Player Handouts

Handouts are one of the most important techniques I use. Actually I encourage other DM's to use them. Even going to the "extreme" in some cases. More often I use them to show players what a creature, or NPC looks like. Sometimes a picture of an elegant home, or castle. Or the gates of graveyard. Things like this all add emotion to the players, which encourages them to role play better. And it even helps me out in college by giving me idea's and such for my next art project!

In some cases however I tend to go a little "overboard" as the players call it. In one case I had a gnome who was sent to deliver a message to a high noble house of a city. During his travel he was attacked by a band of ogres. Lucky for the little gnome the PC's stumbled into the area and helped him out, but not soon enough as the gnome was quickly dying. So in a desperate need, the gnome gave the adventurers a scroll case to give to the noble. So where does the handout fit in?

Actually I created the scroll case by using paper mache, and covering a paper towel roll. After letting it harden I cut of the tip of one end creating the opening. I then created a top for the case by covering a cup that was just slightly larger than the paper towel roll, thus it would slide on snug. After that was created I spray painted it all gold, added some fancy lettering and designs and there I had a scroll case. I soaked a piece of white construction paper in tea for a day, thus turning it a tannish brown color, then hung it over my wood stove, so it would dry and become "crinkly." I then wrote of a letter on the computer and printed it out on the paper (which was very difficult!) and that made the letter, I then rolled it up, sealed it with wax and placed it into the scroll case. I then went out and bought a glitter popper (them things people use at parties that look like a little bottle, and when you pull the string, confetti, glitter, or whatever come shooting out). I placed (super glue) a smaller piece of round cardboard in the scroll case, covering the actual letter, and creating just enough room for the glitter popper to fit. I placed the popper there, and super glued it to the cardboard disk, and then the pull string was glued to the top of the scroll case.

Knowing my players, always curious and greedy, they readily accepted the scroll case, and once the gnome passed away, they decided to open it. Quickly the groups thief snatched up the scroll case I made off the table, and ripped the top off the case, and was covered in glitter, which in game terms was actually a sneezing powder! Anyway, to end this, it worked out quite well, and was a hell of a blast to watch.

Morgan {TempesT} "It's swirling like a drunk man dancing!"