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I'm curious to know what you other narrators use in the ways of props in your Trek games.
I have some of the old Playmates Trek toys - phasers, tricorders, and the like, and the players love using those when their PCs are working on things.
I've also attempted handing information over on paper with a padd-like graphic on it, and yes, some of my players own Trek uniforms that they use to really get into character.
What else have people used?
I always narrate in music; it helps to set the atmosphere. A while ago, I even used sound FX (I had collected a CD) but it was too difficult to use (2 CD players needed!!) Every 2 seasons, I burn a compilation of the best musical themes used a offer it to my players (there's even the opening and ending credits with my narrative :))
I'm also a big fan of the LCARS design; whenever I can, I do LCARS-like handouts that I feel, look more and more like the real thing (except for the black background).
Well...we use our cat, Vishnu, as a prop -- "here's the chief science officer" (he's a Caitian). Vish is none too enthused to be snatched up to be used as a visual aid.
If I got him a little kitty Starfleet uniform, I bet that would really piss im off. heheheheheh.... :D
I read this and had a sudden flash of "Comic Book Guy" from the Simpsons...Quote:
Originally posted by Ineti
and yes, some of my players own Trek uniforms that they use to really get into character.
"Ooo... I've wasted my life!" BOOM!
:D
Hugh (Who owns two Trek uniforms... TOS and TNG. Ooo... I've wasted my life... :rolleyes: )
If we ever go to uniforms, its time to call it a day.
Otherwise, I use a lot of selected background music (Trek films, light classical, Stravisnski for the really far out stuff, and LOTR), playmates toys and a phaser IV prop I got at a convention years back.
Makes for an interesting time.
And beer.
Awww, poor kitty! It's kinda like that old article, "How to bathe a cat." (Fill tub. Get cat. Put cat in. Bandage wounds and get cat off of ceiling.Put cat in again. Reattach nose. Get cat off drapes....)Quote:
Originally posted by qerlin
Well...we use our cat, Vishnu, as a prop -- "here's the chief science officer" (he's a Caitian). Vish is none too enthused to be snatched up to be used as a visual aid.
If I got him a little kitty Starfleet uniform, I bet that would really piss im off. heheheheheh.... :D
I only very occasionally use props. Sometimes I'll bring along a Type I or II Phaser or a Tricorder, but that's about it. I've used a small keychain with a sound chip to play Phaser beams or Transporter sound FX, and experimented with using a CD of Trek sound FX, but that wasn't all that successful. Background music on CD has been much more successful, and can be especially useful to set the mood. In one (non-Trek) game, the PCs were escaping a sinking ship, bloodied and battered, and were speculating about the possibility of sharks. Meanwhile I'd already cued up the theme from Jaws (Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!), which the players completely failed to notice for about 30 seconds until the player sitting immediately in front of the speaker said, "Uh, guys?"
I often use handouts, from deckplans to printouts of sensor readings, sketches, maps... whatever I can think of ahead of time. Sometimes I'll carry something around for several sessions waiting for the PCs to discover it, and sometimes I have to draw something up which the PCs have encountered and which I wish to use again, like deckplans for a crashed Klingon D-7 command pod. I very rarely use miniatures, which I feel often constrain things more than a simple map, but they can be useful every now and then.
I don't use many props in my campaigns, although I do use music whenever necessary. Depending on what kind of campaign it is, I'll find an appropriate set of music files and play them.
As Narrator I usually wear either my uniform or just my communicator to help people along. We have huge roleplayers in our group that are not huge trekkies and dont know everything so models come in handy when they say, "why cant I use my phaser to parry!"
Ship combat is done with models are at least paper print-outs of the ships. Which I can set dice on top to show their position to their primary targets. Makes it easy for all players to know the exact range of all the ships around them.
Music! With the collection of 300 soundtracks on CDs, stereo and a Laptop at hand you cannot go wrong :)
I also have a friend who is a pencil artist and he has promised a sketches of each and every PC and some major NPCs.
Then logs and clothing (star trek t-shirts, comm badges and so on)
Oh and we use the Romula Warbird in my backyard for away missions :) after all it is an intelligence campaign...