NFT-Free Budget Bespoke

My most read post on this blog thus far has not been about getting kids into D&D but rather how I made my Waterdeep Dragon Heist kit. This was an artsy-craftsy, "How did he do that?" kind of post. It all started when I posted a photo of my table in the Dungeons & Dads group on Facebook. I had a lot of folks asking where I got my stuff. I put forward my best attempt at a how-to post for design artifacts for my Waterdeep Dragon Heist game. I love making stuff for may games, and had a great time putting that post together. At the time, I was just a guy trying to live the Beadle & Grimm's lifestyle on a Dollar Tree budget. I also noted that if my readers had more money than time, Beadle & Grimm was the way to go. It turns out that may or may not be the case.

B&G & NFTs

Now with talk going around about the Beadle & Grimm's owners jumping on the Blockchain Bandwagon, maybe you want to live the Beadle Grimm Lifestyle without the guilt of supporting a system that is a scam at best and a support network for modern slavery and child trafficking at worst. I'm not going to go into the whole thing here. If you want to get educated, check out these pieces:

Either way, this post was precipitated by a tweet from Teos Abadia, @alphastream on Twitter. and the discussion that followed...

Here's a designer in this space for whom I have great respect, choosing to avoid this "lifestyle" company, which I might add is one of the coolest companies in the D&D / TTRPG space, on the principle that those running the company are dealing in and supporting NFT's. I was like, "wow, there's not even really an alternative". If one were to give up Wizkids, there are a lot of other companies making miniatures. If Dwarvenforge were an issue, there are a lot of other companies making terrain. Literally no one else is making licensed bespoke boxed sets for D&D Campaign adventures. Then, I got to thinking that there is only one real alternative, and it's us.

Examining & replicating the product

So, what makes a Beadle & Grimms set awesome? Why do people pay on average a 600% increase over the original WoTC book that they're probably also buying to begin with? What makes this so special??

The Box

This is the most obvious, least interesting, hardest to copy, and most important part of the Beadle & Grimms experience. I mean, it's a box. It has the practical purpose of holding all the other junk that comes in it, but this is the one thing that makes these products so darn sexy. Why? Many of us just want that sweet D&D game in a box on our shelf action. From Holmes to Moldvay to Spelljammer to Dark Sun to Planescape, the sweetest most nostalgic D&D products have come in a box! I don't know about you, but I love a good box set! It's why I am so in love with the Essentials Kit and think it is bar-none the absolute best product Wizards has put out for 5th edition.

The box is by far the hardest to emulate, and I have not had the box design success I want yet. I am committed to being successful with this, so I will likely continue to share my attempts, successes and even failures here and on Twitter. I have some pictures of my most successful build here. As you can see the label is bubbling a bit. I wish I had taken pictures when it was newly made. Here are some of the best DIY videos I've found for the box.

DIY Gaming - How to Make a Game Box (the tutorial that I used)
How to Make Large Game Boxes - Dining Table Print & Play (going to use ideas from this one next time.

These are solid videos and I would love to put my graphic design skills to use in this context to make a good box. For my next box, I will likely print it myself on photo or label paper and try to use the Adhesive methods discussed in Dining Table Print & Play's video. The chip board + folder box idea from the first video made a very nice sturdy box, but the fit for the lid is a little tight. I also paid Staples quite a bit to print the label, as D&D Boxes are a bit bigger than most board games.

Other ideas I've had that I would like to try include

Trying to find a sturdy solid color box or covering a box in a solid color of contact paper and using Adobe Illustrator + my Vinyl cutter to create labels and graphics.
Use the above idea with some kind of Faux leather for my Silhouette Vinyl Cutter to layer an embossed effect like B&G's Boxes.
Purchasing a wood box of appropriate size from Amazon and using a laser cutter / engraver to etch a design into it. Then stain and finish so it looks like something from Wyrmwood.

The latter would require my purchasing a Glowforge or something similar. I'm going to need a bigger maker space & budget first. Considering there is a new baby on the way, that's likely not happening soon. If I were super handy, I might consider Building the Ultimate Board Game Box and then using a laser engraver, staining, & finishing to make it awesome.

Please comment here or hit me up on the tweets if you have a great idea / success with the box.

A DM Screen

This one is super easy. I shared in an earlier post that Galeforce Nine makes a host of accessories for Wizards of the coast products, including DM Screens. I have the Gale Force Nine Dragon Heist DM Screen. This screen is not a rules reference, like your typical screen but rather includes a lot of handy stuff to help you improvise on the fly within the vast city of Waterdeep. I also have the Icewind Dale Screen (pictured here), and I plan to stop at my FLGS for the "Of Ships & the Sea" screen to go with Ghosts of Saltmarsh soon.

There are a lot of ideas for DIY DM screens out there, should you be so inclined, but I would just buy one or use my standard screen. Wizards also makes the Dungeon Kit and the Wilderness kit for slightly more specific screens.

Poster maps

Poster maps are another one of the things I really miss from the old-school boxed set. I miss the large format world maps and the gridded encounter maps. Galeforce Nine, mentioned above, makes maps for most popular adventures, but they're a little pricey. For this topic, I am going to share my two best DIY solutions. Both give you a great map. Both require a DnDBeyond subscription / product purchase or some means legal or otherwise to get high resolution digital copies of Wizard's maps. Given the time & skill, you can, of course make your own high-res map using Dungeon Scrawl or something similar.

For Dyson style maps, seen in Dragon Heist, Ghosts of Saltmarsh and other Wizards products, there is no better way to get maps than Staples Blueprint services. If you plan to use the map for minis play, use Photoshop or Gimp to make sure you have your one inch grid, output to pdf, and order your map on the paper size you need. Then, if you really want to get your geek on, and give you map that bespoke feel, go follow Deven Rue's advice for aging up those blueprints!

Maybe your maps are more in the Mike Schley or Deven Rue style. Maybe you bought a sweet full-color map pack from D riveThru or the DM's Guild. Shortrun Posters is a great service with very affordable prices. Walmart used to be my go to for poster making, but theirs have gotten increasingly more expensive. Shortrun Posters cranks out a good product at a good price. Some of the recent old school BECMI maps that I’ve had made by them are pictured here. They come with a matte finish but I get them laminated at my school. I believe Staples and similar places offer laminating services, should you also wish to have maps that you can draw on. Again use Photoshop or Gimp to make sure you have your one inch grid if the map is for minis play.

Handouts

I covered techniques for handouts extensively in the "My Dragon Heist Kit" blog post. There I noted that getting content for your handouts is sometimes as easy as a Google search. Then you remix in order to fit your game and commit them to paper. The internet is filled with myriad awesomeness to steal and make your own. Now I'm going to share some tools to make your handouts more authentic. Parchment Stationary Paper from Amazon is something Mike Shea (SlyFlourish) turned me onto, and it's a great shortcut when you don't want to age it yourself. For me, unless it's a large print from Staples or something, I think printing on high quality paper will give your handouts a more bespoke feel than aging regular printer paper.

Plenty of vintage fonts can be obtained for free from reputable sources like Google Fonts or Adobe Fonts, if you have a subscription to their software.

Adobe actually has the official fonts used by Wizards of the Coast, so that is super handy for making really official looking handouts!

You can find great templates and design layouts to help non-designers make great handouts in Canva and, believe it or not, Pages on the iPad / Mac.

Artifacts

Honestly, it's hard to beat Beadle & Grimms when it comes to artifacts. There's probably not many of us who can manufacture metal badges and coins or sew up our own puppets, but here are some sources of DIY artifacts for you nonetheless. For starters, I have to say that a 3d printer is a pretty cheap investment for what it yields, unless you're pretty artistically inclined. A Creality Ender 3 is a pretty great printer for about $280.00. That's way less than one platinum edition box set.

Thingiverse is a treasure trove of awesome artifacts you can download and 3d print for free. Need an Owlbear claw for your box set? What about a signet ring to add a wax seal to some handouts? Coins are always a cool artifact. Waterdeep coins? Got those... Strahd Coins? Check. Dwarven Coins? Yes. Maybe you need a Snowflake Broach, or my favorite, a Badge of the Watch!

When it comes to 3d Printing, there are a lot of great subscription services out there. My current Favorite is Loot Studios. Their March loot included some really cool stuff I could use in a Saltmarsh or Spelljammer game, like a full combat grid size pirate ship and this sweet compass and coins pictured on the right.

I understand that not everyone has the capability to 3D print. Heck I have a great FDM printer for making large items, like terrain, pirate ships, etc, but I outsource my minis printing to a friend who has a resin printer. First, I would like to encourage you to support small artists by buying props from Etsy. The amount of great stuff for Dragon Heist alone is staggering. Second, there are a ton of DIY videos on YouTube for anyone who would like a fun arts and crafts project. Again, there are a tutorials for coins, tutorials for potions, and tons on handouts. Just search up what you need. There are also a lot of companies specializing in in making your custom enamel pins.

Bonus Booklets

Again, I talked about this in "My Dragon Heist Kit" blog post. There are a ton of "bonus booklets" I recommend from the DM's Guild. Always check to see if Eventyr Games has a DM bundle for your adventure. Also check for stuff by Alan Patrick and MT Black. I added Blue Alley and Waterdeep City Encounters to my Dragon Heist box. I just print the booklets out and comb bind them using an old Combo machine. Staples also offers spiral binding fairly affordably.

Combat Grids

The combat grids included with a B&G box are on par with the kind coming in the announced D&D Campaign Case: Terrain. They're sturdy, versatile, and they look good. If I were putting together a box and wanted to include terrain, I would recommend two simple cheap approaches that are available to you right now.

Approach one is a combo of Melee Mats and Loke Clings. This would be most like what B&G has. Get a terrain mat from Melee Mats that fits the theme of your campaign and grab the appropriate add on scenery from Loke.

The other, more complex option is to grab Loke Books of Battlemats. I've mentioned before that I made great use of "Towns and Taverns" by Loke Battlemats with Waterdeep Dragon Heist. If you like to lay out combat encounters on a battle mat, this set of books has everything from markets to city streets to sewers. It is a great improvisational tool to deal with just about any quick scene that may come up.

Minis

Minis are a whole thing. Some folks love them. Some hate them, Many are indifferent. The fact is, despite that fact that many of us have started to do more old-school theater of the mind combat, the game, at least since 3rd edition, is built on a five foot grid.

Obviously, if you want the full bespoke experience, grab some Wizkids pre-painted Icons of the Realms packs or booster packs for your adventure and you are good to go. I've seen the blind packs for Waterdeep Dragon Heist and have been quite tempted.

You've probably figured out that, I think 3d Printing your own minis is the coolest. MZ4250 obviously has you covered for every major D&D Mini between Shapeways and Thingiverse. Just do a web search for what you need by name with MZ4250. For example, you might search "Tiamat MZ4250". Check out my MZ4250 Tiamat on the right, printed on a pretty crappy FDM printer and poorly painted by me... my first paint ever. You can also check out other miniature creators on Thingiverse or Patreon. I'm currently pretty in-love with the stuff I get from Loot Studios, who has their own subscription service outside of Patreon.

If you're just looking for the full boxed set / board game experience, then some kind of token to represent what you need is more than sufficient. For this, I return to the Slyflourish Lazy DM Token Tutorial, combined with the official art from the game and Token Stamp 2. Grab art of important monsters, NPC's and even player characters, add it to Token Stamp, print a sheet of them, pop it out with hole punch, and add an epoxy sticker. I'm really thinking about doing this for my Waterdeep Dragon Heist box.

Finally, there's the Pathfinder pawn style pawns, which is what I use. I have bestiary and campaign sets of Pathfinder pawns, plus some made for Kobold Press books, and I do my own DIY Pawns, shown here on the right. If you wish to just do all custom pawns, which I highly recommend if you are decent with a program like Gimp or Photoshop and have access to a decent reliable printer, then you can just get the Pawn Base Assortment, which is priced reasonably enough that it's better than making your own.

Extras

I haven't left a lot to talk about in this section, but I will talk about dice and dice sets. The item that you see pictured here, is the contents of the Laeral Silverhand's Explorer's Kit, one of the many dice sets Wizards has put out to go with their books. The set comes with a nice set of dice. The box functions as two dice trays. It has a little foldout double-sided map of the Sword Coast and the city of Waterdeep. If you bought the adventure, you have a bigger map of the city, but this Sword Coast map is a nice addition. Finally there are twenty illustrated, double-sided cards detailing Laeral's expert insights on key characters, locations, and lore from across the Forgotten Realms.

I feel like if you get the adventure, the dice set, and Galeforce Nine screen, you're pretty much buying the "Official Box Set" for the campaign book. I also have the Icewind Dale Dice and Miscellany set and the Avernus dice & Miscellany set (Even thought I didn't end up buying the Avernus Adventure).

Final thoughts and parting shots

In the end, this is a labor of love with considerable investment of time, money, or both. This is why Beadle & Grimm's Pandemonium Warehouse makes the big bucks. I may be really good a creating handouts. Your friend might be great at crafting terrain, while you might be great and printing and painting minis. B&G is good at making / collecting a whole lot of things and making an experience. That's not easy. Add to that the impact on printing costs from Covid 19 and other recent global events, and you've got an uphill battle.

If theres's someone out there with the time, talent and inclination to make a go at this it would be awesome to see competition in this space. I'm sure the biggest hurdle is the Wizards of the Coast licensing. Of course WoTC is toying with the idea of NFT's with Magic so they probably don't care one way or another.

For now, have fun, enjoy some D&D and D&D crafts with family and friends, and don't forget to be awesome DM's and players.

DnD For the Kids

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