Tangible Artefacts in TTRPGs
I have been thinking a lot about the use of physical items in the use of Tabletop RPGs. But there is more. On the note that in RPGS that are played at the table, there are usual components that are seen:
Maps
Dice or other generation tools
Miniature figures
I know a lot of games recently have had some press about this. I want to talk about my experiences and games I know that use them in meaningful ways.
Games
Daggerheart – Getting press about this recently, the use of cards for player abilities is embedded, as the player gets to pick which cards are in their loadout and vault. I like that it is a part of the intended experience. Tokens are used for GM fear and player hope points. In my edition of the game, it doesn’t come with tokens, but suggests using anything you have lying around.
Index Card RPG – That name famously implies the use of artefacts. It uses Hero Coins for player meta currencies, a large d20 for the room ‘to hit’ number, and the eponymous Index Cards or the use of setting up encounters, handling initiative and as GM tools. I am especially curious about their use as GM tools, to inspire, generate and be visual aids for adventures. I can only imagine it ends up being inspiring, as I have done similar things in other games.
Dragonbane – The starter set comes with lots of great items. Standees, maps, dice, 2 separate rules books. I want to focus on the cards that are improvised items, treasure and adventure handouts, that facilitate play. It is recommended that the GM randomly draw these items in play. This is also great for solo play! This starter box is so cool.
His Majesty the Wyrm – While I have excluded dice in the above, I have included the Tarot Card random generator in HMtW. This game has a card game that is played in combat, that can only be used physically. Shuffling decks, cards opposing each other, having certain cards in hand or deck, or orientation of cards are things that radically change the game. Cool stuff.
Maus Ritter – It uses printed inventory cards that sit in slots on the character sheet. What a good reminder of your conditions and items. Though I would say that there is the issue of transporting them, if you wanted to keep them in certain slots.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e – The starter set comes with plenty of maps and pre-generated characters, but the most impactful part is the pop out tokens. They are super useful for the advantage rules, that can often be difficult to play without the tokens (I know form playing online). The visual reminder really helps!
Badger and Coyote – The Garden Party edition comes with some physical items to facilitate play. The stand out items being a little wooden mushroom that indicates who is taking the responsibility of the GM role. While this is not strictly necessary, it is a nice little cozy addition to the experience.
Magical Kitties Save the Day – Being aimed at a slightly younger audience, it is nice that they use cards to help keep player abilities easy to use. They use little wooden kitten treat tokens as a meta currency. They are wonderfully produced, so feel special.
Troika – Troika uses initiative tokens drawn from a bag to make it so that players not only won’t know who go next, but that players might even skip a round entirely! Tension driving stuff for the game, that’s for sure.
Flail – This game has interesting generation methods for GMs, including making a wizards tower by stacking physical dice. This feels right, on a visceral level.
My History of Artefacts
Most of my experience comes from the love of certain items in some of the games listed above. I have always thought it ore engaging when items are brought out at the table. Having different generator custom dice, and solo encounter decks of cards has made my solo plays more exciting. My Dungeons and Dragons days have fond memories of the use of spell and item cards. This made referencing the character sheet easier. I also won’t ever forget the time the Tarrokka deck was pulled out in our Curse of Strahd game. It was so engaging, and changed my experience of what. A roleplaying game could be.
I have always loved tokens in boardgames. The physicality of certain games is what makes me love them. I think Survive and Forbidden Desert as examples. I also love when videogames become boardgames, as the physical artefacts bring the game to life for me (and make them a screen free activity). I love Slay the Spire and Stardew Valley as examples. I remember the first time I played Gloom Haven. Having the random number generator being cards was interesting, but I couldn’t help feeling they should have been dice (at first). Then when I found out that after gaining experience, the cards could be switched out and modified, so that custom decks were created, I was blown away. There is also the intended experience, that you would know if a certain card has come out or not. Just magic at the table. Very considered stuff.
In my ongoing Rangers of Shadowdeep game, I have liked that the random encounters at the end of the round are tracked with playing cards, as that differentiates from rolling dice to finalise character actions. It helps with having a visual reminder, and keeps different mechanics separated. I worry though that this concept, if taken to the extreme, could become quite overwhelming. Having a different item for each mechanic would be a total mess, and would make things more complex than needed.
Rift Walker
In my own game, I have been thinking a lot about physicality. Even when most of our sessions are done on line, there are a lot of things I do physically:
In our latest campaign, I have broken the character sheet down into A5 sub-sheets to facilitate play. I look forward to making powers into cards for my character folio.
Monsters use physical dice to represent hit points that are intended to be shown to the players. This has helped me visualise the experience, especially as a after work, tired player. Having the visual reminder with a token, means you also have to rub notes out on the sheet less.
I have dreams of making custom generator RM dice, to facilitate adventure design. I have tested these with blank dice, and sharpies, and they just work so well.
Fate points could be coins, special dice or other tokens, that would make their use feel more impactful.
Conclusions
If you are using tangible items, they should add to the experience. Not just creating stuff for the sake of it. They should enhance play, or be used in a particular format. Eg Using decks of cards are useful, but only if they are laid out in front of people, shuffled or having cards removed form decks, as a function of play.
Having items can make the game more engaging. It can make the game easier for tired players or ones with lower attention spans. Handouts and artefacts can make things more exciting!
While items can be used to make RPGs more engaging, and boardgame like, beware not to introduce a negative visual overwhelm to players.
