One Inch Square

Props can go a long way toward adding realism and enhancing the atmosphere of your game. I am a big fan of props and try to incorporate them whenever possible. Here’s one I’ve gotten to use recently: The Echo Mic.


The Echo Mic is just a simple plastic tube shaped like a microphone housing a spring or coil of metal. When you talk into it, it adds a metallic echo to your voice. You won’t win any Oscars for Sound Design with this thing, but its cheap and relatively effective (mileage may vary depending on the quality of your voice acting).

The Echo Microphone is most useful for creating ghostly, eerie, or otherworldly voices. The cries of the undead, the distant moans of zombies, the voices of ethereal beings, etc., are all good candidates, enhancing the atmosphere of a room or encounter or giving weight to an important NPC. As an example, I recently used it to help roleplay the character of Sir Keegan in Keep On The Shadowfell, emphasizing his ghostly dialog. It can also be used to create unusual sound effects by tapping the sides or rapping it on a table.

You can find his prop for just a few bucks at a party store, toy store, or online retailer.

Let's face it, the character sheet that comes with Gamma World is... lacking.  I'm all for simplicity, but the one in the box just doesn't cut it.  Yes, it is colorful.  Yes, it will fit in the box.  Yes, it says Gamma World on it.  But I want something more robust.  So as a GM with more time on his hands than common sense, I set out to create my own.  I present to you, the One Inch Square Gamma World Character Sheet:

The front side features just about every bit of information you'll need in front of you during play.  The most important items are highlighted with a bold border to help them stick out.  Sections that are used in creating the character but aren't directly referenced in game (e.g. the columns of various bonuses for skills) are slightly greyed to set them off.  Wherever possible, hints are given in cells to show where a particular bonus or bit of information should come from to speed up character generation and add clarity.  Here's an example of the front side filled for a first level character.

The back side has a place for the player to record which powers, etc., they've taken at each level as well as a large area for notes.  There are also places to record which Alpha and Omega cards the player has in order to keep track between sessions.

The character sheet does not have space for power descriptions (though one could use the "notes" section) as it is assumed that players are using some sort of cards or printouts with that information on it.  And of course I recommend the Character Origin Cards found on this blog as an aid in character creation and play.

Download:  One Inch Square Gamma World Character Sheet [PDF]

With the recent release of Gamma World:  Famine In Far-Go, I have produced a series Character Origin cards in the same style as the core rulebook origin cards I released previously.  These cards are a tool to speed up character creation and aid play.  Have your players roll their origins and then hand out the appropriate cards to them.  These double-sided cards reprint almost all of the information found in the origin section of the rulebook, including the origin's name, description, full trait information, critical hit ability, and power names.  They contain all the information a player needs while creating their characters and serve as a handy reference during play.  Since power descriptions are too lengthy and really deserve their own cards, I have only included their names.

 
I have also updated the original set of cards to fix typos, adjust the order in which the information is presented in some cases, and remove some extraneous wording from the front of most cards.

In addition, I  have created a handful of extra cards to serve as quick references.  They are as follows:

Critical Hit Benefit / Uber Feature Card:  At 2nd level, players can place the Critical Hit Benefit side of this card under the origin card of the origin from which they chose their critical hit benefit to serve as a reminder.  At 10th level, the Uber Feature side of the card can be used to remember which uber feature has been chosen by placing it under an expert power card, omega tech cards, or an alpha mutation.

Omega Tech / Salvaged Gear Card:  The Omega Tech side of this card gives the run down on Omega Tech card rules, particularly the Omega Charge roll.  The Salvaged Gear side details how salvaging works, and can be placed near or under salvaged Omega Tech cards to distinguish them from non-salvaged tech.

End of Encounter / Difficulty Class By Level Card:  This is intended as a GM quick reference card.  The End of Encounter side gives a run down of the common things that happen post encounter (e.g. Omega Charge check, changing Alpha Mutations, handing out rewards, etc.)  The Difficulty Class By Level side reprints the chart of the same name from the rulebook as well as the list of skills found in Gamma World.

Core Rule Origins / Famine In Far-Go Origins Card:  This is intended as a GM reference card.  The Core Rule Origins side lists all the origins from the Gamma World Rulebook, the Famine in Far-Go Origins side lists all the origins from the first expansion.

DOWNLOADS:

• Gamma World Core Rules Origin Cards [Zip]
• Famine In Far-Go Origin Cards [Zip]
• Legion of Gold Origin Cards [Zip]
• Additional Reference Cards [Zip]