Crafting Ultima-inspired Runes

Continuing on with crafting inspired by the Ultima series of role-playing games, The old boxes used to come with all sorts of little extras in them.  I remember getting cloth maps, a coin, an ankh, and other stuff. I thought it would be cool to have some of these props to use in my games. 

I decided to try using Crayola Model Magic for some Runes.  After a few attempts I stumbled upon the method to use to get the desired results. I started with a piece that was approximately the size of a ping pong ball.  I flattened these pieces until they were about half their original thickness. Then I turned the clay with the thin sides up and down and flattened it down to approximately one-quarter of the original ball size.  Crayola Model Magic takes a while to dry, so I let the pieces sit while I searched for the Ultima Runes.  I cut these Runes into the flat side of each piece and primed the entire piece with basic grey craft paint.  I put a Strong Tone wash over the pieces of clay and let them dry.  I used basic black to fill in the symbols.  After they dried, I coated all of them with matte varnish.  Now I can pull these out if the player character characters visit a fortune teller and use them as a prop.  I ran out of Crayola Model Magic and need to buy some more to complete this set of Runes, but the stores around here have been sold out lately.

 

Crafting a Moon Gate

I'm a big fan of the Ultima series of computer role-playing games.  I spent many hours playing them on various platforms over the years.  One of the most memorable things about the older releases was the lore and the extras included in the boxes.  They used to have small rulebooks reminiscent of the OD&D little brown books, cloth world maps, and maybe other stuff like coins.  Of course, this type of stuff would influence my fantasy gaming and I would include similar items in my worlds.  

The screenshot here shows a moon gate that has manifested in an open area of the game world. The idea behind the moon gates is simple.  You can enter a moon gate when it appears to be instantly transported to another location.  A simple form of fast travel that has appeared in many other games up to the modern day. The scroll of town portal from the Diablo series is one such example. I've used something similar in my games but it a very limited form; I didn't want an automatic get out of jail card for the players.  I did, however, want some sort of magical gate that would show up in some locations depending on "if the stars were right" or some other arcane reason.  

I got into miniatures a few years ago.  You can clearly tell from my paint jobs that I am focused on utility and function rather than winning any competitions.  I also downloaded the complete Ultima series from Good Old Games some time ago.  Between these two events, I decided to try some crafting with some cheap clay so I would have a moon gate miniature to use in my games.  I was going to do the entire thing in this clay, but I found some small wooden circles for just about a dollar that could serve as the base.  I also stumbled across some cheap grass, sand, and rock at a local hobby shop, so I decided to go ahead and add those to the mix.  

My results are pictured here.  I'm not disappointed with the results as a first attempt.  I'm going to do another one in the future and there are things I would do differently.  First, the boulders with the runes and the moon gate were glued down first.  On the next one, the first thing will be the moon gate, but the boulders will be glued down after the base terrain. I think that will help with the few small voids that can be seen.  The small yellow spots were added to show a "magical effect" but I don't like how it turned out.  I used several coats of gloss varnish to give it a gleaming appearance and I will do that again rather than using the yellow paint spots. I may try some more expensive clay on the next moon gate as well.  I'm pretty pleased with this first attempt but I see areas to improve.  I will add more stuff inspired by Ultima in the future.  I'm not entirely sure what it will be but I think the runes might be on that list.

A to Z 10 Year Update: U is for Ultima

This post has been altered since it was originally published on April 24, 2012.

A to Z 2012: Gaming in the 1980s

Ultima
The Ultima games and me go way back.  I was first introduced to Ultima at an old friend's house.  His older brother had a Commodore 64 and a huge stockpile of games - Rings of Zilfin, Adventure Creation System, and several Ultimas to name just a few.  One afternoon we did not have any D&D adventures prepped to play so he told us he "had something that we could play that was almost as good." 

I am not sure which Ultima we sat down and played that afternoon - somewhat irrelevant because I have played them all by now - but it was not difficult to see that this game was different from the computer role-playing games we had played previously.

There were several things that stuck out immediately about Ultima.  The world was open and available for exploration instead of forcing your character down a strict path.  There were many options for interaction in the game.  In the earlier entries, your character could ask the citizens their name, job, and other information.  In later entries of the series, you could basically have your character carry on a full conversation by using keywords that are highlighted.  There was also a morality mechanic, recurring characters, and an overarching narrative to several of the entries.  If you have never played any of the Ultima games, do yourself a favor and find one now. 

If you're interested in buying any of the Ultima games, they can be found at Good Old Games for $5.99 each but there are several that are free.  I waited for a sale and bought them all for no more than $20 for the complete collection.  I will be doing a playthrough of each game at some point in the future.

U is for Ultima

***********Just for the sake of clarity - the theme for my A to Z postings is gaming in the 1980's with my friends.*************

Ultima
The Ultima games and me go way back.  I was first introduced to Ultima at an old friend's house.  His older brother had a Commodore 64 and a huge stockpile of games - Rings of Zilfin, Adventure Creation System, and several Ultimas to name just a few.  One afternoon we did not have any D&D adventures prepped to play so he told us he "had something that we could play that was almost as good." 

I am not sure which Ultima we sat down and played that afternoon - somewhat irrelevant because I have played them all by now - but it was not difficult to see that this game was different from the computer rpg's we had played previously.

There were several things that stuck out immediately about Ultima.  The world was open and available for exploration instead of forcing your character down a strict path.  There were many options for interaction in the game.  In the earlier entries, your character could ask the citizens their name, job, and other information.  In later entries of the series, you could basically have your character carry on a full conversation by using keywords that are highlighted.  There was also a morality mechanic, recurring characters, and an overarching narrative to several of the entries.  If you have never played any of the Ultima games, do yourself a favor and find one now.