The MOST IMPORTANT Prop YOU NEED In Your D&D Game!!! (Making D&D Props)

[@Curi0Cat]

I do wax sealing as a hobby so I have both the wax sticks and the beads and spoon. if you don't wanna spend the money, you can use crayons or normal candle wax, crayons work well, but I've used normal candle wax for scented letters from noble women. (also a Game master of 14 years.

[@Curi0Cat]

for an extra touch of fancy dollar tree has metallic markers, go over the raised part of the wax seal after it cools.

[@Curi0Cat]

the sealing wax does hold the paper closed better though.

[@StorycraftSociety]

….. Crayons are just colored wax. THEYD BE SO MUCH CHEAPER!! AND ALL THE DIFFERENT COLORS!!! ::throws fancy sealing wax across the room and storms off::

[@StorycraftSociety]

I’m pinning this comment because it’s so simple it’s genius and it blows my mind this never occurred to me.

[@Curi0Cat]

@@StorycraftSociety Because you use yours for TTRPGs i will also let you know there are meanings to different colors. red is default/formal. black is funerals, white is weddings, blue is letter to lover, deeper the blue more intense the love. there are more, these are the ones i know of top of mind.

[@stephenmartin1982]

I once had a player who tea stained some paper and made their characters spell book. It made for a pretty cool touch at the table

[@StorycraftSociety]

That’s awesome!

[@nephicus339]

The level of excitement that comes out of players when you whip out a roll of paper from under the table is a pretty good feeling, too.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Oh man, it’s the best!

[@nikolacrnobaracd362]

Nah my party is used to it

[@FamBoren]

Great props! The perfumed letter is definitely something I will pick up and use.

[@Corundum_Rolls]

Great video as usual. The cardboard tube on the inside of aluminum foil roll is about the right size for a rolled message. I loosely roll my message around those before adding the wax and stamp. It gives you a firm surface. Walmart sells the stamp kit a bit cheaper, but not by much.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Oh that’s a really smart idea!

[@DelphineTheWorstBladeEver]

As a DM, I constantly feel pressure to enhance the gaming experience. Especially because my party is all about roleplay, and the rabbit man eats carrots, and the bard actually brings a ukulele. I just want to give back a little, because it means so much to me when my players are constantly dressing up and using props of their own, just for two hours.

[@photogfrank2146]

Great video Garman! I agree with Ryan Sullivan and Janne 'Defu' about soaking your paper in tea or coffee! With tea, you can either use wet tea bags and rub them over the paper (front & back) or you can pour it over the paper and let it soak. (Of course, use a baking sheet or some other type of pan) The darker you want the paper the more tea bags in the water and the longer you let it soak. Once you remove it to dry if you want some spots or variations you can sprinkle dry tea or coffee grounds on the paper in places and let it dry to get brown spots. You can also do the same with Turmeric powder to get yellow speckles. When the paper is dry you use a paintbrush to brush the tea coffee grounds or Turmeric off. Since inkjet printer ink isn't waterproof you might want to "treat" your paper first and after it's dry put it in the printer. Otherwise, if you let the ink dry and then do the treatment you will get a bit of blurring. Which may add to the look you want. Or you can do the writing by hand. Now I heard you say that your handwriting is terrible so you might want Olivia or Conner to write it for you! Great video! Two thumbs up Sir!

[@StorycraftSociety]

Awesome tips! Thank you!

[@photogfrank2146]

@@StorycraftSociety Garman you should join and post on The Tabletop Crafters Guild or D&D Creative Table Designs on Facebook!

[@DarkHeartofBlackmoor]

Look for sealing wax beads that you melt over a tea light and pour onto the paper. You don't get the black soot from the open flame with the wick version and the wax isn't as brittle. Plus you can mix and swirl colors before a pour. If you want to go simple, they make sticks of sealing wax to use with hot glue guns. Easy-peasy.

[@Seraphina-Rose]

These are great examples! I love making handouts, using different papers and fonts for different NPC's, ageing computer-printed maps, and using wax seals on letters. For my pandemic online Dragon Heist game I made digital issues of a broadsheet that touched on events the party had played a role in (monsters coming up through the yawning portal only to be "beaten back by former adventurer Durnan"... they were so indignant that their own heroic efforts weren't included!) and to foreshadow upcoming events. I also made jpg's of messages from the Zhentarim and the Harpers. So much livelier than just telling them what was written on the paper bird - I'd have learned to fold origami birds if we'd been playing in person. Everyone loves a handout!

[@jhenz3378]

all great ideas. I like using this style of props for old treasure maps. it is an instant adventure hook. I haven't tried using parchment style paper yet but I think I will find some. Also, If you have a heat gun; using a heat gun instead of open flame works great on regular paper. you can even brown the interior of the page so it looks lightly burned rather than just the edges.

[@StorycraftSociety]

You can never go wrong with a good old fashioned treasure map!

[@millenniumf1138]

Man, this really makes me wish I was in one of your games! You have a really interesting DMing style that would really make me excited to play every week.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! That means a lot! I certainly hope my players feel the same way!

[@falcychead8198]

I especially like the idea of using a perfume or scent on a letter. When an NPC appears in the game, you can surreptitiously spray a bit of scent into the room. Then later the players come on a letter that has the same scent on it, and it would be a great clue about who wrote the letter.

[@RamiroRamirez-xi5mn]

Great video, I actually wrote a letter and passed it out to one of my players at the last session, it was very similar to what you made. I folded it up instead of rolling it, but the players loved it, even though it was directed to only one of them.

[@StorycraftSociety]

I think I might experiment with folding them as well!

[@shoreknightseer3152]

I used the burning method to burn out parts of key words. The players know the bbeg has a spy, but not his name, maybe a letter or two survived the fire. Now they're looking for some person who's name starts with E, or possibly B.

[@StorycraftSociety]

That’s awesome!

[@ryansullivan5854]

I soak regular sheets of paper in old coffee - gives the color great variation and darkens it at the edges which is a cool effect. I keep a bunch of sheets on hand for when I need them. I do the same thing with map handouts to my players - scan and print a copy of the map and soak it and it has a nice aged effect. I've hand written my notes to date but I'm now curious to see if I can run one of my pre-made parchments through my printer.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Oh that’s not a bad idea to have some blank sitting aside if I need to make one really quick!

[@TheKat12364]

Yes! I just used this method to make an atlas and it turned out amazing. The atlas looks old and well used.

[@LangZyne]

I’ve been loving your content Garmin! One note for this video; you must have used a laser printer for your royal decree. If you used an inkjet printer, the water technique to make it wavy wouldn’t work bc the ink would start to bleed. I would hate for someone to pay for expensive card stock and then ruin the whole piece. I know from experience, lol. I tried to tea stain a piece and the ink bled everywhere and it was illegible.

[@StorycraftSociety]

That’s very true! I didn’t think about that!

[@Thomas-np3gi]

Wait, does this mean i can't use coffee to stain paper either if I used an inkjet printer?

[@LangZyne]

⁠@@Thomas-np3gi That’s my experience and understanding, yes. The ink will bleed. Do a small test print before you waste ink on a whole sheet of paper would be my recommendation.

[@icefireclover]

Hey Garman. Just want to say I tried this for the first time and it came out incredible. I am so excited to start a new session with first time D&D players. I think they will really love these. Thank you so much for making this video!

[@Bluecho4]

There are old letter folding techniques that would basically turn a letter into its own envelope. Still sealed with wax. Speaking of seals, you could hand a letter to the players with the seal already broken. Don't draw attention to this, but allow the players the chance to pick up on it themselves. They may realize that whatever the message was, someone else got to it first. Lastly, this is more of a narrative thing. But I had the idea a while back of a special kind of poison that gets mixed into ink. A poison that gets reactivated upon contact with the oils/sweat on a person's hands, and gets absorbed into the skin. When you hand the letter to the players, make a note of which ones handle the letter, and silently make CON saves for them. It's a very insidious way for NPCs to strike out against the PCs...or imply something about the intended recipient (Yuan-ti are immune to poison, for example, as are undead or other creatures).

[@StorycraftSociety]

::begins frantically writing down ideas:: do you think the ink poison would do a D6 or d8 damage?

[@Bluecho4]

@@StorycraftSociety Enough damage that it would consistently kill a Commoner or Noble, as those would be the primary targets 99% of the time. It would also need to actual debilitate the target, if it doesn't kill them, so it would need to give them the Poisoned condition for some length of time.

[@nephicus339]

@@StorycraftSociety The technique referred to is called letterlocking. The poison you use could both determine the damage and effects; but might also be a good indicator of who sent it. Drow poison, for instance, would be obvious it's Drow; but if Drow aren't near the location, or even involved in this part of your story, then the hint is it's someone with Drow connections, and A LOT of money to be able to afford for Drow to part with their distinct poison. (or maybe they're implicating the Drow to throw off the scent and had actually used mercenaries to ambush a Drow patrol for the poison) Purple Worm poison, for instance, would be outrageously priced; so it's either someone with money, or a professional assassins guild. Everything is a lead in any number of directions. :)

[@nhear001]

Great video. A couple of tricks I use are using real parchment paper, it’s pretty cheap and tearing the edges instead of cutting them. Real parchment leaves a nice fuzzy edge when torn. Very realistic.

[@CampaignTerrain]

Notes and notices are always great plot points. Nice vid

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you!

[@VingloLeClerc]

Yea, keep the dagger. It's been used in a murder and I don't want it to be the one carrying it. And since it came with a letter from the guild, it's not like you can say how you happened by that weapon. Nice trick.

[@mikelawrence7030]

This is awesome. I am preparing an adventure that the PCs have to find a journal of a previous adventurer to track him and find the secrets he left behind. I am going to create the actual journal, or at least, the necessary pages of the journal. Thanks very much for this video.

[@StorycraftSociety]

That sounds awesome!

[@DerBlutenPat1348]

nice Snarky Puppy shirt

[@FallenSailor]

Great clip, sir! I also think the letter, note, pamphlet, etc., is underused. My group enjoyed trying to figure out Tharizdun’s sigil on a scrap of paper. It’s fun to add it to the looting when ye olde AD&D murder hobo dead body kick comes out after combat!

[@StorycraftSociety]

Definitely!

[@GregStanton.]

would love to see a way to tarnish and rough up the edges of the paper to make it appear more cloth-like. not quite by burning, but in a way to see particular fibers...maybe wetting the edges and then kind of roughing them up with fingers so that the edges and surfaces dont appear to be slick or cut with scissors

[@StorycraftSociety]

I’ll have to play around with that!

[@MrDefaultti]

A small tip. Regular white paper, shallow tray and black tea or coffee. Whit this you can get really creative. Soak the paper in tea. Take it out and take kitchen paper to dry from some points to get some of that tea out. Takes longer of course, because the paper get wet.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Oh that’s a really good idea!

[@RamiaSmith]

This is how I do it as well however I put the tray in the oven at 150-200 degrees for like 5-10 min and it really sets the color in the paper.... I also to give certain pieces for aged worn look I will smash it up into a paper ball then open up and follow the process above

[@nephicus339]

I used grape juice, like a goblet of wine was spilled all over the papers, once. xD

[@coalcreekdefense8106]

In my world, spell scrolls are written in silver-infused ink, and the spell is cast right into the ink, scorching the paper. So I use a thick black paper which I beat the heck out of, and then write the appropriate sigils and illustrations in silver sharpie. When the spell is cast, the release of magic completely incinerated the paper. I haven't figured out how to recreate that with a prop, but I'll keep you updated on my experiments.

[@Jamietomp]

A little bit of a late response so you may already have a solution, but have you considered using black flash paper instead? You could write on it, then when the spell is cast, light it and the whole thing will vanish quickly

[@coalcreekdefense8106]

@@Jamietomp Oh I like you.

[@Shrewd_Enough]

You should use a wooden dowel to roll up the parchment when you put the wax seal on.

[@chrisfox961]

This is a great video. I love the ideas of using props to add depth to the D&D sessions.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! I have to say, my players love it when a prop hits the table. Something as simple as a note gets them excited!

[@IWFarrar2]

How would you go about adding some blood stains to a letter? That could be really cool

[@nortonsapple227]

You can find png blood splatter that looks really good when printed.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Hmm, I’d probably use watered down acrylic paint, I’d just change the colors up depending how old the blood was. Old blood is a rusty brown color.

[@LostWhits]

I always liked to assume paper in fantasy worlds comes on a roll and should be torn off as needed. As a kid I always wondered "why are so many letters and maps burnt around the edges?

[@StorycraftSociety]

Hahaha, this world is in dire need of some fire safety training.

[@nephicus339]

@@StorycraftSociety Evocation wizards would form their world's OSHA. lol

[@TimLewallen]

Historically, the "fancy" parchment paper was just paper. There was no plain, white paper during that period. If there were, the white paper would be considered fancy because the process to make it that white would cost more.

[@StorycraftSociety]

An excellent point!

[@greystorm9974]

Props just make the game better

[@StorycraftSociety]

ABSOLUTELY!

[@greystorm9974]

I think I will start a KZbin series on my prop oriented Tomb of Annihilation

[@ctcummings21]

Great ideas!

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you!

[@alexbarrett3832]

Yep, these are the best handouts! Great video. Not sure about the rounded edges you went for though. Historically there isn't really a good reason not to cut parchment square. I think a better idea would be to print on A3 and trim it to be a very different aspect ratio, so it won't look as though it came out of an A4 printer. Weathered or torn edges are also great for some things, byt a royal proclamation shouldn't be too weathered if its supposed to be new. I want a good way to make something look as though its written on a palimpsest, but need to find a way to do it where it stays legible to the players!

[@diegojesussilvaeduardo9347]

8:00 you could say "Look at the wolf that's under my pants" and still be family-friendly Loved the crafts, definitely using in my games, new sub

[@StorycraftSociety]

Hahaha

[@JAbell1966]

Printer paper is available at places like Office Depot and Staples that looks like aged parchment, just age/burn the edges to make it look older if needed.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Really!? ::starts frantically googling:: … well shit!

[@jaydarquem2029]

🤘

[@DaysInTheGarden]

Thanks for the video and keep throwing plastic

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you!

[@kyslippy]

Everyone always says to use tea however the best results I've had has been using parchment and a lighter to burn the edges and use fingers to snuff to create edges. The carbon will also add a nice stain to the parchment

[@DelphineTheWorstBladeEver]

The constant misspelling of majesty kills me. This is a great video

[@justonsvoid]

Live owls delivering letters or messages is very overrated…

[@NIGHTWINGEX]

Surprising everyone forgot about the spilling coffee on paper trick

[@Tysto]

The dude can't spell and yet straight-up ignores the red squiggles under "Magesty".

[@TheTroopersCorner]

Another great idea! I’m doing something similar but with aged antique paper I got off Amazon. I’m also trying to learn calligraphy but for now fancy fonts will do.

[@StorycraftSociety]

My hat is off to you, I am NOT skilled enough to do calligraphy, so I just stick to the premade fonts.