Props - Dice loot

bepnewt
bepnewt
edited October 2010 in General Discussion
I recently purchased some custom dice for myself ( Steampunk dice ) and three for a friend of mine ( Starcraft II Themed - one for each race ) from Abraham over at "DiceCreator's Blog":http://dicecreator.wordpress.com/ .

I'm thinking about buying some as some sort of prize or even loot for my players. I use "Paizo's GameMaster Cards":http://paizo.com/gameMastery/itemPacks right now for the items they have, but I think some magic dice found in some loot somewhere would be a cool prop instead of just using one of the Paizo cards.

I am definitely going to mess around with his "Laser Printed Dice":http://dicecreator.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/open-source-dice-making/ to make a set. In one of our campaigns, the players ( my Gnome and a Magi ) like to play Liar's Dice so having dice as a prop that are themed with magic symbols or something would be cool.

What kinds of props do you guys use in your games?

-BEP

Comments

  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    My experience/leveling system involves earning the right to pick colored crystals from an opaque bag. There are 30 clear crystals, 10 blue crystals, and 1 red crystal. For the first ten levels, every 500 experience points earned grants the player a crystal pick at the beginning of the next session. So, if the party earned 2,500 experience in a session (which is just about the most they ever earn, honestly), they get to pick crystals from the bag.

    I like the crystals because as they pick them, they change the overall odds (decreasing the number of clear crystals as opposed to blue/red. Clear crystals can be used to grant a complete additional turn at any time during combat (even in the middle of an enemy phase... I have player/enemy phases rather than a staggered initiative. It's a hold over from my Langrisser days). Blue crystals allow the players to make a permanent improvement to their character. This is the only way that the characters ever get any stronger in my game. I don't use traditional levels. The characters gain new powers, feats, abilities, and stat bonuses via crystal picks, which I think better exemplifies the idea of a person improving gradually as he or she experiences hardships and overcomes adversity. Red crystals count as three blue crystals. Also, if someone picks three clear crystals, he or she can substitute them for one blue crystal.
  • Curufea
    Curufea
    Posts: 161
    My most recent custom dice were some steampunk themed ones - a hard plastic D20 and some steel D6s from "Shapeways":http://www.shapeways.com/model/56881/steampunk_d20__3cm_.html?gid=mgsteampunk who do 3D printing based on CG models
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    Dusk, that's absolutely amazing! I would love to adapt a similar system, but I think my players would revolt. ...also, particularly because they aren't gaining levels as fast as they think they should, what with me having no formal "Exx Pee" system to speak of. The question is, with your crystals, do they get reset every time, or can they hold onto them for a while?
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    The bag is set at 30/10/1 at the beginning of every draw. Let's say you're playing in my game, and you just earned 2,240 experience for a session. You would then get 4 crystal picks with 240 points carried over to the next session's experience pool.

    You would pick four crystals. The first crystal is a clear, which changes the odds of getting a blue on your next pick in your favor, as you keep the clear crystal you just picked out of the bag for the remainder of your picks. You pick your remaining three crystals, and the odds are fairly strong that at least one of them will be a blue crystal. That means you would have three clears and a blue, and as I said, you could exchange those clears to earn an additional blue crystal. Then, you customize your character to your liking, adding new stats, feats, or even powers under the proper circumstances.

    Then, you return your crystals to the bag and the next person begins to pick their crystals.

    My experience system is unusual, and as such, I never really bring it up here on Obsidian Portal. I don't think I explain it as well in text as I can in person at the table. My players absolutely love it, though, because the odds are strong that they can micro-level their characters a little bit between every session, rather than waiting for that last 100 xp to come along so they can finally get the benefit of all their hard earned experience in one lump amount. I don't think traditional xp/leveling allows for gradual. organic improvements in characters. When a character considers his achievements, he or she should consider how long and hard the road was behind them, and whether they feel prepared for the road ahead and beyond the horizon. They shouldn't think "well, I'm level 6, and the encounters I am facing have been CR 9, so I should..." That takes players out of the story and puts them into the mechanics too much. I want players to believe they got that extra point of Constitution they spent a blue on because they have been physically conditioning themselves to be more resilient, or that the new power they just learned is a culmination of the recent experiences they have had.

    I don't use the established powers from 4th Edition D&D in War is Hell. Everyone has to make up their own at-will, encounter, and daily powers, and they have to make sense and be personally linked to the character's physique, history, and personality. That way, as they improve, it feels more like their characters have "grown" and "matured", rather than "leveled up."
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    I really like that system! I'd love to mimic it if I ever could be arsed to start a real live gaming group, but I've always been horrendously awkward at DMing in person, so I don't know if that'll ever really happen, but maybe it will, some day. I think that it's much more organic than a calculated progression. But how do you manage HP progression, to determine their "toughness"? One of my players is very rules oriented, and as such this kind of thing would never fly with him, but I would love to get involved in a more organic campaign, but no such luck as of yet. The disadvantage of not being able to play in person is that systems like this are difficult to implement, and things are a bit less personal, but sometimes, the element of convenience can almost make it worth it, but I don't know. That's an extraordinary system you have, though!
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    A blue crystal buys a 10% increase in total HP, up until you have 100 HP, in which it goes up by 5% for every blue, plus one additional THS (Temporary Healing Surge) that is lost forever once used.

    The rules-oriented people that play my game love this system. There are rules. They just aren't the ones in the book. I only even call it 4th edition because I found that system most conducive to he kinds of modifications I was looking for. I have honestly never run a game using stock rules from a book. I don't think that we're supposed to. The spirit of tabletop gaming is in being creative and using what works while modifying or outright abandoning what doesn't.
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    That's a great way to go about it, actually. If I thought my group were able to handle it, I'd try and implement it. I find myself tinkering with the systems on an as-needed basis. They've accepted the minor changes thus far, but it was like breaking the arms of an entire mafia family getting them to move from 2e to 3e, and then again from 3 to 3.5. And they've sunk their talons in and aren't willing to budge. Which is a shame because I'd love to branch out and try other systems, but it doesn't look like it's going to be happening for me anytime soon :(
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Wow Dusk, I really like your system for gradually improving PC's! I've never been a huge fan of the concept of "leveling" myself. I may try to borrow your idea myself in future campaigns. Kudos!

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    I just wanted to say that you have quite the unique system there Dusk! Too late to give it a shot in my game, but it sounds like a pretty interesting way to handle everything. Do you have a write up of your Crystal XP System on your page anywhere? I wouldn't mind taking a look at exactly how it works. :)
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    Write it up! Write it up!
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    No, I haven't written it up, because I don't feel like I can explain it as well if I'm not physically interacting with a player....

    But, that Rules page is meant to be filled with things like this. I suppose, for you guys, I can make that my next major project. :)

    Thanks, guys! I'll begin working on this right away.
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    Most Excellent! Muahahhahahaa! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! That sounds like a great Idea Dusk. I look forward to investigating your project with due thoroughness.
  • bepnewt
    bepnewt
    Posts: 7
    Definitely a cool idea, Duskreign.

    Thanks for that link, Curufea. I've been reading about the newer 3D printing technologies and dice are a great product to "print".

    -BEP
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