Getting All Creative - Without Burning The House Down!

If there's one thing that can really make a game for me it's props.

Over the years, I have accumulated an ever-growing horde of bits and bobs that could be potential in-game props - many even for RPGs that I'll probably never run (such as Call Of Cthulhu).

And while I may have the artistic talent of a monkey with a fistful of poo, that doesn't stop me from "getting all creative" when I foresee a "prop opportunity" in my current game.

I knew The Tuesday Knights would be meeting up with a potential halfling hireling called Jabo Furfoot (inspired by a cowardly halfling hireling profiled in a recent issue of Knights Of The Dinner Table), so, for a bit of added value, I decided that his "grandpappy" used to be an errand boy for White Rabbit Castle (the site of their exploration) and Jabo happened to have his "grandpappy's" old sketch map of the "public areas" of the castle.

Now it has to be said that not all halflings (hobbits by any other name) have the penmanship, or cartography software, of Bilbo Baggins!

I "traced" the castle map - leaving out some areas - onto a piece of printer paper, then screwed it up and dropped it in a bowl with a teabag. Hot water was added, so the tea leaves would stain the map.

For added effect, I then spread the sodden map on a baking tray and slid it under the grill in our cooker for a few minutes... until it started smoking, actually... then quickly removed it and left it to dry (and make sure it didn't burst into flames).

Seriously, I'm not sure of the safety implications of "grilling" maps - so I'm not recommending you try this at home, kiddies.

When I was sure it was safe and dry, I folded the map into quarters and slid it away with Jabo's character sheet - ready to hand to the players at the right time.

I think they appreciated it - although Pete did enquire whether the halfling had been using it as toilet paper (or words to that effect).

It was a useful tool for their exploration of the castle as it meant they didn't need to map the surface level.

Of course, compared to the stylish maps used by groups like that at Geek Orthodox, my efforts were pretty craptastic - but it did its duty and helped guide the players, eventually, down into the dungeon... where no doubt they will all meet horrible deaths within about 10 minutes of the start of the next game.

I'm hoping to make some more maps in the future, so if anyone has any other more interesting - and safer - techniques for giving pseudo-parchments a quirky texture I'd love to hear about them.