Monday, May 31, 2010

Stupid Gamer Tricks, Vol. 1

Having read an interesting post on ISLP just now, I got to thinking about all the clever/stupid things I have done or seen done while playing RPGs. I'll list some here, but what I really would like to see is other people's crazy ideas...

Some of mine:
  • The Glowing Marble: Cast continual light on a wooden or stone ball, maybe two inches in diameter. Very handy to see "what's down there?" Just chuck the Glowing Marble down the hallway or whatever.
  • Flashlight Shield: Again, another use for continual light. Way before 3.0's everburning torches, I used to have a friendly spellcaster cast continual light on the boss of my shield. Then, have a leatherworker make a cover to fit over the boss. Remove the cover, and voila - hands free torch. Pop the cover back on to get a good night's sleep.
  • Bedroll of Comfort: Speaking of a good night's sleep, I also used to try and get a really interesting magic item made for my fighter-types: a bedroll in which they could sleep comfortably in armor. I hate when you get attacked in camp and you have no armor on. This little gem fixes that problem. One version polymorphed you into yourself as long as you were in it, which also polymorphed your armor, etc. Also, getting resist elements added to the mix made a lightweight bedroll quite toasty in colder climates.
  • Poisoned Caltrop Sling: I played this thief that disguised a sling as a simple belt strap. This gave him a weapon on one or two occassions when he was captured. Tired of flinging lead hunks about, I changed to using caltrops, which were nicely spikey, and then dipped them in poison.
  • Guard Dog: Simply put, it's a dog. Why on Earth would you not want one? Even if it isn't a fighting dog, the senses on a sleeping dog will alert it to danger faster than an awake human. Add to that some characters' ability to speak with animals, and it's a no-brainer.
  • Trap Pole... on a Wheel!: Take a ten foot pole. Put a pair of wheels on one end. Weight that end (say, twenty or thirty pounds). Roll it along in front of the party. It sets off pits, tripwires, falling blocks, and other nasty surprises.
So, what have you got?

2 comments:

Alfrik said...

Wheel barrow instead of the pole with wheels, it could also carry stuff. Bag of caltrops for when you saw the bad guys charging. Of course a lot of tricks are useable only if your GM is willing to actually allow you to employ them so that they are useful.

Eli Arndt said...

Ah, those were the days.