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Post by adventure85 on May 26, 2017 13:39:30 GMT
Hey gridless folks.
So I play gridless with measuring using the 5ft = 1 inch method.
One thing that vexes me is templates. I made some out of card stock, but they get abused in play, and I am looking for some that I can see through as well. Does anyone know where I could get some cut out of acrylic or maybe a place that sells templates? I saw the grid templates, but I am looking for circles, cubes, and maybe some 60 degree ones for burning hands and cone of cold. I don't have the means to cut acrylic sheets well at home, already tried and failed horridly with some stuff I bought at home depot.
Thanks!
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Post by margaret on May 26, 2017 14:04:53 GMT
Transparent plastic report covers. You can even use different colors for different categories of spells if you like. They will last better than cardstock and are easy to replace if damaged
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sotf
Advice Guru
Posts: 1,084
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Post by sotf on May 26, 2017 14:33:53 GMT
You could also use plastic canvas for it.
Sure, it's not entirely see through, but you can also mark off other things on it such as for ranged combatants and the like without obscuring things.
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Post by sgtslag on May 28, 2017 3:39:15 GMT
Use some permanent marker pens; trace out the desired shapes on plastic sheet protectors; cut them out with a scissors. Otherwise, trace them out on clear Contact paper, peel and stick the marked layer, to an unmarked layer, glue sides together, to make them stiffer, then cut with a scissors. Cheers!
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Post by bleedscarlet on Jan 8, 2018 17:56:04 GMT
I have these on my wishlist since printing white ink isn't really feasible from home: arcknight.squarespace.com/shop/spell-effects-5e-wizardI thought about trying to DIY it, but they use hard acetate sheets which is also difficult to print on at home. if you are more talented than I am, you could try painting the effects, but I would personally end up with plastic garbage fires
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Post by erho on Jan 8, 2018 17:58:46 GMT
DMScotty uses the plastic sheeting with hot glue for texturing, turned out pretty nice
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Post by sgtslag on Jan 8, 2018 19:35:13 GMT
I, too, went the Arcknight route. Bought the 5e Priest set, as it has most of the stuff contained within the 5e Wizard set. Waiting for it to arrive...
I made my own Lightning Bolt template, months before Scotty did his video on such. Mine turned out rather poorly, but it was the same concept as what Scotty did. Decided to go the professionally made route, instead. Cheers!
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sotf
Advice Guru
Posts: 1,084
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Post by sotf on Feb 14, 2018 3:11:00 GMT
Something else that might work if you still have places that sell them is projector transparency sheets. They're a lot harder to find now as schools, colleges, and businesses have gone more and more digital, but they're very useful things for this sort of thing.
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Post by sgtslag on Feb 14, 2018 14:33:01 GMT
Got my set from Arcknight. Spendy ($50 + S/H), but gorgeous stuff. Useful for 1e/2e games, as the spell effects are largely the same dimensions. Some in the set are useless because the spells they reflect are not in 1e/2e rules, but they are a minor thing. There are some markers which I'd never thought about marking figures with: Blessed, Charmed, Hasted, Stoneskin, and many others ( see the link for a full listing of spells covered in the set). Arcknight is worth looking at, if only for inspiration as to what you might like to make for yourself. Their templates are clear, in the center, for the larger templates. Bear in mind that this is extremely useful. With DM Scotty's Fireball template, you cannot see the figures beneath it (I would suggest detailing the outer edges only, if you make your own templates). Give their images a close look -- very inspiring for someone who wishes to make their own templates! They are professionally printed on heavy plastic. The sheets they print on are much larger than 11" x 17". Again, expensive, but very high quality. You will need to cut them out with a scissors. I would suggest keeping them in a folder, lined with felt, to avoid scratching them in storage (paper is abrasive). Cheers!
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Post by skunkape on Feb 15, 2018 13:59:11 GMT
They do look great. Been toying with the idea of purchasing them.
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Post by sgtslag on Feb 15, 2018 15:02:18 GMT
I admit, I could have taken my own advice, and made my own templates from their list, adding in 2e-specific spells which are missing... I had some Christmas cash, so I spent that on the templates, instead of making them up. I can still craft the missing templates, if desired. Sometimes, I take the easy road. Do I regret it? Not at all! Their quality is superb! And I did not need to invest all of that time into making them myself -- I invested that crafting time into other projects I could not purchase. Sometimes you just need to spend the money, especially if you have an unplanned windfall, like I did. On a sidebar note, I also came into some birthday cash, as well. Invested in a Proxxon Thermal Wire Cutter. Prior to buying the Proxxon, I spent many, many hours cutting up pink insulation foam sheet into long oval shapes, on my band saw, to craft into modular cavern pieces, both rock, and ice for glaciers. I made painted foam rubber floor pads to make modular terrain bases for both caverns, and glaciers. I applied a texturing paper technique to the surface of the saw cut foam, to make it appear as chiseled rock/ice, then I painted it, and applied The Dip (rock), and blue Magic Wash (ice). It is all very decent quality, but it is TEDIOUS to make every individual piece... I used a time-consuming, laborious, texturing technique on the pieces, which works very well, but it is sooo s-l-o-w... Enter the Proxxon Foam Hot Wire Cutter... I carved up some remaining, non-textured pink foam pieces into superb, curvy cavern pieces, in around 30-seconds, per piece! [Cue the angelic choir... "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"] I am considering re-painting all of my rock modular pieces white, to make them all glacier walls, so I will have enough to map out an entire level of the map of G2: Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, a project I've been working off and on, for two decades. Do I feel guilty about all of the work I've invested, thus far, into creating modular cavern pieces? NO! I feel relieved, because I thought I needed to craft up another 30 pieces for my G2 project! This change in terrain making approaches has liberated me, in fantastic ways! It is not entirely about saving money, and doing it yourself only... I enjoy crafting, but I enjoy playing, as well. For me, the playing is the more critical part; the crafting is a means to the end of playing, and the crafting only comes to its fullest reward when I see the crafted items in play, on the table, being used by other players. That is when my crafting efforts pay for themselves, in full. Need to do a write-up on my modular caverns techniques. Been working on them for 2-3 years. I've shown them in some photo's, but I have not written up the techniques yet. Now I can, showing the original, laborious approach to chiseled rock walls, as well as the more flowing, water-carved, natural-looking cavern pieces, which take very little time to make with a hot wire foam cutter. The older technique is still valid for chiseled rock/ice caverns, but the labor involved can be daunting. Still, it will make an interesting write-up for members to enjoy. It is, however, full 3D, and perhaps of limited interest, overall. But, I promise it will be a feast for the eyes. Cheers!
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Post by skunkape on Feb 16, 2018 14:12:48 GMT
I agree that it's okay to spend money on gaming stuff, whether that be a tool to help you craft or something like the spell effects templates. I purchased the wire ones years ago that are for 3.5 and while they work, they don't have the same visual appeal as the ones from Arcknight. Plus, the Arcknight ones fit the shape of those spells better, they don't have the wonky squares layout that the 3.5 wire ones do. I tried making my own wire ones but without the right bending jig, they don't turn out well, so I kind of dropped that project. Guess I could try it again using some large PVC pipe. I'll have to consider that. But I have no problems spending money for gaming resources, it's my wife that has the issue!
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