It’s day 10 of the Blogging for GMs [1] project, and I’d like to talk about props. (My internet connection was down all weekend, which is why I had to skip days 8 and 9 of the project — sorry about that!)
I’ll share the story of my favorite prop to get things rolling, but I’m more interested in hearing your answer to this open question: how do you use props in your game?
What got me thinking about this topic was my friend Don Mappin’s post about props, Props for the Peeps [2]. His post is the best overview of using props in your game that I’ve ever read, largely because it addresses what props are for, and it’s well worth a look.
As far as my own experiences go, I was pretty into props when I first started GMing, and I’m much less into them now. I don’t know exactly why things changed, but I suspect it has a lot to with time constraints — I was 12 when I started GMing, and I had a lot more free time then than I do now, at 28!
At the same time, as a player I love props — simple or elaborate, it doesn’t matter: I like having stuff to interact with at the table. That’s part of the reason why I’m curious how TT readers employ props in their game — I wouldn’t mind getting fired up about props again from the GMing end of things, because they can be a lot of fun.
My favorite prop that I’ve ever made was kind of a two-parter. Part one was the actual prop: a message written in a fantasy language on something that looked like parchment. In its own right, it was a pretty average prop. The second part is what made it interesting: when the player handed it to a sage to get it translated, the sage named an enormous price; the player said no — so the sage tore up the message.
The player came up with the idea of gluing it back together with flour and water — which was setting-appropriate, and actually works — and with me helping (as an NPC), we did just that. I was pretty young at the time (maybe 14 or 15) and I probably wouldn’t have torn up the message if this had come up in a more recent game — but at the time, we both had a lot of fun with it.
Of the props you’be used for your game, which ones are your favorites? Do you use props at all — and if not, why? Any tips for speeding up the process, or making props that look elaborate but are actually quite simple?
10 Comments To "How Do You Use Props?"
#1 Comment By ScottM On October 11, 2005 @ 10:37 am
I’m in the same boat; while I like props as a player, I rarely take the time to make them as a GM. They’re very good at making things concrete– and I know that for some players, they’d work much better than any description. Time always gets into the ideal though…
#2 Comment By Martin On October 11, 2005 @ 11:22 am
I actually wish more published modules came with handouts for this reason. Or even with a supplemental packet of handouts, like the one Chaosium did for Beyond the Mountains of Madness: along with the GM’s screen and map, it had a player map, boat tickets, an expedition patch and other goodies. You didn’t need any of them for the game (hence, the supplemental pack), but they were neat.
#3 Comment By Frank On October 11, 2005 @ 1:21 pm
I like the idea of props, but I tend to use relatively few props, at least those that people typically consider – I do use counters and miniatures on a battlemat to run battles or otherwise show layouts of places, and those certainly count as props (especially since I have started to use Fiery Dragon Press’s Counter Collection Digital to print out the numbers of certain things I need – though other times I just use generic counters).
I did draw up a map the PCs found for them. I have also photocopied props out of modules to hand out.
Frank
#4 Comment By Martin On October 11, 2005 @ 9:32 pm
With 3.x D&D, I don’t think of battlemaps and minis/counters as props anymore, like I might have with earlier editions. Now, they’re very close to just being required game elements.
#5 Comment By Frank Filz On October 11, 2005 @ 11:56 pm
True, although if effort is made to use appropriate minis or counters, they have some prop value. I’ve actually always played fairly tactical (just not with all the options), so I don’t consider them to have changed all that much.
Frank
#6 Comment By Cameron On October 12, 2005 @ 1:04 pm
Props are something I never got enough of as a player. Now that I’m DMing a campaign in Eberron, I have begun to use props, including campaign maps, letters, newspapers, and other plothook devices.
The Dragonshards and Sharn Inquisitive from Wizards and Korranberg Chronicle are all useful. I pick and choose, and have created my own version of the Sharn Inquisitive using the various stories from online. I even went so far as to lay the paper in tea to give it a parchment feel.
#7 Comment By Martin On October 13, 2005 @ 8:28 am
Cameron, I don’t suppose you have samples of some of your props — in particular, the newspapers — online, do you?
#8 Comment By Judas On October 14, 2005 @ 11:11 am
“The second part is what made it interesting: when the player handed it to a sage to get it translated, the sage named an enormous price; the player said no — so the sage tore up the message.”
LOL- Classic!
Anyhow, I like props quite a bit and try to always incorporate some into the game. I find that anything the players can “hold” helps draw them into the game. Theres always letters and such in the game, sometimes riddles etc. One of my favorite props was a “book”- in reality, only maybe 2-3 pages but like 5 counting the covers. I stapled the pages together and even drew a symbol on its cover. The book was the “bible” of an evil god. Of course, clues were hidden in the text and there was a part that said . I came up with the text by reading lyrics to black metal music.
I had an artifact sword that had it’s own sheet of paper complete with an image I found on the web. That seemed to go over well.
Of course, I do use maps for battle and I enjoy giving them some detail, not just a grid of squares. I’ve made a “ship” map for a ship-ship sea battle (Pirates). In my next run, Id like to try one of the neat looking paper castles.
I ran Return to the Tomb of Horrors and that boxed set has many nice props in it. Thats a good place to look for inspiration (even if the module is a cosmic beatdown).
-Judas
#9 Comment By Martin On October 14, 2005 @ 12:12 pm
(Judas) In my next run, Id like to try one of the neat looking paper castles.
I don’t have nearly enough minis to make those work properly (I mainly use counters), but man do they look sweet! I like that there are prop sets for other genres as well, like sci-fi.
#10 Comment By Cameron On October 21, 2005 @ 11:56 am
Not online. I do have them on my home pc. They’re in word format so I could easily upload them. Like I said, I used almost all WotC content and fit them into a one page newspaper style sheet.