Bento and Mizuki explain to Takehiko what promotion really means.
- Do you actively enjoy being in stationery shops?
- Did you find the advent of affordable home paper lamination facilities exciting?
- Do you like to match your socks with your underpants?
Then this may be the post for you…
This post has quite a narrow focus. Those of you that read this blog to be exhilarated may need to execute extra base jumps this week.
But some of you filthmongers will love exploring this burrow, I just know it…
1. Dragon Rampant Strength Point Trackers
The current Strength of a unit in Lion Rampant (the historical version of Dragon Rampant) is denoted by the number of models currently in said unit.
Dragon Rampant differs slightly, as the sort of units that feature in DR games vary more than mundane homo sapiens wearing different outfits do. Dragon Rampant features things like trolls, dragons, ogres etc. In game terms those sorts of models represent more that a single Strength Point each and are called “Single/Reduced Model Units”.
The dragon is at Strength 9, the cat is at Strength 12 and the Daidarabotchi is currently at Strength 5.
For any of my models on bases large enough, I have been adding a suitable green stuff socket or one of these to accommodate a single 7mm D6 to keep track of damage. My daidarabotchi and my dragon have each had suitable dice slots integrated into their bases for example.
DR units begin with either 12 or 6 Strength, so I use a black D6 to mark Strength 12-7 and a purple D6 to mark Strength 6-1. Other colours are just as good of course, but black and purple match my toy soldiers wardrobe.
Dragon Rampant, p.9. Used without permission.
Dragon Rampant also takes a slightly more (or less, depending on how you look at it) heroic view of leaders and characters than Lion Rampant does.
In DR heroes can be represented by small groups of retainers etc, or they can be full on, totally OTT single characters with the ability to kill a dozen men without breaking a sweat (with a correspondingly high Strength Point level). Mechanically those two options are identical, but in game terms a visual distinction is convenient.
Cheetor looks on as Warmax prepares to level up.
I bought these Single Figure Circular Trays – essentially a single base movement tray – from Warbases in 20mm, 25mm and 30mm socket sizes. This allows me to base my roughly human sized models on whatever size base I deem appropriate and then add them to the separate surround if the model is taking to the field solo.
It also has the added benefit of identifying the single figure “Reduced Model Unit” easily for both players. Yatta!
Still with me? I bet you are. I bet that you loved it. I reckon that you will be thinking about other situations that could use markers like that as you drop off to sleep tonight.
2. Etched Acrylic Status Markers
After taking a long look at the counter sets available for Dragon Rampant from various third party suppliers, I decided that I needed something slightly different.
I wanted clear tokens to denote “Activated” units and slightly different “Battered” markers. I also wanted markers for a couple of spell effects and lastly markers to denote “Enchanted” and “Blessed” Weapons that are effective in the current game.
Another trip to Warbases allowed me to pick some suitable shapes and colours of acrylic for the counters. I was also able to assign a font that looked thematically appropriate for my Shonen Knives force, which is themed around a mythological, feudal Japan.
How was that for you? Are you ready for more? You beast…
3. Custom Dragon Rampant Cards
Dragon Rampant doesnt require cards for any game mechanics, it can certainly be played without cards. Like for example the Frostgrave spell deck however, reference cards for a few different elements of the game – Boasts, Challenges, Spells, Traits etc – are particularly useful.
Mr Saturday also enjoys tailoring his gaming experience, getting the right dice and other accoutrements for his games. He took on the task of getting appropriate card decks ready, including a custom back design for my cards.
The font on my set of cards matches the font on the acrylic counters shown above too, which helps to fill someof gaping void where my soul should be.
And Im spent.
I will leave you with a contrived image on my figures in an imaginary game using all of the various elements show above to make it run more satisfyingly.
I imagine that the non-existent game shown was truly excellent fun for all involved. I imagine that all make-believe participants involved will talk about it for years to come. Banzai!
Filed under: Miniatures, Terrain | Tagged: 2016, Dragon Rampant, Fantasy |
sho3box 
That are some ace gaming accessoires!
I had similar ideas for my Punic Wars Skirmish board, depending on what rules I will use. Cards, tokens, dice etc. all in a suitable style and weathered as if they would be archeological finds.
I think your style (fonts, backside of cards etc.) is suitable for the rule system and cohesive. Maybe you can get soem more ‘Asian’ looking dice (for isntance somethign resembling anchient Chinese dice) or maybe the numbers being expressed as Japanese numerals (1 to 3 is easy, four to six a bit harder to decipher, but still easyt to distinguish).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dice are funny things, pretty much every tabletop gamer has opinions about them. This post being the sort of post that it is, I am actually going to go into how I feel about them here too 🙂
I like the idea of custom dice, particularly with a facing that incorporates a suitable motif. The thing is the minimum size die that can be engraved (14 or 15mm the last time that I checked IIRC) is larger than I like for game systems that use fistfuls of dice. I like smaller dice that that in those circumstances for practical reasons.
So I settled for black dice and purple dice to mach the palette. But once I can get some smaller D6s engraved for a reasonable cost, Im on it.
I like the idea of the weathered Punic Wars accessories daggerandbrush, I hope that you get around to making those.
LikeLike
I did not know about this limitation, thus I feel your solution is quite sensible. Could one not laser engrave a smaller die?
I was looking at this website “Artisan dice„ and it seems they should be able to make replica dice out of resin stabilised bone (they have mammoth tusk dice :p) or soapstone. Both would be accurate materials. Naturally the dice would need to be more balanced and possibly adjusted to follow the rule of sums. Lets see what they quote me. In the end I might carve some myself :D.
They may have a solution for you, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Last time I checked the industry didnt engrave small dice, but maybe that has changed. I must look into it when I have a little spare cash (not right now).
Laser etched resin stabilised bone sounds like exactly the sort of futuristic gaming component from the past that I could get behind though.
LikeLike
That looks the business!
Making unit cards for my different fantasy figures have been a long standing desire. That way I could simply combine an army out of the cards and have all info at hand.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unit cards really appeal. The problem that I find is that by the time that I have worked out exactly how I want to field the unit, that sort of means that I am done with that game/unit, so cards never happen.
Well, never say “never”I suppose.
Thanks for the feedback clovermilk01!
LikeLike
Oh god, this was sheer boring nerd porn. Loved every second of it. I’m afraid I’m going to have to do something similar with my pirates now (he said, breathing heavily and palms sweating).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know my audience…
The only way that it could have been better would have been if there was a test afterwards.
Laser Etched Jolly Rogers, laser etched squawking parrots to denote disarray… Ill be in my bunk.
LikeLiked by 1 person
…and that’s the kind of attention to detail that makes me want to hug manfully, back-slap, issue random ‘high fives’, and generally produce other displays of appreciation. Bravo.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do enjoy an enthusiastic high five over a gaming table, usually when I fail five 3+ saves in one roll. Yeah, I went there. I made a saving roll joke.
Im going to hold you to that back slapping date Alex.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have never matched my socks to my underpants; but as for everything else in this post….. well, let’s just say I am both bored and excited at the same time, and……… I like it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“You too can be Bored and Excited at the Same Time” is the name my new mid-life crisis self-help book.
“Chapter 1: Matching socks to underpants increases flagging sex drive.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
totally nothing wrong with all that, it’s perfectly normal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. Its important to be self aware, but embarrassed about this stuff… not a chance.
LikeLike
That’s some shrewdly awesome nerd porn there, cheetor.
I’ll have to return the favor with a post about my tackle boxes. Each army/force has one with carefully organized compartments that have the correct number and type of dice for a round of combat for each one of my unit types. As well as compartments for the matching markers and …..
…excuse me, I have to go match my socks to my underpants now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I dont like to make demands, but I DEMAND pictures of that Will.
Is it getting hot in here… or is it just me?
LikeLike
Well now, there’s a lovely thing. Pro-grade custom accessories, just as if they’d come straight out of the ‘Dragon Rampant: Adventures in the East’ expansion box. It certainly does elevate the whole playing experience in my view – it is not time or money wasted!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As a connoisseur of the well planned and flawlessly executed tabletop game yourself Axiom, I figured that you would likely “get it”.
How far individuals take these things is up to them, but nice add-ons make a big difference to play and to the experience.
Life is in the details and all that.
Thanks for the feedback!
LikeLike
Haha! Reading this piece again brought the lips on my rockhard leathery viking face into a straight line, not unlike a smile.
In the future I will set my sails for Cork and have a game of DR with you. I take badly to losing.
best regards,
Dr. The Viking
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vikings have a long history of not being enthusiastically welcomed on these shores.
I will buck this trend, and copiously apply ninja to any remaining issues.
Irish ninja or “Potato Ninja” as you are definitely not allowed to call them, are, like, totally the sickest ninja. Your table will be ready upon arrival…
LikeLike
Is there a pdf of the Dragon Rampant cards anywhere? DR is my big project for 2022 and I was thinking of making cards, but I there’s already some great looking ones out in the wild…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry for the delay in responding Mr. White. The creator put them up in the Dragon Rampant Facebook group, here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1652095078399658/permalink/1753601698248995
Enjoy!
LikeLike