Look, it’s not EXACTLY gonna replicate the d20 experience, but to play a game on the fly with little to guide you except your imagination — you can’t go wrong.

Here’s a tip for those of you who have no money to spend on miniatures, make your own!

I wrote a tutorial teaching you to make your own counters using free software:

http://newbiedm.com/2008/11/22/newbiedm-tutorial-counters-tokens-or-pogs/

Hope that helps the financially challenged dm’s out there

@Jharviss – I bet in Ohio they called it “pop” or “soda”. Here in Texas, it’s all “Coke”.

A: “Anyone want a Coke?”
B: “Sure.”
A: “What kind?”
B: “A Dr Pepper. Thanks.”

(Also, there’s no period in Dr Pepper.)

KOS, Seeker of Trivial Knowledge…

Culture change, anyone?

Total cost of the fabric? $7

It still works great, and I use wet-erase markers with it. Despite spraying water on it to clean it the lines are still sharp and easily seen.

Also a somewhat cheap alternative to a wipeable map grid is to set up a grid on poster paper (Staples even has ones with a grid already set up. Just use a sharpie to make them stand out) and then place it on the table and overlay with an acrylic sheet. Then go mad with erasable markers.

Food — My group does a pot luck sort of thing for gaming nights or we all chip in a few bucks for cheap pizza. My wife and I host the game and usually provide chips and soda, while the other gamers bring desserts, drinks, cookies, or sometimes pick up the tab for pizza or chinese delivery. Don’t forget coupons. If you don’t have any, ask what the specials are when you call. You can always get some sort of discount.

Maps — You find plenty of maps online or as magazine inserts. There are even freeware map generators if you want to create your own custom maps.

Figures — I’ve used figures from Heroscape and HeroQuest (even a Fisher Price dragon once) for my D&D games. You can download cardboard heroes (some cardboard counters have also been included in certain gaming magazines from time to time). Otherwise, take the plastic bases from a cheap kids’ game, the ones with a little slot for a cardboard character. Then, insert an illustration cut from one of those thousands of CCG cards you have gathering dust in your closet! Instant mini-fig, and well rendered, too. This also works well for monsters or vehicles. Some of the LOTR or other fantasy themed versions of Monopoly or Risk may have handsome figures suitable for PCs or NPCs and Age of Mythology is a gold mine for monster figures.

Furniture and other dungeon dressing — Consider looting your HeroQuest game for furniture parts, figures, and tiles. Electronic Mystery Mansion has literally more than a hundred tiny metal and plastic pieces of furniture. Many other games have useful bits.

Terrain — Heroscape and HeroQuest come in handy here. Tiles from Catan or Carcassonne games are another option. Dominoes make acceptable dungeon walls. Weapons and Warriors or Crossbows and Catapults can provide siege engines and castle walls.

Dice — It’s a little harder to come up with dice other than d6’s, but you can pick up a cheap set of polyhedral dice for $5 at the local game store.

The possibilities are endless for accessorizing your roleplaying game with parts from the internet or from boardgames that can be picked up relatively cheaply at thrift stores or yard sales. Take a tip from model builders have been kit bashing for years. Pimp your RPG game with pieces from boardgames, CCGs, and the internet and save a bundle in the process.

Befriend teachers. They get school supplies tax-free ALL YEAR LONG.

Cook a bulk meal (spaghetti is cheap as) and get everyone to bring a few bucks. You’d spend that on eating that day anyway, so you’re actually getting cheaper chow by making a lot. Plus the GM/Host/Cook might get some leftovers. D&D Doggie Bags? Maybe not. But my gaming group never does “snacks.” We go grab a curry around the corner late in a session. A good filling meal. Of course, if we learned to cook a decent meal instead we’d cut back on the cost…

Scavenge. Any office or academic environment will have a box of print-outs people chuck. Board games are full of counters for those who don’t feel the need for super-duper miniatures. Almost any bit of trash that isn’t actively decaying may have a use some day (the obsessive-compulsive’s mantra, I admit).

Shop second-hand. Even if you can’t find old gaming manuals, as Telas points out you can find basically anything else that someone used to own. If you’re using a DIY RPG like FUDGE, a book with lots of pictures is as good as any sourcebook.

Above all, remember that this hobby is about being social and creative. Work with your mates and come up with what suits your group. You’re not responsible to anyone if it’s not cannon. You don’t have to impress anyone. Just go for it and see what happens.