CHEAP and EASY props to LEVEL UP your D&D night!

The fact that you can just say "you don't know" as a valid response to a question as a DM is too much power for some people lmao

That mustache is exquisite.

One of my favorite responses when a player asks something like "What does this do?" or "Where does that lead?" is this: "That's a great question." And then I say nothing more on the matter. Drives my players crazy!

Most wrapping paper has a 1"x1" grid on the back of it, too, works great for big maps, and can normally be bought for under $2

I use board games for my battle maps. Kids always lose pieces of board games. So, I took the boards themselves (they also sell board games super cheap at second stores). I painted the board (since they are thick they don't bend with the wet paint). I have a space on (the teenagers I DM for are having an Astral campaign), outdoor one, and blank white one. Once painted I use a ruler to paint the lines (you can use marker easily). When that fully dried I used the widest packing tape I could find and do a layer of that. Now I use dry erase marker (it easily comes off thanks to the tape). Once we are done I fold the board and put it away. It is sturdy so no worries of it getting to the point of rolling up an edges and thin enough to be able to place anywhere easily (I have a corner of my house for D&D since I DM for a group of adults and teenagers).

For a hot second I thought at the start there would be a music drop. "prop it like its hot, prop it like its hot" 😄

I made those props for Blackwater D&D! It was awesome to see those in use at their table. That was actually promoting our Quest Chests, which are out-of-the-box D&D adventure modules with a ton of physical props, including invisible ink letters, wax-sealed letters, and way more.
I love your stuff here! It’s great to see more people encouraging more immersive gameplay around the table!

I would be very hesitant to make that lantern considering how🔥🔥 flammable🔥🔥 Isopropal is. It can also dissolves certial plastics and evaporates very quickly. I would recomend using mineral spirits instead and sealing the "jar" with a glass or acrylic disk and hot glue to isolate it from the light.

Built your digital gm screen for my pathfinder campaign and the players love it; having the immediate area with their character art and npcs on the screen immerses them so much more.
Now I’m obligated to make that magic lantern, just because it’s so dang cool

I started watching people play D&D about a year a go, I've never actually played because I've not got the people to do it with but my 9 year old asked me the other day if I could run a game for her and her friends so watching your videos is helping me get ready to try and do that in the new year which I'm really excited about.
(Also you're absolutely correct school photos are bloody overpriced😅)

That lantern is amazing - definitely going on my bucket list of props for my players!

I have a binder for my character, I customize my pages and they all go in clear binder sheets or spells, items, and all class abilities are on MTG size cards and fit into a 9 card sheet. So first two pages open together are a character sheet and a sheet that has info like HP, damage taken, Spell slots, used spell spots, and things that get refreshed on a short or long rest like wild shape etc. then I use small post it tabs. Say I have 3 1st level spell slots I write on 3 tabs a 1, then when I use a spell I grab that tab and move it into the spells used box on my sheet. It keeps everything tidy, easy to see what I have used and easy to reset things after a short or long rest.

One o f the most practical short videos ever!! These are some fantastic ideas!! My head is already spinning with ideas!! Thank you, Kelly!!

Very proud that you have made it enough to be getting sponsors! Doing good man!

Love the accordion card sleeve idea! I'll have to try it for my table

Fun ideas. I've seen the black light pens before, but the lantern is a killer idea. Thanks, keep up the good work.

Just found your channel and my goodness the quality of both the crafts and your video production is criminally underrated. Gonna go binge the rest of your videos now after I shared this with my dnd discord server 😂

“Prop it like it’s hot” had me dying 😂

Im making that lantern this weekend. Already ordered the light, twine and glycerin. Now i gotta find the jar for it. Its such an awesome idea.

Just found your channel, and wow I love it. The quality of the videos is high, it's well edited, you are funny and dynamic, there's no filler or beating around the bush, and you don't shove the "like and subscribe" down our throat.
I subscribed and I like your videos, you entirely deserve the love. The only thing I could think of to improve, if possible, would be chapters in your video (the little bars in the video control that tells us which section is about what) but other than that, bravo!

This lamp is the coolest prop I've seen and so simple! I don't know what I'll use this idea for, but you better know I'll find a use!

I used self adhesive book cover plastic on blank paper grids - whiteboard markers work great on it. For TTRPGS that don't hinge on distance rules, I have also taped rolls of normal book cover plastic to the table itself, and we have just drawn all over that. It was fun.

I need to build that lantern! Also the battle map trick is genius and really cheaper than the ones on Amazon

Used laminated grid paper all the time back in the day. As for the invisible ink stuff - we used that for a few puzzles in the escape room where I worked (also some "potion" bottles with water and a few with tonic water - which glows under blacklight). I do like the counter and lantern ideas. Might just end up making those. And THANK YOU for having a "cheap and easy" craft video that doesn't require having a whole workshop to make things!

my first dm did a breath of the wild campaign and had a similar idea with the map! on one side she copied the botw map, and on the other was a grid for battle, and she had it laminated so we could mark important places and things as well as so she could draw puzzles and dungeons. we all loved that thing. it unfortunately got lost in her house post-campaign but we still think fondly of it. :>

My man, what a glorious mustache! Had to give props, now I'll watch the video!

Dude the DIY accordion wallet for your spell cards is phenomenal, thank you so much!

I have never seen a more magnificent moustache!

I can barely focus on the cool props thanks to that incredible mustache

These are some dope ideas! Makes me wish all my players lived close enough to do sessions in person

That lantern thing is dope

I’ve done the hidden message in the map trick! My players went nuts. So simple, yet endlessly effective.

ok this was dope. i'm literally just getting into DnD and this was such an interesting and thought provoking video. keep at it man.

Clicked for the killer mustache, stayed for the awesome D&D crafts.

I'll never forget that Kevin Macleod, aside from being a musical genius with some of the most famous songs on the internet, also has a tool for making graph paper. Amazing.

Definitely going to make that lantern to tell the players when they're being scryed

The lantern idea is sweet.

card sleeves connected is AWESOME. thanks i will be doing that. 1 st level together cantrips together, ect.

This is so fun, i love all your videos! They're always entertaining and educational, and i love your craft-focused ones too! Excited to see the dice progress, best of luck! It's a consuming hobby 😅

I really dig the dad wallet spell slots and the lantern!

So glad I found your channel! Thanks!

I’m absolutely loving your channel! I’ve been a player for a few years now but recently I started DM’ing and the more and more I embrace my new role in my group I find that I love doing all the arts and crafts that come with it. These are very much on my bucket list now!
I’m actually commenting though because I was hoping you might do a short video on how you use your improved initiative tracker. I know you’ve mentioned it in previous videos but I was hoping for something a little more in depth. Maybe you could go over it’s features and then do a short mock combat with it and explain how you use it? And maybe throw in a skit or two with it?? (Your skits are perfect! Short enough to not lose attention and long enough to include funny quips and jokes)
Either way, keep doin what you’re doin! Fantastic content!

ok that lamp is wild, i need one!

Great video - so many cool lil trinkets. I'm all about my trinkets these days. And for your sponsor, I learnt basic leather stitching from Skillshare on RUclips.

Love your videos. You should look into Frixion pens: the pen degrades in heat, so you can reveal secret messages by layering it with regular ink.

Considering the spell slot tracker, I got a cheap 3d printed holder from Etsy with a grid that I can drop a d6 into to count each spell level's slot.
That lantern is nothing short of amazing, though!

Your mustache is so nice looking it almost looks fake. Keep up the good work, and thanks for all these ideas!

Your moustache is absolute fire

Damn what a bloody brilliant video! Esspecially love the website you shared for printing laminated grids :O incredible!

I'm so glad I found this channel.

I actually made my spell cards myself. That way I can take notes on my spells in a way that I find everything I need to know fast and I can flavor the design to my PC.

Love it, I did something like those "Loke Big Book of Battle Mats" but more modular and portable. I might do a tutorial on how to make it soon. It is really cheap and useful if you are not always playing in the same place

Great tips. Of course I linked over to the old map paper video from here and that was cool too.

That lantern looks *AMAZING*!

That Lantern is Absolutely Briliant.

Thank you for that accordion idea. I have new players, as that is gonna help them immensely!

I love the spell slot prop! Very cool

love that potion light

no sir, i appreciate you! instant subscribe -- this was great!

as a dm i LOVE pulling out the "You don't know." lol

Former Staples Print Center employee here - don’t expect every location to do image printing on blueprint paper. The thin paper’s not meant for that much ink saturation, and risks soaking through & damaging the machine
Many times they will let you know this either when you place the order, or as soon as it gets into their queue

I like the big grid map and will get one of my own soon. 😊

Cool ideas! Thank you for sharing!

Great stuff! Loving your channel! Subbed

for my laminated battlemap i got two a1 sheets of card and drew the grid on myself, and covered them in contact paper. there is a seam with the contact but it's good enough

The lantern is fire man

A trick I learned years ago was to use a brush and invisible ink to write messages, it doesn't leave the indent that a pen will.

Loved the maps, the invisible ink, and the lantern. One note, you could eliminate spell slots and make casting a DC.

I did something similar to the light with store bought electric candles. The youngest player in the group, the daughter of two other players, freaked out when the flames went green.... In a bad way.
Last time I run a mile horror scenario for under 16s. :D

I WANT THIS LANTERN!!!!!
i dont even play dnd that much nowadays but its just so fucking cool!!!!

It’s always a good day when he uploads.

Great video. That light is a fun idea!

Your grid mounted on a board (to make it like a white board or cork board) with an articulating arm with a clamping table mount. So you can swing it over to mark on it and then spin it around to show the players. Magnetic paint on the board under the laminated grid paper and magnets in the miniature bases.

I made a DIY initiative tracker. Wooden clothespins painted green (for players), blue (for random allies) and red (for enemies). I put a piece of tape on each handle part of the pin, so I can write on them with whiteboard markers. Those pins can either be clipped to the DM screen (mine is too thick for that method tho) or an upright wooden dowel or a ruler.
My DM screen is also self made. Four identical picture frames, with only the glass glued to the frames and a bunch of magnets to hold the papers in place. Two frames on either side with a matching dice tower between them.

The inquisitor lightsaber is extremely usefull and has some really solid stats in FFG Star Wars TTRPG.

Third prop: you just reinvented the abacus.

Please make a video of your compact setup! Another banger of a video!

These are awesome and this is my favourite series

I subscribed for the moustache and DnD. But mostly for the moustache.

i love the prop videos!! very inspiring

For modern or SF RPGs, you can simulate PCs and NPCs talking on a walkie-talkie. Add a piece of cellophane wrapper from a cheese slice, crush it in your fingers while the character is talking to simulate static sound. If the other person is getting out of range, crush louder...

Dude! These were amazing

Great video, incredible mustache

Amazing work!

when he says "I appreciate you" i feel safe

I loved your ideas!

My DM made that lamp and not sealing it completely is a nightmare lol. You knock it over, shake it too hard, etc. Liquid manages to spill out. Perhaps creator error, but I think in general, seal it up. You don't need to change the liquid lol.

😮 just sent this to our DM

Solid SW:TOR reference.

Other one is a bunch of NFC tags which can put in between two pieces of paper and can download a app which programs the NFC tag and write on it whatever you need that way they hold an item and can have a physical item which they can look at from the DM

OUTSTANDING !!

Just as an aside, some gift wrap has 1x1 grids, so you can get those on sale after Christmas for cheap and just laminate that for a battle grid.

I legit used staples when i worked there for printing all my DND Maps ahaha. Cannot recommend it enough

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Leatherman - wonderous item - counts as all the tools.
Seriously though, I love mine. Screw climbing back down the ladder.

Or, give each player a sticker to put their character name on, put each on a bead. Instant Initiative Tracker!

you should make more dnd diy prop vids

Hey! Walmart sometimes sells 1x1 grid laminated poster boards for pennies on the dollar. :) i got a bunch a few years ago for 25c a piece.

Cool lantern.

Bro, Ropetrick is THE BEST