Sometimes playing D&D or other RPGs can start to feel stale, even when the adventures are exciting. Here are some fun and easy ways to make your RPG session feel more interactive and immersive for your players.
I’ve broken them down into two categories: in-game and out of game items. I’ve focused on very cheap (or free) things, but if you have the budget, you can always look for upgrades.
Out-of-Game Items
Things for you, your players, & the room.
- Outfits/Costume jewelry. You don’t have to fully dress up as your character, but a few accent pieces can make it easier to get into their headspace. Think costume jewelry for noble characters, cloaks for wizards, leather jackets or heavy eyeliner for edgy rogueish types, and wearable body-mods like plastic elf ears or fangs.
- Goblets. There are plenty of plastic jewel-encrusted goblets (some with plastic dragons coiled around them) in the cheap shops where I live, but your mileage might vary here. They’re super camp, but nothing feels like fantasy like drinking (even just water) out of a dragon goblet. You could also use huge plastic tankards, or for a scifi feel, double-walled stemless glasses.
- Music. There are plenty of D&D playlists online, but you could even curate your own. Alternatively, cheat and play a movie’s soundtrack. Lord of the Rings, for instance, has some dope music.
- Miniatures/Standees. This can be super cheap…or super expensive. You can print out art of your character to make a 2D miniature, buy a miniature that looks similar to yours, or go all the way and get a fully-customised tiny version of your character. Either way, having a physical icon of your character with you as you play can help make them feel more real.
- NPC cards. The D&D Essentials Kit has this, but you can do it for your own campaigns too. Find (or draw or commission) art of the main NPCs for the session, and print them out as little cards. I think headshots work best for this, but full-body pictures can be cool too. Then when the characters meet the NPCs, you can show the players exactly what they look like. If they have stats or important information, you can write it on the back of the card.
- Item cards. This is like the NPC cards above, but has another useful effect – physical cards can make it easier for players to see at a glance what items they have, and what those items do.
In-Game Items
Physical versions of game items
- Quest cards. If you have a job board in your campaign, why not create a physical version? Write up or print out a little ad for each available quest, and pin them to a small cork board. You can use different fonts, writing styles, and paper to clearly differentiate them.
- Treasure maps. You can easily draw a vague treasure map on paper and roll it up into a scroll. You can also fake an aged look on the paper by burning the edges or dying the paper with tea or coffee. Then when they find a map in-game, you can give the players the scroll to unroll and pore over. You can also do this with area maps, which can make it easier for players to plan out journeys.
- Letters and newspapers. Similar to the quest cards and maps – just write up whatever they’re going to find in-game and potentially “age” or distress the paper. Maybe tear off half the letter to leave them guessing about the author (and if they find another letter that uses the same font…hmmm, maybe that’s a clue), or write a letter in code for them to puzzle over. Newspapers and other publications can be used to keep the players up to date with other events happening in-game, especially if those events might impact them later (eg: a political coup in a different kingdom, a strange artefact being discovered nearby, etc)
- Physical puzzles. An easy one is a coded letter, but you can get more complex with scrabble tiles, or coloured glass stones that represent an in-game puzzle. Having a physical representation of the puzzle will make it way easier for players to get involved and be able to solve it. You can sometimes buy cheap puzzle boxes, which can be a fun way to give the players an optional treasure. Let them fiddle with the box throughout the campaign – if they ever open it, maybe they find something amazing inside.
- Treasure. This is the slightly cooler version of the item cards above, and like the goblets or costumes, you should be able to find some interesting things in cheap shops. Little statues, costume jewelry, weird paintings or other art objects, or even a soft pouch full of glass “gems”. You don’t want to overload your players with junk, so save this for the really cool treasure.
- Plot items/Artifacts. If you have a “collect the macguffins” type campaign (eg: the adventurers need to find the four ancient scrolls before the bad guys), this is perfect. make the items real, and when the adventurers find one of the crucial items in-game (or the crucial item), watch them go wild as you pull out the physical version and hand it to them. You can get super DIY with this – as an example, I actually made a little urn out of air-dry clay, dried it, and broke it for a campaign. The adventurers were collecting the shards to put it back together again, and they loved seeing it actually come together in real life.
Of course, these ideas are just a starting point! Use them to kickstart ideas for your own adventures.
Do you use any physical objects when you play, or do you have a special soundtrack you listen to during the game? Let me know!
Megan Writes 