What's in my RPG Survival Kit?

Some of my victims, I mean, players,
and my Survival Kit on the table.

It has been a while since I had players come over to play RPGs at my own home. Two years ago I got a son, and that made playing at home a bit complicated. He sleeps early and requires all the attention we can give him. So most of my gaming is done outside now. Usually on conventions and small informal gamers gatherings (we do that a lot here in Brazil, since conventions are rare).

This means I gotta carry my gaming gear around. The problem is: I love judging Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG! And that book is huge, not to mention heavy! Carrying it around with all the stuff I like to use (dice, props, character sheets, dice tray, erasable board) ain’t easy. So I had to create a RPG Survival Kit (and now I use it for all other games I run, including Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells).

First, I gotta tell you something. I like to call attention to my games. I mean, to the games I ran. I like to spread the love I have to those games, so if I can use something to attract players and people to at least check them out, that’s a win for me. Since we usually play in public places (gaming stores, restaurants, bars, bookstores), there is always a score of new people unfamiliar with those games, so I do my best to make these games stand up from the rest. I use goldenrod paper for character sheets, I bring cool dice trays, I put some props on the table, I bring the actual book so people can hold it in their hands and things like that.

So, without further delays, here is the list of stuff I take with me when I go gaming!

DCC RPG Tin Lunch Box: This looks awesome and is quite practical. Almost everything fits inside this box. This thing really helps attracting people as pretty much no one else (and no other RPG) has a tin lunch box!

All Rolled Up Dice Trays: Don’t you hate when some dice don’t stop rolling and fall from the table? Dice trays can prevent that. And they look cool. Especially the ones All Rolled Up make, with cool drawing and dungeon maps! There is always someone that comes over to check them out at least!

Noteboard Foldable Erasable Mat: Marc Brunner had this fantastic item on his table at Gen Con 2016 when I met him. This is a foldable, erasable battle mat that fits in your pocket. Excellent to take with you anywhere and quite useful to draw during game. This is another item that always attracts people wondering where I got it (and them I take the chance to show them the game I am using it with).

Fish Tank Ornament Skulls: These are kind of my mascots. They are cheap and are pretty! I use them to decorate the gaming table and it helps summon the feeling of sword and sorcery I like in my games! They have ruby eyes, but are the face of death!

Giant Red d20: I got this at The Compleat Strategist but I am sure you can find it on many stores (maybe The Dice Shop Online). This is basically an item to draw attention of players and a dice yo use in those “last chance” situations that everyone around will be paying attention and cheering upon!

Goldenrod Paper Character Sheet: White paper is commonplace. Everyone use it. So I use colorful sheets! It draws eyes towards it and I like the contrast of black ink and yellow paper! It’s kind of nostalgic too. Reminds me of those AD&D sheets they made.

Hammer Dog Customizable GM Screen: I use this because I vary the game I run often. But any GM Screen with cool art that inspire players and helps summon the feeling of the game is good. I use it mostly because of that and consult some tables. I plan to make my own tables to generate stuff for my games and put it on my side of it, since I usually play rules light games and DCC RPG has the reference booklet made by People with Monsters.

Dice (of course): I bring enough dice for everyone. Usually this means 3 sets for the players and one for me. When I am judging DCC RPG, these items draws attention all by themselves. Everyone wants to roll a d7!

Metal Coins: I bought some nice metal coins to use as tokens (DCC Lankhmar Fleeting Luck, my own Daring Points house rule, FATE points, or whatever). They look nice, are heavy and Players feel like they are earning some kind of treasure!

Small Hourglass: I like to insert tension into my games. I hate it when the characters are in a desperate situation in the game and the players just stare at each other and start talking about what they should do, as if a giant freaking monster wasn't about to eat their heads. So I use a hourglass to instill this sense of limited time to act. I am not super strict with it. If by the end they reached a conclusion and start telling me what they are going to do, fine. But if they still haven't made up their minds, something bad happens.

Rulebook: I know PDFs and Tablets really make our lives easier. You can carry 500 books in one device that weighs less than a single book. But having the actual book on the table and allowing people to look through its pages is an experience all on its own. I try to make sure their hands are clean though. My books are my children too.

Maze Rats: Maze Rats is not only its own game (a really good game indeed), it’s also a really useful resource for any fantasy RPG. It’s packed full of easy to use tables to generate all sorts of things (NPCs, Cities, Weird Effects, Monsters, Dungeons, Wilderness, and much more). You can print it in booklet format and carry around wherever you go gaming! Ben Milton really created something valuable! If you don’t have it, get it now! It’s PWYW!

Well, that’s it! That’s my RPG Survival Kit! What’s yours?

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