A good prop can make an RPG session really memorable. A map written on actual parchment, for example, grabs the imagination a little harder than the same drawing on a page ripped from a spiral notebook. Good props help the players feel immersed in the game, and give the setting verisimilitude.

Some purchased adventures include such handouts. But if you’re writing your own adventures, you have to make your own props too.

And if you play online, the props have to be digital.

In my D&D campaign, the players had been making a habit of raiding the enemy country’s fortresses. They had good reasons – the enemy country was Up To No Good, and the party was attempting to forestall the invasion of their country.

Still, the Lich Queen wasn’t amused by their antics. The next time the party went scouting the enemy countryside, they saw this.

The party actually complained that the price on their heads was too low. But I set it that way for two reasons: A) The villain was a cheapskate, and B) I didn’t want the players to be tempted to turn each other in for the money.

The players loved it. They collected as many copies as they could find. They proudly hung one on the wall of their headquarters. Every time they went into the enemy country, they looked for more posters. Soon, the posters became a tradition. “Did the reward go up after we raided that caravan?” “Did they add the barbarian to the list of the wanted?”