Tag Archives: Gaming
Low-Cost Costume Props
Did you see this year’s lineup of cosplayers and clever costumes at GenCon? Impressive stuff, but cosplay like this often requires hours of work, stacks of money, and actual skills to pull off (no wait… to put on? Pull on? Nevermind). But imagine if you could bring just a bit of that kind of fun to your game table without breaking the bank or burning up all of your game-prep time sewing custom outfits for all thirty-five of your NPC’s. You can have props and costumes. You just have to put on your +3 Goggles of Frugality (they’re made out of cardboard) and look at common objects with the cosplayer’s eye.
Heroes Should Show Off
A game of gritty realism is anchored by the gravity of pragmatic choices, logical consequences, and down-to-earth descriptions of a sober simulation. But if you and your players want to roleplay with a more super-heroic central theme, then you need to let them show off. More than that – you need to engineer the game so they can enact the extravagant with ease.
Hill Challenges for Low Levels
Low-level challenges are tricky. Most characters are delicate little flowers that can be accidentally group-wiped with one unlucky tumble of an eight-sided die. They’re underpowered and underequipped. One fumble, failed save, or bad choice might be all it takes to take them out – and even healing up from the less-than-lethal consequences is usually a painful process. You want to give them a challenge – a taste of adventures to come. You want them to learn to use their limited resources and bond as a group over adversities. What small bumps in the road can we throw into their path to elevate the game and help them climb into their characters? I present: the humble hill.
