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Post by Mr. Darke on Mar 3, 2018 18:27:04 GMT -6
I have been thinking about how we talk about rules and books but one thing that gets left out is what else we use. There is mention of old plastic monster/dinosaur sets and cobbled together mini collections but what else? What else can we use to get the old school feel going and make it feel like D&D to us. I was watching Stranger Things and was looking at the card table, chessboard for a grid, small beat up minis and binders and thought that it looked and felt more like D&D used to be than anything.
For me I have a binder that looks like it could have come out of that era, tend to use old style pencils, have a very old index card file and other things that helps me get the feel. I have even been known to work while watching old episodes of In Search Of..., retro commercials and older music to get the feel of the era. Maybe it is going to far but it really helps me get a feel for things.
You guys?
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muddy
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 158
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Post by muddy on Mar 4, 2018 11:26:52 GMT -6
I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but we only had a few miniatures, and often used d6 to represent monsters. Sometimes plastic toys, but really whatever was at hand. No grid, but maybe a to-scale drawing of a room or hall where there when it mattered for combat. Or books to outline the dimensions of the room.
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Post by dragondaddy on Mar 4, 2018 14:17:00 GMT -6
I didn't really get into fantasy minis when I started playing D&D. Because there were pretty much none around. I did start buying them in 1978-79, and had a great collection numbering almost a thousand by 1982, mostly Ral Partha with just a scattering of Grenadier Models, and whatever homebrew lead we could find at Mile High Comics, or Levine's Toy Store in downtown Colorado Springs. After 1980, ...also Bonnie Brae's hobby shop up in Denver, they had like, "the best minis!".
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Post by Mr. Darke on Mar 5, 2018 11:33:49 GMT -6
That's what I was looking for, guys. While it may seem weird I kind of take a holistic approach to older editions knowing that they were products of their times. And there are times that I feel playing Classic or Original D&D without the ugly dice, with modern minis or pawns and such just doesn't feel right. Again it may be a bit odd but others have said I am a bit cracked.
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Post by DungeonDevil on Mar 5, 2018 13:23:20 GMT -6
The DIY culture of the 70's has completely disappeared. Since the early 80's people have been trained by decades of corporate brainwashing to think that they must depend on prefab products, and they have lost the initiative to fashion what they couldn't find or couldn't afford. Don't have it? Well, make it! Cobble something together. Don't have a particular monster? Tough luck. Get some clay or putty and sculpt your own. Don't have a d20? Use a d6 with a control die (it's cumbersome, but it works). Don't have a d6? Roll a pencil with some markings on it. CREATE! INNOVATE! DON'T PROCRASTINATE! Rah-rah-rah!! Go team! A chessboard for a grid isn't Old School -- using a ruler to measure ranges is indeed Old School. Without imagination the simplest undertakings seem impossible. Remember, couch-cushions make an excellent fort, and the floor is always hot lava!
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Post by Mr. Darke on Mar 10, 2018 22:46:02 GMT -6
I wouldn't say it has completely disappeared. Alot of what I do is improvised or doing it myself. I have others in my real life circle that are the same. Lots of things I use are cobbled together, mix and match or what have you. While yes many gamers do buy into the hype of having everything with the brand logo on it quite a few are still making their own stuff up as they go along.
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Post by strangebrew on Mar 10, 2018 23:38:58 GMT -6
I have been thinking about how we talk about rules and books but one thing that gets left out is what else we use. There is mention of old plastic monster/dinosaur sets and cobbled together mini collections but what else? What else can we use to get the old school feel going and make it feel like D&D to us. I was watching Stranger Things and was looking at the card table, chessboard for a grid, small beat up minis and binders and thought that it looked and felt more like D&D used to be than anything. For me I have a binder that looks like it could have come out of that era, tend to use old style pencils, have a very old index card file and other things that helps me get the feel. I have even been known to work while watching old episodes of In Search Of..., retro commercials and older music to get the feel of the era. Maybe it is going to far but it really helps me get a feel for things. You guys? "In Search Of"...fantastic. Many of the episodes are up on YouTube. I've mentioned elsewhere, either here or on Dragonsfoot, about making D&D an old school immersion experience. No phones, computers, tablets. For my last game ('81 Basic/Expert), I played heavy metal, hard rock, and prog from the late seventies. I like to pop on a Yes, T.Rex, or Sabbath LP w/ headphones when preparing a map or making random rolls. I know I'm getting deep into hipster territory here but I think it helps me channel things. It's kind of a self-fulfilling prophesy - thinking I'm getting into a certain headspace gets me into the headspace. 70s-80s fringe ephemera like "In Search Of" is a great. I have this new age book on cultural calendars and seasonal cycles which is a goldmine for odd ideas. Or those old Time-Life hardback books on ESP, I should track them down on eBay: www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4zBYh2PUyk
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 11, 2018 7:07:54 GMT -6
I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but we only had a few miniatures, and often used d6 to represent monsters. Sometimes plastic toys, but really whatever was at hand. No grid, but maybe a to-scale drawing of a room or hall where there when it mattered for combat. Or books to outline the dimensions of the room. I also like to use little RISK pieces for monsters, particularly the one-hit-one-kill variety like orcs and skeletons. My RISK box has hundreds of little Y-shaped pieces and you can use them on edge or flat if you want to represent two-hit monsters. When I was running 5E at my local game store I brought in a jar of RISK pieces and the players thought I was a little nuts, but they adapted pretty quickly. For characters it was almost always dice. Wizards got d4's because of the pointy hat thing.
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darien
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 135
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Post by darien on Mar 11, 2018 10:02:03 GMT -6
Even though I wasn't around for the 1970's and 1980's (what with being born in 1993 and all), I rarely used Miniatures for my D&D games and when we did use miniatures, we always took a DIY approach to it.
What we used back then (and what I still use today) were cheap little plastic Army Men that you can buy at the toy section of any Dollar Store or Wal-Mart, and they are always dirt cheap, ranging from about $1.00 USD to $3.00 USD at the absolute most. They may look like modern soldiers, that is true. But with a little imagination they can make great visual and tactile representations for characters and NPC's in the game.
Partly for the sake of avoiding confusion and partly as a reference to the classic Army Men video games for the PS1, we use Green Army Men as the PC's and Tan Army Men as enemy NPC's. It also helps that green and tan are the most common colors of Army Men out there.
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Post by Mr. Darke on Mar 11, 2018 11:19:02 GMT -6
Even though I wasn't around for the 1970's and 1980's (what with being born in 1993 and all), I rarely used Miniatures for my D&D games and when we did use miniatures, we always took a DIY approach to it. What we used back then (and what I still use today) were cheap little plastic Army Men that you can buy at the toy section of any Dollar Store or Wal-Mart, and they are always dirt cheap, ranging from about $1.00 USD to $3.00 USD at the absolute most. They may look like modern soldiers, that is true. But with a little imagination they can make great visual and tactile representations for characters and NPC's in the game. Partly for the sake of avoiding confusion and partly as a reference to the classic Army Men video games for the PS1, we use Green Army Men as the PC's and Tan Army Men as enemy NPC's. It also helps that green and tan are the most common colors of Army Men out there. I have a few Reaper Minis I use for PCs and have used army men, plastic dinos, cowboys and indians and what not for monsters. Dominoes work well for room sizes and a few aquarium decorations work well for buildings, terrain and whatnot. You can also get some paper models free or cheap and with a printer, scissors and glue you can have as many items as you want. Somewhere along the way I got some Pathfinder Pawns that I also use. I search thrift shops, garage sales and such for items that can be used. It's good stuff and I know modern players that do the same.
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Post by sixdemonbag on Mar 11, 2018 11:52:25 GMT -6
The only accessories I've ever used are dice to represent characters and important environmental features during more complicated combat scenarios. Beside that, on occasion I'll hand out some maps. These maps are crude, hand-drawn, and almost never to scale. Apparently, I failed my cartography check IRL. Ha.
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Post by Gene M. on Mar 11, 2018 11:58:55 GMT -6
I use spare wood blocks from my Commands & Colors: Napoleonics to give players basic positioning if they need it. Blue for player characters, brown for henchmen, and red for monsters. I mark the blue blocks with the player's initial rather than the character's in case the PC croaks.
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Post by sixdemonbag on Mar 11, 2018 12:20:29 GMT -6
Speaking of accessories, how does everyone feel about DM screens?
I don't really like them, personally. I like to roll, as a DM, out in the open. I really like being surprised by rolls as much as the players do, and rolling out in the open, I find, adds a lot drama. And luckily, OD&D (3lbbs especially, and M&M Vol.1 specifically) is simple enough to not need any reference info on the screen either.
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Post by sixdemonbag on Mar 11, 2018 12:30:41 GMT -6
Speaking of accessories, how does everyone feel about DM screens?. I bought a “make your own” type screen made to hold the sheets landscape rather than portrait. I rather like mine but don’t always use it. Are you referring to the reference sheets, character sheets, maps, something else or all the above? Sounds very interesting, nonetheless.
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Post by Gene M. on Mar 11, 2018 12:36:07 GMT -6
I have a few of the Master's Tome screens. I have a bunch of art by John Bauer, Frank Frazetta, and Arthur Rackham. For OD&D I use John Bauer images on the outside and the inside is the relevant tables from the Ready Ref Sheets. I don't fudge rolls, so I don't worry about players seeing my d20 rolls. I do use a bunch of d6s to mark out monster HP, however, so the screen does conceal how much HP monsters have left.
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Post by sixdemonbag on Mar 11, 2018 12:41:32 GMT -6
Ah, thanks for the link. If I were to use one, I would MUCH rather use one like this, that I can arrange myself, than a premade one that I can't customize.
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Post by sixdemonbag on Mar 11, 2018 12:43:49 GMT -6
I have a few of the Master's Tome screens. I have a bunch of art by John Bauer, Frank Frazetta, and Arthur Rackham. For OD&D I use John Bauer images on the outside and the inside is the relevant tables from the Ready Ref Sheets. I don't fudge rolls, so I don't worry about players seeing my d20 rolls. I do use a bunch of d6s to mark out monster HP, however, so the screen does conceal how much HP monsters have left. Nice collection of art you have there. Very jelly.
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Post by Gene M. on Mar 11, 2018 12:44:16 GMT -6
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Post by Gene M. on Mar 11, 2018 12:44:48 GMT -6
I have a few of the Master's Tome screens. I have a bunch of art by John Bauer, Frank Frazetta, and Arthur Rackham. For OD&D I use John Bauer images on the outside and the inside is the relevant tables from the Ready Ref Sheets. I don't fudge rolls, so I don't worry about players seeing my d20 rolls. I do use a bunch of d6s to mark out monster HP, however, so the screen does conceal how much HP monsters have left. Nice collection of art you have there. Very jelly. I should be clear: just prints, no originals!
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Post by DungeonDevil on Mar 11, 2018 12:45:01 GMT -6
I played heavy metal, hard rock, and prog from the late seventies. I like to pop on a Yes, T.Rex, or Sabbath LP w/ headphones when preparing a map or making random rolls. Awesome. Perhaps we should start a new thread of 70's/early 80's tunes that get us into the period mindset. To be a purist the music aught be on vinyl on a vintage hi-fi, lest the immersive spell is broken. (I'm reminded of the movie Somewhere in Time, when Christopher Reeve's character accidentally saw a 1979 penny).
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Post by sixdemonbag on Mar 11, 2018 12:47:50 GMT -6
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Post by Gene M. on Mar 11, 2018 13:44:38 GMT -6
Thanks. My wife is in printing, so I can get nice prints for gaming any time I need. Currently planning on getting the Darlene Greyhawk map printed on canvas. I have the folio but I get nervous about damaging it. Might get a Glorantha map printed too if I run Runequest soon. Not sure about the strict legality but I am not selling them, so hopefully it's fine!
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Post by derv on Mar 11, 2018 20:32:03 GMT -6
Old school assecories. Oddly this thing never gets talked about- doodling. You need pencils & paper (sometimes colored pencils if you're ambitious).
Doodling was a big thing with my group growing up. Everything we did was accompanied with representational doodles. Our character sheets were certain to contain a doodle of our character and we were always drawing monsters and examples of what was found in a chamber or cavern. Our notes and maps were riddled with such things.
I think that's some of the appeal of the 3LBB's. The illustrations were an invitation.
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Post by DungeonDevil on Mar 12, 2018 9:14:09 GMT -6
My lecture notes and papers in my schooling were filled with brilliant doodles, and that got me many scowls and demerits from the teachers. My adult life has been partially about trying to recover the lost art of daydreaming and doodling in the invitingly vacant margins.
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Post by ffilz on Mar 13, 2018 17:56:01 GMT -6
I used minis almost from the get go. In addition to metal minis, I use some plastic critters of various types, and purchased some plastic mini sets from various companies (like Airfix, though not sure I ever used Airfix - too lazy to look up the companies - one set was an Egyptian tomb I know).
For a GM screen, I took my Avalon Hill Midway board (I wasn't playing the game...) and taped photocopies of the DMG charts from Dragon Magazine (or maybe it was the printing in White Dwarf) onto it.
I used dungeon tiles for a while, made some use of dominoes (the MIT folks I started gaming with introduced me to dominoes). Eventually I purchased a Chessex Battlemat (and later a Megamat).
One time I set up a huge island battle at home and grabbed trees and other scenery from my model railroading stuff.
Frank
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Post by exedore6 on Mar 20, 2018 6:58:51 GMT -6
I played heavy metal, hard rock, and prog from the late seventies. I like to pop on a Yes, T.Rex, or Sabbath LP w/ headphones when preparing a map or making random rolls. Awesome. Perhaps we should start a new thread of 70's/early 80's tunes that get us into the period mindset. In ‘14 I launched a campaign using the LBB + CM (with a few creative interpretations of the RAW at the time) Prep sessions were fueled by Sabbath, Bowie, Yes and King Crimson.
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Post by exedore6 on Mar 20, 2018 7:02:38 GMT -6
I used dungeon tiles for a while, made some use of dominoes (the MIT folks I started gaming with introduced me to dominoes). How did you use dominoes (as minis, or something else)? I’d think that while each piece is unique, it would be difficult to remember who’s who. I keep a copy of bananagrams in my hobo-GM kit for the tiles.
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Post by coffee on Mar 20, 2018 7:09:04 GMT -6
I keep a copy of bananagrams in my gaming gear for random character names.
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Post by ffilz on Mar 20, 2018 8:13:58 GMT -6
I used dungeon tiles for a while, made some use of dominoes (the MIT folks I started gaming with introduced me to dominoes). How did you use dominoes (as minis, or something else)? I’d think that while each piece is unique, it would be difficult to remember who’s who. I keep a copy of bananagrams in my hobo-GM kit for the tiles. The dominoes were used to delineate walls. I had painted miniatures for the PCs and eventually lots of monsters.
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Post by exedore6 on Mar 20, 2018 9:02:49 GMT -6
The dominoes were used to delineate walls. I had painted miniatures for the PCs and eventually lots of monsters. That's pretty cool - might have to steal that.
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