DMs Top 5 things to get at the dollar store

Without mentioning classic, paper, pencils, erasers and sticky notes, there are a few items you as a DM should pickup from the local dollar store every once and a while that can help you with your game.

What i mean by helping you with your game, is that each of these items alone cost little (around a dollar!) and help overall by speeding up your game.

#5 - Poker Chips

If you use the +1 or +2 token rule this is a great way to keep track of them, usually you can get some white, red and blue tokens for a dollar. Use the white for +1, the red for +2 and the blue for action points.

It may not be the best idea in town, but it is something I'm almost sure people do.

#4 - Color Foam Sheets

These colored sheets of foam about the size of a piece of paper can be cut up to make your own burst & blast templates. You can use left over pieces to make bloodied/status tokens.

Four sheets for about a dollar, you simply cut a five by five inch section off, then a four by four, then a three by three and use the rest to make multiple one by ones.

#3 - Modeling Clay

Somethings you just don't have anything your need for your game, Modeling clay lets you spend a few minutes to accurately get what you need. Perhaps your building a wall, or simply some boxes. Using this an let the players know that indeed something is on the gird.

The best thing is its all reusable, just roll it back up and throw it in a bag. Just don't let your players make a dr. manhattan slong for your Degenerate Cultist of Orcus, i mean sure hes Degenerate but common.

#2 - Round Labels or Reinforcements

Reinforcements are the little round circles, the donut with the center. Often used to holes in paper that were riped. You can use a pen and write a number in the center circle, then use this circle on the base of miniatures to identify them on your initiative tracking. Sure you have 40 orc's, but now you can have them properly labeled. This works great for the round labels as well

The Outer donut an be colored with a marker and used as a status identification or bloodied mark.

#1 - Star Stickers

Yes, even when i first thought of this, i was like WTF. But then in dawned on me, i can get a pack of 400 star stickers, each sheet has 5 colors, yellow, red, blue, green and silver. Then i realized i can use this to significantly marked tokens, bloodied tokens and other effects.

Its simple and it works, Red of course is bloodied, silver can be a marked effect, yellow, blue and green can be any status effects you find come up a lot in your game. Prone is a big one.

Just peal the sticker off of the sheet, and use one of the star ends to stick it on the top of the miniature. Or but it on the base so it can be seen.

Now that you have some ideas of things you can get to help your game along, here are a few things to stay away from.

Dinosaurs: No they do not make good miniatures

Flutes: No, do not give this to your bard, the party will hurt him. And possibly you.

Fake Swords: This can only end badly.

Honorable Mentions

Small Sticky Notes

Sure i mentioned them at the top, but the smaller ones are great for making areas in books you need later on. Perhaps what page that orc is on, or what page of the players handbook the players treasure is on.

Freezer/Sandwich Bags

Yes, this are great. The freezer bags lets you store dungeon tiles in sets or in groups. If you want you can even pre-build your encounters and store the needed tiles in a large freezer bag, then user makers to write down which encounter it is

With the sandwich bags you can store multiple miniatures again by each encounter or type. Pickup a few blank labels and you've not organized everything in some easy to grab minis-dime bag.

Well there you have it, i hope i brought you some good ideas, or at least some bad ones.

Until next time keep your dice on the table.