Following on the heels of the Top 25 Roleplaying Games post I thought I would create my own list of twenty or so.  Sam did a great job covering RPG’s in his post so I am going to cover RPG accessories.  Whether it’s something designed to make running a game easier or a prop to give my game some nice visual appeal, I’m always looking for things that add to the gaming experience. 

 

Wherever I can I’ve added links for the items.  I’ve also rated them on a scale of 1 to 5 for both expense and utility, with a score of 1 being fairly inexpensive or kind of useful, on up to a 5 which is a bit on the costly side or extremely useful.  So without any further delay I give my top 20 gaming tools and accessories. 

 

#20: Litko Condition Markers               http://www.litkoaero.com/

Utility: 4                        Expense: 3

These are new products on the market that I have not had the chance to use yet but look like they would be helpful.  They are color-coded plastic condition markers that are lightweight and easy to place on your character sheet or next to a figure on the table.

 

#19: Woodland Scenics Products         http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/

Utility: 5                        Expense: varies

I make a lot of three-dimensional scenery and terrain for both my RPG’s and war-games so I’m a frequent consumer of their products.  From their comprehensive line of flock and ground coverings, to their simulate “water-effects” products, if you want to model it Woodland Scenics will help you do it. 

 

#18: UltraPro 3” x 4” Top Loaders        http://www.ultrapro.com/page.php

Utility: 3                        Expense: 1

Now that DDI will automatically print out power cards with your data on them for your D&D character, these things are invaluable.  They are inexpensive, available at Wal-Mart, and easy to use. 

 

#17: Dwarven Forge                              http://www.dwarvenforge.com/ 

Utility: 3                        Expense: 5

Anyone who has ever scene these beautiful 3D dungeons can attest to how well they are built and how cool they are to use.  Their only real drawback is cost but they are worth it if you want to spend that kind of money.

 

#16: Campaign Coins                           http://www.campaigncoins.com/

Utility: 2                        Expense: 5

Yeah, they’re on the expensive side but damn they’re cool.  These coins are mad from real metal and have the look, feel, and weight of real fantasy coins.  They come in copper, silver, gold, and platinum (all simulated) and in different denominations.  Saying that you’ve found a hundred gold pieces is one thing but throw down a pouch with 100 metal coins in it and watch your player’s eyes light up.

 

#15: Bendy Dungeon Walls                   http://www.dark-platypus.com/ 

Utility: 4                        Expense: 3

Dark Platypus makes these and I have found them to be pretty useful for adding a little 3D to your tiles or on your gaming mat.  If you get them I highly recommend buying the magnetic adapters and the magnetically receptive battle mat they sell.  Without the magnets I found the product to be a bit unstable and prone to knocking over.

 

#14: Reaper Miniatures and Paints        http://www.reapermini.com/

Utility: 3                        Expense: 4

I’ve been painting miniatures by Reaper for more than 15 years.  They have excellent casts and use very high quality metals.  One of my favorite things they sell is their line of Master Paints and brushes, some of the finest I’ve ever used.  The have also begun making figures for some of the new races for D&D including; the hellborn (tieflings) and the dragon-blooded (dragonborn).  The release several new figures every month. 

 

#13: Alea Tools Magnetic Markers        http://www.aleatools.com 

Utility: 3                        Expense: 3

I wrote a review a couple of months back on this product and I keep finding uses for the poker chip sized stackable magnetic markers.  I like using them on my dry erase board to keep track of initiative.  I assign each player a color and use the extra markers to track conditions.  Each of Alea Tool’s sets of markers comes with circular, stick-on magnets that can attach to your miniatures so that they can in turn attach to the markers. 

 

#12: Hirst Arts Molds                            http://www.hirstarts.com/  

Utility: 4                        Expense: 5

These high quality silicone molds allow you to make Lego-like blocks out of plaster and then create your own terrain models.  Bruce offers more than 30 molds ranging from fieldstone to brick work, from ancient Egyptian to sci-fi.  Although a bit pricey, especially if you use dental plaster (which I strongly recommend), the range of things you can construct is limited only by your imagination.  If you’re a fan of 3D accessories and terrain, building blocks, and modeling, then you’ll love Hirst Arts products.

 

#11: Inexpensive Cardstock Terrain

Utility: 4                        Expense: 2

Although you can suck-up a lot of ink in your printer using these they look great, are easy to use, and the PDF’s are fairly inexpensive.  They can take a little time to construct but if you use good glue and a decent cardstock they come out nice.  Two brands of cardstock terrain that I have used in the past are:

Fat Dragon Games http://www.fatdragongames.com/

World Works Games http://www.worldworksgames.com/

Both of these companies make great products with easy to understand instructions.  The other nice thing about cardstock terrain is that you can make as much of it as you want once you have the PDF.

 

#10: Battle Mats

Utility: 5                        Expense: 3

There are a few different companies that manufacture these vinyl wet-erase compatible mats.  Most come with a 1” grid on one side and a hexagonal pattern on the other.  May favorite brand is manufactured by Crystal Caste (http://www.crystalcaste.com/ ) also the makers of hundreds of styles of dice and other gaming markers.

 

#9: Mini-Markers by Chris Stevens

Utility: 4                        Expense: n/a

As of this time these aren’t for sell anywhere but you’ll see them in use all over the pictures on RoleplayingPro.com.  One of our local gamers makes these small numbered markers that stick to minis.  They are used to differentiate between similar creatures and have proven themselves very useful at our table especially since the new version of D&D tends to have character’s fighting larger groups of enemies. 

 

#8: Dungeon Tiles by WOTC                 http://www.wizards.com/

Utility: 4                        Expense: 2

I started using these a few months ago and I like them.  They are inexpensive but extremely heavy-duty and durable.  They are double-sided and sold in packs with a similar theme such as caverns, outdoors, or a sewer.  Good looking and easy to use.

 

#7: Dry Erase Boards

Utility: 5                        Expense: 2

I love dry erase boards.  Essentially my entire DM area is just a couple of different sized magnetic dry erase boards.  I keep track of initiative, attach monster stats and encounter diagrams, and write down important notes and hit points.  In addition I recently purchased a 10-pack of 4” x 7” mini dry erase boards for my players and now they use them to keep track of their hit points and to jot down quick notes as well.  Keeps them from wearing a hole in their character sheet from constant erasing. 

 

#6: Glass Marker Stones

Utility: 5                        Expense: 2

Used for years by CCG players these small gem-like stones have a lot of good uses.  At my table they are used for action points, bennies, ammo, and most recently as healing surges.  We also like them for bloodied markers and various characters’ marks. 

 

#5: Campaign Cartographer 3               http://www.profantasy.com/

Utility: 5                        Expense: 4

The premiere RPG mapping software by ProFantasy Software Ltd.  I love this product as well as their add-ons Dungeon Designer 3, City Designer 3, and all of their Symbol Sets.  Even a beginner can make a very nice map but after some practice you can turn out a truly incredible looking finished product.  Even if you aren’t much of a map maker this program can really help you create some nice maps.  I can’t say enough about this product and use it extensively for my home campaign.  Go to their web-site and check out a few of the examples, you’ll be impressed.

 

#4: Blogs

Utility: 4                        Expense: 1

Especially when you consider the fact that they are free, RPG blogs are a fantastic resource of news, information, downloads, advice, tips, and critiques.  I would argue that collectively they have made one of the most significant contributions to the industry in the past several years.  Among my favorites:

Musings of a Chatty DM: http://chattydm.net/

Gnome Stew: http://www.gnomestew.com/

Dungeonmastering: http://www.dungeonmastering.com/ [awesome tools]

Roleplaying Tips: http://www.roleplayingtips.com [Johnn Four is a frequent poster here]

Critical Ankle Bites: http://criticalanklebites.com/

The Gamer Dome: http://thegamerdome.com/

These are just a few of the dozens (maybe hundreds) of gamer and game related blogs out there.  You name the game or aspect of gaming and there are probably several sites dedicated to that specific topic.

 

#3: Pre-painted D&D Miniatures           http://www.wizards.com/

Utility: 4                        Expense: 4

First of all I’ll say that I love painting metal minis.  That being said however I never have the time to prepare as many miniatures as I would like.  Prep, priming, painting, and basing good looking miniatures can take quite a bit of time.  The D&D miniatures line is the perfect answer.  Decent looking minis that you can carry piled in a box without worrying about damaging them.  They aren’t very expensive, come with a nice stat card, and it’s nice to have minis that look just like the creature you need.

 

#2: Dungeons & Dragons Interactive     http://www.wizards.com/

Utility: 5                        Expense: 3

In my opinion an absolute “must have” for DM’s.  I’ve used a lot of different computer utilities over the years to manage characters or look up rules, but none come anywhere close to what DDI has to offer.  On top of the utilities you also receive a subscription to both Dragon magazine and Dungeon Magazine, either of which would make the subscription price worthwhile.  In fact as a 20+ year subscriber to Dragon I think its current incarnation is by far the best.  If you play D&D check it out, once you’ve used DDI’s character builder you’ll never use anything else.

 

And finally….

 

#1: Dice!

Utility: 3                        Expense: 2

I really couldn’t leave the quintessential piece of gamer paraphernalia off the list.  After all our entire hobby is identified with multi-sided polyhedral dice.  Why?  Cause that’s how we roll!

 

 

I’m sure there’s lots of things I forgot (comfy chairs, pencils, Doritos, Mt. Dew), so feel free to comment and add your favorites to the list.