Props for the Peeps

If there’s something I’ve developed a trademark over the years for in my games, I believe it to be my use of props. The use of props helps solidify a concept, illustrate an aspect of the game, or in many cases, just provide something neat and tangible for play. Having a budding interest in layout and design doesn’t hurt, either! Here are some tips for making your own props.

A prop can really be anything: a crumpled newsletter, a faded photograph, or even a DVD with a hidden message. Many of my props, for time and economic reasons, are written in nature. These types of props, besides the time taken to make them look good, are the easiest to do. I conceptualize props in three areas:

1. A prop that illustrates
2. A prop that informs
3. A prop that involves

First, it’s worth mentioning that props are secondary to the game. Meaning, in my workflow in preparing for a game, the creation or use of a prop happens after everything else is done. It’s easy to get sucked into doing props at the expense of preparing for your game or writing the adventure!

Props That Illustrate

Photographs are the easiest for this area. This can be as simple as going online and finding free (Creative Commons License) photos and printing them out on your inkjet printer. For an added touch you can run through a quick filter, say Photoshop or iPhoto, and change to black and white or sepia tone. If you have a scrapbooker in your house, use some special scrapbooking scissors to give the edges a torn or worn feel. Print on high-quality glossy photo stock for that ultra professional appearance. Crumple the photo to make it look used. Fold it into quarters about a dozen or so times to give it the look of a prized possession from someone’s back pocket. Take a stack of photos, a paperclip, and a manila folder to create a pre-mission briefing. Go nuts.

Best place to find photos online? Flickr! They also group photos by “clusters” that you can search by. You can spend hours browsing from cluster to cluster!

Props That Inform

My favorite. These are the props (or handouts) that share data. It’s the way they share data that’s important. Consider the primer for my Fading Suns Epic. The complete primer is 14 pages long, but these first 5 pages give you a feel for what I’m going for. Fading Suns — and my Epic — is a particularly complex game for new players. This prop is more of a tool to help handhold the players into the universe. As they become more familiar with the game, the prop becomes a reference point. Instead of asking me about the characters they met three sessions ago, they refer to the handout.

First, notice the layout. If you’re familiar with Fading Suns at all, this is the layout of their books. Hence, my handout becomes an extension of the game. Notice the font. It’s evocative of the setting. Don’t use sans serif for fantasy and a serif font for sci-fi. Also, don’t be afraid to use red herrings; not everything has to be the truth, or even born from the truth. Make it interesting, not necessarily the gospel.

That particular prop was done in Adobe InDesign. The graphics were lifted from the Fading Suns primer rules or downloads from the Holistic Design website. All told, it probably took me 2 hours to make. Also, it’s a living document; as new characters are introduced, I update the handout and give to my players.

Props That Involve

The third area are the props that don’t really have any function but to involve the players in the game. These, in my experience, are the most fun to do and the most rewarding for the players. These are the props that years after the game, players still remember or have saved to look at later. These props don’t functionally bring much to the game, but do help tie the players to the game. That emotional attachment is what’s so important.

For my Stargate SG-4 campaign, I did an award for a character, denoting their receipt of a commendation. Printed out on professional photo paper and then framed, the total cost for this prop was about $8 and an hour of my time. The look on the player’s face was priceless. The other players were suitably moved as well. I don’t use these as carrots, I use these as more tangible awards for good play.

So, hopefully I’ve given you some ideas for how to use props in your game. One caveat: be wary of using the same prop over and over or relying on them exclusively. A prop is never a substitute for good GMing. In closing, I’ll leave you with a few more examples.

Stargate SG-4: NPC Dossier — A dossier of an NPC introduced to the game.
Stargate SG-4: Found Letter — An emotional letter that added insight to a long-dead NPC.
Fading Suns: Captured Letter — A letter from the primary villain to her co-conspirator, introducing new wrinkles to the Epic.
Star Trek Endeavour: Orders — Operational orders for a mission.
Star Trek Endeavour: Transfer Orders — Orders placing a specific player in command of her vessel.