Realms Wiki and look for names of fruits and wines and herbs and cheeses and such and just name any food those, slightly cheating but my players like it. cheers!
The Wizard in my HotDQ group bought a 3x5 memo pad, xerox'ed the spells he had memorized, and made his own Spellbook. It worked so well that our Cleric did too !
(I type up all information for my characters, so I sort of have a 3-page scroll of Paladin spells.)
Cheap plastic coins can be had at one-dollar stores (or the equivalent in your country). I use coins and gems that came from a kids Pirate Playset.
This Thursday I will be giving a map handout that has been set on fire, rubbed with steak sauce and rasberry jam, and had coffee rings put on it.
I planned a handout for a Call of Cthulhu game (that sadly never went ahead) that would have been rubbed with a steak to give it an authentic bloodstained look (and smell :-).
iserith wrote: