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robert4818 Heroic
Joined: 25 Jan 2009 Posts: 1044
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 4:47 pm Post subject: What's your Unexpected Tool for gaming? |
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For me? Its Microsoft Powerpoint (though Open Office Impress would work as well).
Why? I find it to be a simple, but robust set of tools, an easy file holder, minor picture editor, and a number of other things.
In game preps, I use it to hold and organize various pictures, maps, write-ups, etc.
I've used it to create character sheets, paper models, and other fun stuff.
I've even created an entire board game inside of power point (board, tokens, extra sheets, etc.)
Even when I'm not using PP directly, I often find it useful for quick graphical creations. (For example, building a quick piece of Heraldry).
Thats my unexpected tool, what's yourse? _________________ Aperture Science:
We do what we must, because we can. |
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Amaril Heroic
Joined: 17 Dec 2008 Posts: 1064 Location: Decatur, GA
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Mirosoft OneNote used to be because of it's ability to clip anything and everything either as text or as an image, and I could position or resize those elements in a page by dragging them around. The notebook model worked really well for campaign management. Now that I don't carry a laptop around as much, it's Google Docs and Evernote, which I can access anywhere on any device. Docs can be shared among the group, and both Evernote and Docs can be printed easily if necessary. _________________ Kristian
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farik Seasoned
Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 322
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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pop bottle rings
We started popping them off and now have a whole rainbow of colors. They fit perfectly onto all kinds of miniatures and work great to note conditions like bloodied, shaken, infected we use a little dry erase board with all the different colors on it to jot down what each ring means as we use them.
I cannot impress upon you enough how much better they work than stacking tokens or placing markers next to bases. |
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GreenTongue Veteran

Joined: 30 Jul 2003 Posts: 999 Location: Orlando, FL
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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| farik wrote: | | pop bottle rings |
I LIKE it!!
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Crimson_red Novice
Joined: 21 May 2012 Posts: 3
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| farik wrote: | | pop bottle rings |
That is a personal favorite; I tried so many different methods, including making colored rings by hand, then one day I popped a ring off then kicked myself for all the wasted effort, lol |
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scourger Seasoned
Joined: 14 Aug 2005 Posts: 431
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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I have a couple.
One is the scanner on my printer. I use the computer to grab images on the net or originally to scan pictures from a book, put it in Word, resize to 1" width, put a box around it and copy 3 times. Print on card stock, score the lines, cut with a paper cutter, and tape to make a mini counter that can stand on the tabletop but still be flattened for easy transport.
Another is the wooden box of wine tools I bought because it lays flat. I lined it with felt to make a dice holder, transporter and rolling area. It works great and was born of a need to have an easy way to carry, get & roll dice in a contained but level area. Now, the backgammon boxes I see make more sense to me; and I want to get them to use for dice boxes. |
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GruffaloCrumble Seasoned

Joined: 19 Sep 2011 Posts: 147
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 2:08 am Post subject: |
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Poker Chips: I was using these for Bennies anyway, but you generally get multiple colours. I use white chips as Bennies, red chips to represent wounds, blue for shaken and green for levels of fatigue (popping them under a character model, sometimes PC's are standing atop a tower 5-6 chips tall!). Green chips are also used as Power Points and passed back and forth between player and GM as spells are cast.
Little Plastic Zombies: I got a game called Zombie Town, which I didn't like very much, I binned the game, but kept the army of plastic zombies, which are now used to represent everything from goblins to nazi agents! The figures for the characters / WC villains are all bright coloured figures from the same game, which are useful as all I need to do is put a sticker of the same colour on NPC allies to keep track of who is controlling who in large battles. |
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Vinzent Veteran

Joined: 13 Mar 2009 Posts: 759 Location: Seattle WA
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 2:12 am Post subject: |
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My UTG Messenger bag which is the perfect size for carrying around digest-sized books and game stuff.
 _________________ My Savage Worlds Blog
Get off the Human reservation. Read The Starrunner by C.B. Jones |
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Bavix Seasoned

Joined: 06 Aug 2009 Posts: 111 Location: Indianapolis, IN
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 2:20 am Post subject: |
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I use small elastic hair bands to mark miniatures with conditions (like the plastic rings above). They come in multiple colors and you can buy a whole bag of them for just a couple of dollars.
I also have a collection of random boardgame pieces that I've collected over the years. I use them as props and counters whenever possible. _________________
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johnnii Novice

Joined: 02 Sep 2011 Posts: 57
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 6:12 am Post subject: |
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| Open office calc (same as or at least very similiar to Microsoft Excel). It can do encounter setup, dice rolls, campaign tracking, statblocks, tables etc. |
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amerigoV Veteran
Joined: 06 Jul 2009 Posts: 667 Location: Columbus, Ohio
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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The Dark Barn
In an early 3.0 game I ran, the players spend 30 minutes or more investing the outside of a dark barn they heard a noise (just a horse inside). So anytime I need a few minutes to plan, I though out something dark, mysterious, and harmless out there for them to chew on whilst I gather my wits. _________________ I call Shinanigans! |
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VonDan Legendary

Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 3244
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Mike Zebrowski Seasoned
Joined: 13 May 2003 Posts: 170 Location: Roseville, MN
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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Laser Cutter.
I can make almost any gaming accessory that I need. |
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VonDan Legendary

Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 3244
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Mike Zebrowski wrote: | Laser Cutter.
I can make almost any gaming accessory that I need. |
ohhh can you make lams for scale armor _________________ http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/Vondan/ |
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