Why I love Campaign Coins

I've never been one for using props in my games, mostly because I'm terrible at making things craft-wise and store-bought props can be expensive. But I've had a bag of Campaign Coins sitting in my sock drawer for a while now (what? Where else would I keep them?) so I decided to give them a whirl the other night. It's now safe to say that I'll always be using these guys from now on.

A note for the uninitiated. Campaign Coins is a brand of metallic fantasy coins for use with your fantasy RPG. They come in all shapes and sizes, colours and designs - and they're nicely crafted too. They feel weighty, like real coins, so giving your players a small pouch of these during a game when their character receives some coin will really add to the immersion.

I've found a really cool way of giving coin-based treasure to the party is by sticking my hand in the bag, grabbing a bunch of the clinky suckers and throwing them on the table in front of them. Since each has a different denomination, you're essentially rolling for random treasure with this action. The added bonus is that the players will scramble to count their horde in real life, which is so much better than just being told how much they gained. You can do this randomly, but this can lead to them getting a tonne more or less money than they should, or you can split the denominations and do it semi-randomly, picking a handful from the small, mid or high denominations.

But you don't have to use them for money. I started giving them out as tokens if they players did something particularly awesome. Different coins can mean different bonuses that they can use in an encounter, per day or whenever you feel like. For instance, a small copper denomination could mean a +2 encounter boost, while a big fat 1000 gold coin may mean an extra action or an extra roll per day.

Also, if you need something to represent an item or chest in a room, plop one of these down on your map. How about using one of the bigger and more impressive coins as a magic item or a quest item? The 5000 piece I have with a dragon on it could easily be something given to the characters if they need to infiltrate a dragon cult.

Campaign Coins are a great addition to your game, and from looking at the site you can also cutomise your own, which is pretty sweet.

Oh, by the way, this post is no way endorsed by Campaign Coins. As part of Trollish Delver's #positivegeekery initiative, I think it's important to highlight the businesses who help make our hobby better, no matter what their size. If I like your stuff, I'll probably write about it.