GMing Makes You a Better Person: Set/Prop Designer
The first ever prop I brought into a game of Dungeon and Dragons was a plate of hot red peppers. My players were trekking through a desert to reach an oasis town and rest. If memory serves, I put multiple travel checks in front of them resulting in some fun encounters and if they wanted to improve the results, they'd have to eat a hot pepper to gain advantage on the check.
Props are just plain fun.
From a board game perspective, I think Dungeons & Dragons specifically suffers from a lack of physical components. It has dice and mini's but I still want more from my games sometimes and props are perfect for that.
Giving players hand written letters from NPC's or a 3d print of a magic item they've found is a fantastic way to make the game more memorable.
Some great prop ideas are:
- Hand written letters with a wax seal
- Metal coins the players can use as special currency
- Custom maps (not grid maps) for special regions where the players can decide where to go
- Puzzle boxes
- Health potions (glass jar with dice, or maybe a fun mixed drink)
Setting the Setting
In my earlier GM days, I would spend hours hand drawing maps for my friends to use their mini's on which is rewarding in it's own way but I opted for a time saving alternative in the form of using online maps.
I 100% encourage playing in person if possible. The magic of the game is in the table. But either way, having digital maps has been a huge time saver. It does mean you can't use mini's but I think it's a good trade off.
My optimal set up so far is a table of friends, one of which on a laptop for the players connected to a TV to display what they see. Meanwhile, the GM is on his own laptop controlling his own pieces and revealing hidden secrets. All sitting around a table, rolling real dice. This has been the sweet spot for my groups.
Reaping the rewards
Prop making brought me down the path of craft-work and 3d printing. I got my first 3d printer so that I could make mini's for my friends and the monsters they'd fight. It's paid for itself time and time again for uses I couldn't have even thought of.
Props are a good reminder that TTRPGs are more than numbers on a sheet and math rocks. It's an experience. You don't need a fancy 3d printer to make something that your players will love. Sometimes all you may need is a plate of hot peppers.