Your players needn’t be wowed by a three-hundred dollar, one-use set. With a bit of scrounging, some arts and crafts, even borrowing from other games, you can run something. You really can get going with almost nothing at your disposal. I’m mostly trying to encourage the DM who’s just getting started. Can’t remember your spells and don’t have the book? Spell cards can be printed and kept safely tucked in card sleeves for all your casting needs. The downside? It limits the social aspect you get from physically sitting at a table with others.ĭon’t have dice? There are more dice rolling apps than I can count on your phone’s store. I’ve particularly enjoyed Roll20 for the community work that’s shared and accessible to everyone. They generally have everything you might need (from dice rollers to tokens) without paying the premium. It’s in the form of online play with sites like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds. If you look at the before and after below, it’s not half bad.įinally, there exists the “I need nothing but my wits” option. If you have the time and patience, print out the full set, back and front, and get gluing. I stopped myself, thinking: why not just give it a face lift? The internet is a wondrous place, here you can find the imagery for the original deck. I nearly treated myself to an ornate set in place of the cheap playing cards you can get at any convenience store. You know that little plastic stand that holds your slices together in the center? Ta-da! You now have elevation, and I bet you were going to throw it away. Like what? How about combat raisers? I almost spent fifty bucks on a fancy plastic set, then found myself with a better solution as my pizza arrived. Then there are the things you really don’t need, but definitely want … I’ve been there. Put them in a bin and save them for the perfect encounter. Everything from hazardous terrain to pebble markers. Rocks of all shapes and sizes will come in handy. Then there’s always the naturalist route, if you don’t mind taking a nice walk in the outdoors. They have their uses here too, on so many levels. Oh hey, remember those Legos you wanted to throw away? Think again. I keep a small bag with me for makeshift terrain and obstacles of all sorts. Walls and objects are a bit more difficult, but once again, solutions exist. You can even print or draw top down tokens to place in your scene. Have extra copies on hand so you can piece together a layout that matches your space design. If you’re just starting out, you can print or draw grids on paper that match the dimensions you’ll need for a game. Erasable grids can be expensive, even if they’re easily worth the cost. Don’t be discouraged, this obstacle is one of the easiest to overcome when trying to represent combat or dungeons. Let’s face it, not every DM can afford Dwarven Forge, myself included. You can even theme them for holiday games. Yes, you can use them as tokens and eat them as you beat them. Use that to your advantage, or rather, as tokens. You can glue the paper upright on a piece of cardboard, then onto a cardboard or plastic stand. If you’re really looking for the on-a-dime budget, there’s always printing out your character design. Best of all, you can mix up the same pieces for different characters of your game. Legos are a great way to customize minis for relatively cheap, if you still own them. There’s still more options! I’m willing to bet you grew up with Legos, that or you know someone who did. I’ve even seen knit variants of larger D&D monsters. If you dig arts and crafts, go a step further and make basic molds from clay. Not to mention, they take up far less space than actual minis. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and frankly, it’s relaxing to do. Have a little more time on your hands? Then why not try origami? You can make almost anything you need in any color or pattern. Grab those tokens or meeples, and voilà, you have something, however basic. If you play D&D regularly, chances are you or your friends own some board games. There’s dozens of alternatives, so I’ll name a few. Not to infringe on the miniature business here, but you don’t need a traditional mini. Let’s be honest, we all want our characters to be properly represented. Generally, they come into play during combat or the need to visualize a space, like a dungeon room. We’ll start with some of the more iconic aspects of the game: miniatures. There’s options to make do because players can use that imagination of theirs to fill in the rest. Not having the gear shouldn’t stop you from being a DM. Where there’s a will saving throw, there’s a way. There’s a common misconception that you “need” things to run D&D. So you want to become a dungeon master like but you don’t have the cash for the cool toys? shows you how to embrace your inner DM without breaking the bank! Intro
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