BASH! game props?

[kevperrine]

In Narrating my first session last weekend. I took the advice in the book and grabbed poker chips to give as Hero Points/Dice (Blue and Red) and Setback Points and Villain Dice. (White & Black)


I am one that enjoys making neat little paraphernalia that helps the game speed up. Makes it fun and unique. I like toying with making props or tools to use in game play.

From markers and grid maps to poker chips to initiative board trackers to dice roller bowls, to cardstock printed rule pages, laminated... etc... etc...


what types of specific things have you used for BASH! (or other games) that you think could be very cool to make/use for BASH!?


-kev-

[kevperrine]

I'll toss an idea out that I'm considering making.

awhile back I "broke down" a game aid that I found from Paizo Publishing. It's called a GameMastery Combat Pad.
http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/o/open ... 48btpy8bkr


This board can be bought for $20, but it's relatively small at 8"x10" (for my use) and it feels more like a D&D fantasy styled board. Still, the idea is sound.

Anyway...
I decided to rebuild it and make a larger one for my game group. Here's what I did:

- photoshopped up what I wanted
- printed the larger color version (about 18"x24")
- laminate this print ($3-5 at Staples)
- bought a $20 magnetic dry-erase board to fit the print
- glue it on the board
- made some simple blank character labels, printed them and laminated them (printed on 8x11 page to get 6-8 cards).
- glue magnets to the cards

Now.... this new initiative board is laminated (to be able to write on with markers. And thin enough for the character cards with magnets to stick.

During games I generally print the 4-6 custom made character labels (with their name typed up).
This then works beautifully for a couple reasons:

1. it's great to show initiative, easy to move initiatives around if a player holds actions, easy and big enough to see from across the room for everyone to know who's up next.

2. it's also great to list NAMES, because I find that nothing brings the players INTO the game more than KNOWING the names of fellow PCs and NPCs easily. With this they can look up and see the names to use in role-playing.

3. it's also handy to write on with dry-erase for any conditions or notes, etc...



NOW...
Why bring this up???

Last weekend, Narrating BASH! I used this board (as I do for every game I GM now, since it's so handy) and I got to looking at it...
I had two different super villain teams and the PC team all on the board. Like 20+ characters on the board.
And you know what...
All the individual character cards reminded me of "PANELS", then I thought... the board itself could easily represent the "PAGE".

That said....
I'm starting to build (design in my head) a BASH! specific "PRIORITY TRACKER" in the format of a comic-book panel template style page! With blank character cards in the form of "panels" or perhaps "word balloons"!

I'm going to be building this. I will also make an easy to follow "how to build this prop" picture instruction guide as I go building mine. To offer to the BASH! fans.


Okay... that's one of my "things" I'm asking about here.
What things do you make for BASH! or other games?
thanks!

-kev-

[MrJupiter]

This sounds like a really cool idea. I remember that "the Game Mechanics" came up with an innitiative card system that I thought was pretty cool for d20 (which I used as a template for my own d20 Call of Cthulhu game). The cards were pretty good but, because they were stacked, the top card blocked from view the rest of the upcoming actions.

Your large white-board page tracker would be much more effective. Everyone could see what was coming up and important information could be posted for all to veiw (like keeping track of the remaining seconds before the hidden bomb will blow up the appartment building).

[MrJupiter]

For games I've made up a custom gridsheet which I had printed out on 12"x20" paper and lamenated to quickly sketch out maps for an encounter. [This method would frustrate me when players leave the area and then return to it after drawing another map on it - okay which end of the room did I have the sales clerk's desk?]

I think its probably better to just describe a layout than to slow down gaming to draw one.

Using poker chips to track Hero Points/Dice is a great idea.

[Lindharin]

That's a cool idea, Kev. I'm interested in seeing the page tracker you come up with.

[kevperrine]

Okay... this is a new one for me. I haven't perfected it but I'm close. It really pays off if you like using a map/grid for laying out action.

They're home-made counters that I find to be very handy compared to what some RPG companies sell.

Here's what you'll need:

- colored paper

- a circle cutter (that can cut through lamination) or just scissors and lots of patience. The circle cutter I have is about $15 - http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Crafti ... cle-Cutter


- some black felt pads (the ones that have a sticky back to put on as "feet" on the bottom of furniture. These come in packs of 1/4", 1", 2", 3", etc... rounds. They're fairly cheep, about $3-5 a pack of 6-12. But you can also just buy felt sticky pads in any Target type store. and cut circles.



NOW...
Here's what you do.

#1. go to your favorite office store and have them laminate the pages of colored paper. Each page will be about $1. or less. No writing on them, nothing.

#2. Cut the laminated colored paper into circles to the size of the felt pads.

#3. Stick onto the felt pads (no glue 'cause they're sticky on the other side!).


NOW you have some handy multi-colored counters to represent the many villains, etc... I cut about a dozen of 5-6 different colors in 1", 2", 3" sizes.

The laminated colored paper stuck on the backside sits upward on the map, you can then use a marker to write on them for WHICH villain it is, or numbers for minions, or even conditions or Hit Points!
I also have done fun things - for example, with a character that could make illusionary fakes of himself - I simply drew a picture on ONE counter's laminated side, then put them on the board face down. Putting out a dozen! Looking like there were a dozen "duplicates" of him to battle! When the Heroes hit a counter, I turned it over to REVEAL that it was a FAKE! Had them going! They loved it.

Also - if you have images of a villain or character, you can always print it and cut the circle of his face and tape it temporarily to the laminated counter as well!


Simple, cheep, fast and effective.
That's another handy Narrator tool tip!
enjoy.

-kev-

[BeardedDork]

I think its probably better to just describe a layout than to slow down gaming to draw one.

I could not disagree more vehamently, in my experience having a map leads to more creativity among the players so things tend not to slow down to a standing slug-fest.

NOW you have some handy multi-colored counters to represent the many villains, etc... I cut about a dozen of 5-6 different colors in 1", 2", 3" sizes.

That is such an awesome way to halndle this issue, I am going to do this as soon as payday rolls around.

[kevperrine]

I think its probably better to just describe a layout than to slow down gaming to draw one.

I could not disagree more vehamently, in my experience having a map leads to more creativity among the players so things tend not to slow down to a standing slug-fest.

Hold on now... MrJupiter isn't crazy, wait... you're not crazy are you MrJupiter? ....... uh... No. Not crazy, right.
Anyway... I agree with his sentiment. Theoretically (and sometimes actually) the descriptions and "special effects" of the event and action CAN be cooler if not pinned down on a table concretely. I *GET* that. One of my friends talks about this from his AD&D days.

However... that said - I (while not vehemently, but rather strongly) also agree with BD. I can't say that a map leads directly to more creativity, but I WOULD say it leads to a smoother *transition* to thinking creatively. Huh?! What I mean to say is, it seems like every time I describe things (only) I find that at least one of my players are confused about what I'm meaning... then it takes about 3 times the effort/time to get every player on the same page (no pun intended) of understanding the environs.

Heck... even if I do have a "top-down" map lain out... If/when I start describing things on the walls, ceiling or on ANY plain that I can't draw on the map - it starts getting confusing. (example: trying to in-game-quickly describe a ledge on the side of a building, how high up it is, how far it juts out, what it's made of, how high is the building, etc.. etc... etc...

Maybe I'm just not as "quick" and verbose at describing physical sites during-game as I am imagining them.

Either way, in my experience I have found that quickly sketching out the general layout (more detail with more time) to give EVERYONE the same exact impression of the dimensions of the area.
Then start going off with your awesome "unlimited budget" of special effects and "set dressing" to describe that simple layout. It's like having a blank canvas (the base layout area map) then painting your picture - imagery, smells, dampness, feeling, etc... describing the MOOD of the scene.

To me, that is the quickest-easiest way to get to the heart of the scene (the role-play & story) for the player group.


So, neither a map or description work well alone. Even those super NICE maps printed from WotC or WizKids (for HeroClix).

That is such an awesome way to halndle this issue, I am going to do this as soon as payday rolls around.

Hey awesome!
I'd note that my players are starting to *get* the point of these little counters better now.... This past weekend (in our D&D4 game) they finally realized the *idea* behind them and actually asked "Can we go ahead and number these monsters?" after I'd laid them out on the map-board.

Which was great.
That's what they're intended for!! Easy reference and speed of play for the "GAME" part of role-playing game!
Now...
I wish there were a better way to continue the DESCRIPTIVE part of "which one I hit" when it comes to these handy little counters.
I do my BEST to remind and re describe the scene often in-play. But it (almost) grates on me when a player says "I scream my sword down, cleaving a hefty slash into... uh... the green counter #4..."


If you have any questions about making those things.... OR if you come up with a better outcome/idea, please speak up!!

That's what I'd hoped THIS thread could do... make an all encompassing thread for the "props" of game-play for a supers game!

anyone else got any (before I give more?) - HINT... I'll try to give ONE of my ideas for every idea someone else gives! heheh

RAWK!
-kev-

[BASHMAN]

Nice, Kev. I like to use little plastic colored gems for that kind of thing, but having illusions, you may have found a better way to deal with it.

[kevperrine]

Nice, Kev. I like to use little plastic colored gems for that kind of thing, but having illusions, you may have found a better way to deal with it.

Hey cool!
Yes. I also use those little beads (you can find TONS of them at places like "Dollar Tree" stores for $1 a bag! I've collected ALOT of them - as you'll see below.

I'm still perfecting the counter thing. It's one of those little game fun things I like to try and figure out when I have spare time. Almost like a puzzle to figure out HOW to best use materials for making the game-times more fun and easier to play (so all the rules and props fade into the background) and at the same time be practical and cost effective.

Here's a quick picture of last Friday's game board, that I took to use for next week's setup since we were in mid-round combat. (this is from a D&D4 campaign - "A Paladin In *" conversion!)

As you can see, the initiative board CAN look like a "Page" with the individual PC/NPC magnet labels (that conveniently move about as needed "readying" or "delaying" actions), with a little imagination you can SEE how I'm thinking of designing a COMIC BOOK style panel initiative board (exclusively "for use with BASH!" if BASHMAN approves - when I finish it to look at). I would plan to "release" it as a PDF with instructions on how to make your own for a cost effective price - around $30 total.




THIS image is a shot of alot of my practical game use stuff laid out for you to see. You can see the smaller plasitc box on the right has a ton of beads and such that sits beside my screen to use. In the background is my BIG box of beads and such. The rest are things like:

- a few different sized wipe boards (the bigger ones I use GMing to track NPC hit points and conditions, etc... The smaller boards are for players to use to track their stuff - alot of times my players will also use them for private messages and for writing and showing me their Initiatives or group skill checks - so I won't be bombarded with people calling out numbers)

- a little tin of my "barbie dice", dice I have always used for GMing, named for their nice pink color. Funny story on them. I once did a "DICE SURVIVAL Challenge", getting ALL of my D20s out during a game, a different D20 for every roll, dropping dice that were below 15s. Then narrowing down down down, until I got the WINNER D20. It was a baby blue D20. Which I "retired" in a place of honor. The pink D20 was second place and forever became my GMing dice!

- you can also see the counters I described in their different colors, with some of the simple wipe marker numbers still on them from this past weekend.

- and if you use wipe boards, grab one of those CD packages - the clear plasitc thing, they work great for putting all your markers in. I punched little holes in the side and looped mettle rings for easy carrying.

- and lots of "custom" made die rollers for players in the bottom left.


THERE you go!




more to come.
anyone have their stuff to show or explain?

-kev-

[BASHMAN]

Okay here's mine:

Using miniatures, for flying characters I use the little plastic things from Pizza- as platforms to represent flight, or altitude.

Here's a pic from Pacificon, courtesy of claud9999:

[kevperrine]

Using miniatures, for flying characters I use the little plastic things from Pizza- as platforms to represent flight, or altitude.

Hey that's cool BASHMAN!
I've totally heard of that before (great minds) and I believe I have 1 or 2 of those somewhere (collected for just that).

It's a neat idea.
However... (as I always do) I look at things from a devil's advocate. That means, please don't take this as a challenge to the idea - I'm looking for good thoughts and explanations... hehe

Here's my thought.
While I like the "look" on a battle-board and the simple/cheap idea of those little guys. My only problems are:

a. collecting them, beyond buying pizza (not a bad thing), how could a new Narrator get a bunch of them quickly? I wonder is: you could go to a local pizza joint and ask to buy some from them (or get them for free, they might be that cheap) or I wonder if there's a food service retailer (or a "Kitchen Max" like the office stores) that sell them in bulk? I have no clue what they're called to search online. Does anyone know?

b. and the more practical in-game issue: height. I wish there was a way to list height on them. Then again (never thought of this until now) since they're plastic, maybe you CAN mark on them with wipe-markers? I'll have to see if I can find the one I think I have somewhere and test it. They're also a bit large (wide) for a 1' scale, but that's not that bad.



Sidebar TIP:
In your picture, I notice you use HEROCLIX. Here's something I learned when I worked at WizKids from the scultors. The bases of HeroClix are just a bit bigger than 1", so a trick you can do (if you want to take the time) is to pop them off their click bases.
You can do two things, either:

a. just pry apart the click base, that leaves the smaller black base disc on the figure. It's still bigger than 1" but it's smaller.

b. you can pop them completely off those Clix bases more easily by putting them in the Freezer overnight. Most of them, after being that cold, will pop off their bases - breaking the glue easier. Some still have problems coming off (depending on the series and the feet of the model). Then you can glue them to standard 1" bases or whatever (a penny, etc..)

FYI on me: Kevin Perrine
Not to name drop (that's not the point of the above) but I'm sorta proud of my time working at WizKids. And it'll inform you why I know some of this fun works well...
It was a fun job. I was the lead Graphic Designer for all the original HeroClix stuff. Meaning everything from packaging, advertising, all those numbers in the wheel, and even all the Dmg/Hit/Shield icons and logos on the bases - I designed. And though I didn't do much sculpting or rule design - I did get to help sometimes. I came up with the rules for the "learning" of the Sentinels (where their stats improve after getting hit several times) and I often gave developers and sculptors notes (and pictures) of characters, since I was one of the two comic-geeks in the offices (the other being Jon Leitheusser - who's now the Line Developer for M&M).

[kevperrine]

I wonder if there's a food service retailer (or a "Kitchen Max" like the office stores) that sell them in bulk? I have no clue what they're called to search online. Does anyone know?

Google makes things easy.
Answered my own question.
they're officially called
Pizza Saver Stands

This is the cheapest ones I found. Trouble is for $19. you get 1000. I need like 20. Would anyone like to order a bag and split them? heheh

50 Narrators could have 20 each!

[BASHMAN]

Answer: how I got a lot in a short amount of time:

I was part of UC Davis' local gaming club- where we literally had a dozen pizzas every week. I just asked the guy who brought the pizzas if I could have them instead of them going in the trash. I took them home, washed them off, and had a dozen in one night.

As for popping the bases off of Clix, I did that a few times, and then broke some guy's leg off at the knee. After that I stopped doing it. I may try your suggestion about freezing them though, see if that makes it any easier- since I only use them as minis and don't play the HeroClix game itself with them.

[BASHMAN]

Also another cool one: those little green baskets the strawberries come in make great force fields.