Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Call of Cthulhu => Topic started by: warrenss2 on 30 September 2009, 11:14:37 AM
-
I used to add props to my game when I was running a pulp RPG. It gave the players a tactile connection to the game as well as providing a visual aid.
I know miniatures games provide this a lot by use of the miniatures themselves.
But wouldn't add even more to the fun if your players could handle these?
http://www.miskatonic.net/pickman/mythos/ (http://www.miskatonic.net/pickman/mythos/)
I know many of you folks already know of this site.
-
Here is a link to more statues http://www.monolithdesigns.co.uk/gothic_horror.htm, I fancy Cthulhu Cult Statue, works out around £14 with post.
-
Cool stuff! Gotta make a bottled deep one! Great idea! :-* :-* :-*
-
What fun ideas you have. Thank-you for sharing this information.
-
A'yup. Information and clues in the form of letters, telegrams, invitations, documents and page fragments: these added so much to our games over the years.The HPLHS props (http://www.cthulhulives.org/toybox/PROPDOCS/Propdocs.html) available online, many of which are free, were a super source of mad inspiration.
The thing to keep in mind is that you can produce play aids in a manner that is fairly quick and painless, so your game keeping efforts are enhanced and not side tracked. Sure, you could spend a week or or even months creating the perfect Liber Ivonis, but a good show has more than just one prop; think about that.
Ideally, with a few hand writing type fonts and a little practice you can bring to the table, as often as is needed, play aids that put lost players back on track (never letting them know they were off-track!), that introduce new information or that move the story along. Ultimately these props create a scrap-book history of the history of the group's activity vs. the Mythos.
Everyone loves the mystery of opening a letter, or the excitement of a telegram requesting immediate response and the grime covered note found, damp with the morning dew, at the front door is always a treasured memory!
At least when we are playing Call of Cthulhu.
-
Cool stuff! Gotta make a bottled deep one! Great idea! :-* :-* :-*
Yar, that be right!
-
Yar, that be right! - Bloody Pirate! What in the h#ll are you doing in a Cthulhu forum?!?! :D
-
he's not a pirate, he's a sea-going family ancestor, who, by rights, should have died long ago.........
regards
jim
-
:o GLUP! :o
Warren picks up an boat oar and travels inland until someone cannot identify what the oar is.
-
I think I was a bit off topic w/ my post.. I guess a bunch of telegrams would hardly make a prop for a miniatures game, unless we glued them into a pup-tent or somethin'...
I'm just saying....
-
I think I was a bit off topic w/ my post.. - Not at all! I like doing little role-playing parts to connect segments of the overall adventure. Those will help tremendously.
-
I think I was a bit off topic w/ my post.. I guess a bunch of telegrams would hardly make a prop for a miniatures game, unless we glued them into a pup-tent or somethin'...
A lot of games, especially at conventions, have "briefing notes" for players. How about doing those briefing notes up as telegrams, or a mix of telegrams and other 'period' documentation - newspaper excerpts and the like?
I've always been interested in more props and atmosphere for tabletop gaming and RPGing alike.
-
Western Union telegrams printed the words out on a strip of tape that was then cut and pasted to the card - easy to do. I just wish someone would print up bundles of blank telegram cards.
What I really want though is a telegram delivery boys outfit to dress my kid up in and make him go deliver the game bulletins. One of the ones with the little pillbox hats.
-
One trick I was very happy with was to use glue-stick to attach onionskin (tracing) paper to a piece of lightweight card that already had been printed upon - just a bit along the top edge. Then as soon as it was dry I ran this through my printer (which could not handle thin slippery tracing paper alone) and create some interesting creepy looking two-part documents.
The two parts are separated and they only come together when enough clues are gathered.
Wizard!
-
...and travels inland until someone cannot identify what the oar is.
That the dust bowl?
-
I'm not saying, Bako... After all, you're the one talking like a Deep One!
he's not a pirate, he's a sea-going family ancestor, who, by rights, should have died long ago......... - No sir... not going to chance giving away the position!
Western Union telegrams printed the words out on a strip of tape that was then cut and pasted to the card - Isn't there some sort of font like this? Just type it out, print, and presto!! - instant telegram.
A lot of games, especially at conventions, have "briefing notes" for players. How about doing those briefing notes up as telegrams, or a mix of telegrams and other 'period' documentation - When playing with the local friends I would print up insanity & death certificates with the character's name on them. Then gleefully hand them to the newly insane and recently departed as those events occurred during the course of the game, to keep all for their selves... frame, mount on a wall, wipe their backside, whatever.
-
Too dry out there anyhoo.
-
Isn't there some sort of font like this? Just type it out, print, and presto!! - instant telegram.
Oh, I can photo shop one easily enough with the typewriter font and a googled picture, but I'd like to get some real 180lb cardstock telegram cards to put the text on.
Though it seems I probably should be worrying more about deep ones just across the border.
-
I probably should be worrying more about deep ones just across the border.
Do they get as much rain as the state of Washington up there in British Columbia?
-
Do they get as much rain as the state of Washington up there in British Columbia?
More or less, yup!
HPL Historical Society Fonts (http://www.cthulhulives.org/toybox/PROPDOCS/PropFonts.html) includes a really nice package of free fonts, and an even nicer CD of paid-for fonts. The free package includes "HPLHS Telegram" which is "a detailed replica of the type used on real Western Union telegrams in the 1920s and '30s."
Dafont also has an entire Typewriter category (http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=113) - go as mad as a cultist and install dozens of typewriter-esque fonts on your system!
Dafont's also one of the great timesinks of the internet, if you're even remotely interested in design, graphics, type and related fields. You can find yourself downloading dozens of fonts, and wondering where they all came from in the morning...
(The HPLHS also has free prop documents in PDF (http://www.cthulhulives.org/toybox/PROPDOCS/FreeProps.html) for your insanity-provoking pleasure. Good stuff.)
-
More or less, yup! - All the better for our briny friend, eh?
A neat Cthulhu font -
http://www.searchfreefonts.com/free/cthulhu-runes.htm (http://www.searchfreefonts.com/free/cthulhu-runes.htm)
Supplement with these Alien fonts -
http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/4965/index.html (http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/4965/index.html)
This site is a good source for handwriting fonts & others.
http://www.1001freefonts.com/ (http://www.1001freefonts.com/)
-
Gawd this forum is full of such a good resources! 8)
-
Do they get as much rain as the state of Washington up there in British Columbia?
I really couldn't say. We live in a special biogeoclimatic zone compared to the rest of BC. I does rain a lot though.
-
Western Union telegrams printed the words out on a strip of tape that was then cut and pasted to the card - easy to do. I just wish someone would print up bundles of blank telegram cards.
For each of my players, I have a small brown 6x9 (inches) envelope with their character's name on it. On the front I spread some white mactac to write them messages for their eyes only. On the back is a white mactac place to write me queries or requests as well as a telegram space covered in clear mactac. We use write-on wipe-off lumocolor markers to save paper. The inside of the envelope houses their character sheets, any info on their inventory, snippets of information they've gleaned (like newspaper clippings, old photos, diary entries, etc.). If anyone misses a game date, it is really easy for another person to play the character in a campaign by simply handing them the envelope with the character name on it.
-
When playing with the local friends I would print up insanity & death certificates with the character's name on them. Then gleefully hand them to the newly insane and recently departed
Couldn't cope with the volume of printing for our local players - one memorable session opened with investigators splitting up into 4 groups (to keep all exits covered), whilst two were sneaking up to a dark hotel door (at night).
They knocked on the door (!!??!!) before opening it.
The first one entering let out a blood-curdling scream as he was cut open by a machete, the second made no sound as his severed head bounced out of the door and across the hotel stairs, so in the space of less than five minutes play we had two characters dead, and two (stumbling over the grinning head as they ran to help) temporarily insane.
Quite a heavy session though, we had another three fatalities and one permanently insane that same night, although the campaign itself continued weekly for about three months.