What props have you used?

[jason taylor]

Has anyone here used props for a game(played Vera Lynn for a WWII game worn a fedora for Espionage, etc)?

[Mark Skarr]

I picked up a voice changer a couple of weeks ago to do an NPC's voice for a game. I've 3d-printed a number of minor props for a number of our games.

I'm going to add a bit more here:
3d Printers are your friend.
I've printed a severed finger (thing this) and a ring (this thing) and put them in a sized-up maze box (this thing) as a clue for a party.

I print terrain and figures all the time (right now, I'm printing a version of this thing MonkeyFist modified into a Herkimer Battle Jitney). I just finished printing a 105mm tall Deathclaw. As soon as that's done, I'm going to take the Herkimer logo he painstakingly rebuilt (from this thing), add party member names to it, and print a set of "Interdimensional Wings" for the players of our IW game.

[johndallman]

A few, through the years. A glass paperweight as a crystal ball for a fortune-teller. A model of a baby beholder made out of a rubber ball and map pins, because it became a significant NPC when it charmed a party member, and stayed around for a year or so of play. An airsoft revolver of the right model for a PC who had a close relationship with his gun.

[Anaraxes]

All sorts of things, from time to time. Music to set moods. Many pictures of places and NPCs. Items made for the adventure, like "old" maps, journal entries, newspaper articles, or business cards, sometimes with clues in them for players to find. I wouldn't say it's a regular part of the games I've been in --- it's a lot of extra work -- but it does add to the atmosphere. The idea of in-character costumes has come up a few times, but I don't remember anyone actually doing so.

[RogerBW]

I generally have a playlist for games I run, but it's for prep and writeup time to get me in the right mood more than for a soundtrack during the game (though sometimes I do that too).

I'm giving thought to 3D-printing some miniature guns for a scenario where there are fewer guns than player characters, so that questions of just who's got the pistol can be clearly resolved.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

The idea of in-character costumes has come up a few times, but I don't remember anyone actually doing so.

I've never done this as such. I once coincidentally dressed in colours that matched the character's garb, found it seemed to help in some indefinable way, and have done it a few more times.

[thastygliax]

I've occasionally built props, but most of them have been limited to maps, journal excerpts, or other things that I can do on a sheet of paper.

I have a large LEGO collection and regularly use minifigures for minis, but only rarely go to the bother of building terrain. However, I have built a handful of buildings at a much smaller scale in order to help the players and I visualize them better in three dimensions. For just a couple examples, I built a model of the lighthouse in Madness in Freeport when I ran that adventure, and more recently, I've built a couple models to help me design temples for an upcoming campaign.

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

The idea of in-character costumes has come up a few times, but I don't remember anyone actually doing so.

I've only done this for LARPs, never for tabletop. However, I do have a T-shirt with art that inspired one of my current characters, so I do wear it to that game frequently. (It's Joan of Arc drawn as a crow, and I'm playing a tengu cleric of a paladin god.)

[mlangsdorf]

I've done a couple of clues for murder mysteries or the like as printed pieces of paper, appropriately stained to obscure vital information. They were usually well received.

I've also done a letter with hidden extra text, where it was obvious that the letter writer was cramming his last few lines to avoid the hidden text. That also worked well.

I haven't used props to set the mood, though.