Gaming Accessories
When it comes to gaming, there are more items at the table than just books, dice, and character sheets; especially if you’re playing D&D. Over the last few years, I’ve acquired a lot extraneous gaming accessories; some I still use and some I don’t. It doesn’t take much for me to stop using accessories I’ve bought. If it’s not easy to use or doesn’t perform as advertised, it goes into the “should have never bought that” pile. Here are the accessories we use regularly at my table and a quick review of each.
Tact-Tiles
Unfortunately, Tact-Tiles are no longer available for purchase by the original creators and are difficult to find used; mainly because no one who owns them wants to sell them.
Tact-Tiles are laminated, interlocking tiles that come etched with one-inch square black lines on them and have about 144 squares on each. The set I purchased came with 12 tiles total, so I can place them all in a row or make a 3×4 tile board.
Pros
- Durable – These things are very durable and have held up to almost constant use and abuse for the last couple of years.
- Dry-erase capabilities – These things are made for dry-erase markers. The markers easily erase. Just like with any item that allows for dry-erase markers, you don’t want to leave them on for a prolonged period of time else the marker may not erase fully.
- Portability – Since each tile is only about one square foot, it’s easy to stick a few in your bag to tote with you.
Cons
- The company who made them no longer exists. This is a shame because every single person I know that has either seen Tact-Tiles or who owns Tact-Tiles raves about them. They were pricey, though, so I’m not surprised the company is not around any more.
Magnetic Dry-Erase Board
We have mounted a magnetic dry-erase board on our wall. With it, we can write campaign notes as well as use magnets to keep track of initiative.
Pros
- Easy to see – The board is in a centralized location, so it’s easily seen by everyone in the group.
- Dry-erase capabilities – Just like the Tact-Tiles, the board can be used to draw on and erase writing easily.
- Magnetic – We use markers with each persons first initial on them and put them in order of initiative on the board. That way, people know when their turn is coming up in combat.
Cons
- Cost – The boards can be expensive, especially if you try to get a large size.
- Where to put it? – We use our furnished basement to host our games, so we have a wall to hang it on. Some folks might not have that luxury.
D&D Miniatures
We use the D&D mini’s almost exclusively.
Pros
- Cheap – Compared to Reaper mini’s, D&D mini’s are very cheap. You get a handful of mini’s for a reasonable cost.
- Durable – They’re made of plastic, so the chances of you breaking them are lessened.
- Purchase duplicates – There are a few places online, like eBay, where you can buy duplicates. So if you need five skeletons, for example, you can buy them from eBay instead of buying multiple complete packs and hoping you get five skeletons.
Cons
- Art – Compared to Reaper mini’s, the art on D&D mini’s isn’t as good. They’re massed produced plastic and they look like it. But, honestly, I don’t care.
Condition Markers
With 4E, it’s more important to keep track of the condition of PCs and enemies; things like bloodied, cursed, slowed, etc. To do this, I purchased mini-poker chips which are 1″ in diameter. We’ve assigned each color chip to represent certain conditions, red means “bloodied,” for example. We stack the chips under the mini and they work very well.
Pros
- Cheap – A set of sixty chips costs $3.
Cons
- Absolutely none.
Dr. Wizard’s Patented Elevation Indicator
We used to use the clear plastic boxes that dice sets come in the indicate height if someone were flying or levitating. The problem was that the box took up too much space on the board and didn’t give a good indication of exactly how high the character was above the ground. One day I saw an ad in Dragon magazine for Dr. Wizard’s Patented Elevation Indicators and decided these would be perfect. They’re clear columns of hard plastic that are 1″ in diameter and a mini easily sits on top of it. You use two colored bands to designate height; the bottom band can be put on any number from 10 to 100, and each increment of 5, and the top band indicates the amount by which you multiply the bottom number. For example, if the PC is 55 feet above the ground, you place the bottom band on the number 55 and the top band on the “x1″ muliplier. If the PC were 550 feet above the ground, you place the bottom band on 55 and the top band on the “x10″ multiplier.
Pros
- They fit – They fit easily into a 1″ square and don’t cover up any other mini’s in the area.
- Durable – They’re made of hard plastic so they’re not going to break any time soon.
- Ease of use – You can quickly figure out exactly how high someone is off of the ground based upon the placement of the bands.
Cons
- Cost – The columns go for $10 apiece. For some, it’s not worth it when they can just use the box their dice came in or other markers that designate the PC is at a height above ground.
Conclusion
That’s everything we have at our table. With these accessories, we’ve found it very easy to keep track of people and places in the game. Notes where everyone can see them, such as effects in place, being able to tell exactly how high someone, or something, is off of the ground, and being able to tell what condition a PC is in have all been lifesavers more than once.
So what about you? What accessories do you have at your table?
guy July 23rd, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Actually, VERY slight con on the poker chips: I wish they were ridged, like normal poker chips. It would be easier to stack ‘em that way. but for $3 that I didn’t pay, I can deal