You Should Be Doing This: Paper Miniatures

It's Sunday, so let's take a diversion.  Let's talk about miniatures.

Okay, I'm going to put to the side the basic question of whether or not you should use minis in your games.  I myself go back and forth.  I've run (and played) lots of great games where miniatures were used.  I've also enjoyed games, D&D or otherwise, without minis.  And I've certainly seen a lot of games where using miniatures became a pain in the ass, distracting, or just otherwise unnecessary or inappropriate. 

So, I recently got back from Gen Con 2015, and saw the full spectrum of miniatures usage.  One the one end, I tend to go a little crazy on con games, bringing all sorts of elaborate miniatures, re-purposed children's toys, pre-drawn battlemaps, and whatever.  But I also played in a game where we used "miniatures," but they basically consisted of a couple painted meeples from an old board game, a bottle cap or two, and whatever other trash was left sitting around from the game before us....

 Q:  "Uh, is that another enemy wizard?"  

GM:  "Oh, no, I just forgot to put the top back on my drink."

Now, as a tactical "aid," this left a lot to be desired, and wound up causing a lot of confusion at the table.  To be honest, I would have preferred (and found it less confusing and more immersive) if the GM had not used miniatures at all.  I'm really not a game-prep snob.  Okay, okay, I totally am.  But if you have got any kind of lead time, and access to basic 2015 computer technology, you can do a lot better with  10 minutes work.  Here's how. 

All you need is:

• A color printer;
• A few pages of photo or cardstock paper;
• Microsoft Word or an equivalent; and
• Google image search.

Start with this template - which I just cribbed from the old 1984 Marvel FASERIP rpg.

Now, I don't know crap about computers, photo editing software, or anything.  I just figured this out on my own, so apologies to you techies for using "cave-man speak."

First, Cut and paste that  sucker (the template above) into a Word document a bunch of times.

Next, run a Google image search for whatever thing you are using in your game.  So, if I want to use the Melter, from Marvel comics, in my game, I do a search and find this image...

Even basic word processing and editing programs, like Microsoft Word or Powerpoint, now have a cool feature called "Remove Background," which will let you to trim a picture down and make it more miniature or presentation friendly, after you have copied it into your document.

So, yeah, cut and paste your image into your word document.  Initially, it will "push" your templates down.  But don't worry, that's easy to fix.  Just right click the image, and then go either to "Size and Position" or "Wrap Text."  You want to reset the image so that it appears "In Front of Text."  That will basically allow you to pull the image over the template.  Like this...

Super easy, right?   Do that a bunch, and you've suddenly got tons and tons of paper minis, ready to go.  It *does* take a little time to cut our and paste together, or you can just pay the kiddos into doing it for you (my preferred method - and my 6-year old daughter is super awesome at it!).

 Toy police cars, and my daughter's hand, not included...

And, voila, you've got some paper minis that are pretty durable, tailored to your game, and lots of fun to look at and play with.  Also, bonus, they are nice and light for carrying around at a convention.

Next up, probably more on Cloud games, unless I get distracted again...

(More) Why You Should Be Using Powerpoints and Pictures in Your Games...

Want to run a game of immortal intrigue, with a large cast of scheming NPCs?
 

A "cast of characters" map - with memorable pictures - really helps.  This is from the "St. Louis by Night" Vampire (V20) game I'm currently running. 

Sure, you can (and should) describe the creepy, yet somehow honorable, Eastern European Gangrel Wolfgang Von Rorza.  But if you throw up a slide showing this...

...something magical happens.  I just look at that picture, and instantly know how I want to role play him.  I know how he talks.  I know how he looks at you.  And, most importantly, its memorable. 

The players - who have been deluged with literally hundreds of different NPCs over the campaign - know exactly who Wolfgang is.  We, as human beings, are hard-wired to remember faces.  Because they matter.  Why not take advantage of that?

Another crazy Malkavian?  Easy, here's Felix...

One more?  Sure, meet Bernice and (in the game at least) her incredibly life-like doll...

I can (and should) describe how the nighttime road in 1929 St. Louis looks to my players.  But throwing up a picture from that time really sets the mood in an almost indescribable way.

Google image search is an incredibly powerful tool for GMs.  And with just an old laptop and a spare computer monitor (relatively cheap these days), adding visuals to your game, and displaying them to your players, is super easy.

There are also some other incredible tools available, the kind of stuff I could only dream about when I was back in college, making handouts by drawing pictures and soaking them in tea to give them that "antique" look. 

My current favorite is a nifty set of PDFs called Mutable Deceptions, Volume I:  Jazz Age Newspapers, from Cthulhu Reborn (cthulhureborn.wordpress.com).   Go buy this right now.  Basically, an easy-to-use set of PDFs that allow you to create newspaper handouts in just minutes.  Here's one I put together for my V20 game, that took all of 5 minutes, including the time it took to find a picture of an old building burning down.

Visuals are also great for "court" or "meetings," where a lot of different NPCs are present.  Rather than force the players to keep asking "who is here?" over and over, you can just throw together a quick slide that conveys all that information at a glance.  Going to a meeting of the vampire primogen?  Who is there to talk to?  Easy, just look at the screen...

I also love visuals for the "gross out" effect.  Especially in a horror game.  My players recently began negotiating with a very sketchy Tzimisce "fleshcrafter."  And, as luck would have it, they decided to visit his house.  Well, if you've played the old Vampire: Bloodlines videogame, you know that has to lead to awfulness.  But the reaction to this was priceless...

Bonus points if you recognize the movie this is from.  In my powerpoint, it is actually an animated gif where the people writhe in unspeakable agony.  But, hey, I'm not very tech-savvy.

Why I Love Using Powerpoint in Games...

Because when you introduce the PCs to each other, a slide like this is better than a thousand words...

Fresh from the "Sidekicks (Not) Wanted" game I ran at Gen Con 2015, using Marvel's classic 1984  FASERIP system.