GMs, what do you use as tools on the table?
Hello!
A little bit about me: I've been mostly GMing via Play-by-Post, but I'm now diving into in-person/live games. Reason being: I finally found players! . . . With the additional detail that they are newbies, so I want to make it easier for them to learn and enjoy the experience.
So, we'll be playing Candela Obscura, an Investigative Horror with a dice pool mechanic, and a bit of PbtA/FitD DNA. And, honestly, they don't much care for the "mechanic" side of things; they do appreciate that it's easy to learn. We did a sample, no-prep, scene just to get a feel of the mechanics, and they somehow get the "flow/gameplay loop" of the game easily—i.e. it's all just a conversation, and we only roll whenever there are stakes on the line.
Now, I already have blank playing cards as a means to disseminate scene information, clues, and other note-worthy things. Admittedly, I'll probably change, or at least try to use index cards as an alternative. I just think that the thickness of the playing cards have more "presence" when held by the players. But, again, this will be only the first time they will encounter this. So, this could go either way.
Another tool I plan to use is a simple, small whiteboard. Only to be used to quickly draw up an image whenever it is needed, and since I can only draw stick figures, I don't intend to get larger drawing tools.
Then, I'll make use of Clocks. I'll probably use the whiteboard for this as well, or I can easily just use dice, but I do want it to be more visible, intimidating. Any suggestions for alternative items/tools for Clocks? One alternative I'm looking at is some form of tokens. Where I just place on a square in front of me, or at the middle, then I state when it becomes X amount of tokens—or the inverse—whenever I take all of the tokens, X happens.
And finally, I'm still unsure if I want a curated music playlist for them, since I'm not sure how long we will be playing, but I do intend to have some background music whenever we play. Oh, and are there any free, basic soundboard apps for me to look at? Again, I just want to immerse them with the least financial expense on my end.
Any tips or opinions would be great!
P.S. If it matters, we will be using Theater of the Mind for this system.