Tabletop Gaming Artisans: Leifkicker, Abbots Hollow Studio, and Little Cluus

 

In tandem with my regular ongoing Gamer Bling! article series, I've decided to showcase some of my favorite tabletop gaming artisans as well. Be sure to check out all the amazing things they are creating and selling!

Where the main article series focuses on specific products to enhance your gaming experience, this subseries of articles focuses on talented artisans who handcraft a wide array products for the game table.

There are a few requirements to make this list of highly recommended makers:

1. Artisan's products must be individually crafted by hand (not mass manufactured).
2. Artisan's products must be of the utmost quality. If they are presented here then I am a repeat customer, and I already rate their products as "5 out of 5 Bling!"
3. Artisan's products must provide a use at the game table. There are a lot of really great gaming-related products being crafted out there, but to make the list in this series, those products must be functional during gameplay. 

Image sourced from the Leifkicker Facebook Page.

Leifkicker
Artisan: Travis Horton
Game Table Function: Dice Towers & Dice/Deck Boxes
What They Offer: Amazing sculpted dice towers, dice containers, and deck boxes. It's truly mind-boggling the things Leifkicker manages to fit a dice box inside of.
Price Range: Typically $80-$200 US


[ Website: http://www.leifkicker.com/ ]
[ Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Leifkicker ]
[ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Leifkicker ]

My Favorite Purchase(s): Monstrous Dice Tower ($150), Monstrous Deck/Dice Box ($85), Planeswalker Deck/Dice Box ($85), and Planeswalker Dial-Counter Deck/Dice Box ($85).

Product photos from a few of my purchases from Abbots Hollow Studio.

Abbots Hollow Studio
Artisan: Randy Cieszynski
Game Table Function: Dice Bags & Campaign Journals
What They Offer: Amazing "life-like" mythical leatherwork dice bags & pouches, journals & bookmarks, dice cups, deck holders, and much more!
Price Range: Typically $20-$60 US


[ Website: http://www.abbotshollowstudios.com/ ]
[ Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AbbotsHollowStudios ]
[ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbbotsHollowStudios/ ]

My Favorite Purchase(s): Grimm Dice Bag ($50), Dragon Eye Dice Bag ($30), Multiple Mythical Beast Books ($40-$50).

Image sourced from Little Cluus Facebook Page

Little Cluus
Artisan: Christina Whitton
Game Table Function: Dice!
What They Offer: A staggering array of custom dice and dice accessories, including the company namesake "Little Cluus" which are hand-crafted dragons (or other fanciful critters) encased in tabletop RPG dice.
Price Range: Typically $30-$100 (For Custom Orders & Full Sets)


[ Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleCLUUs ]
[ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Littlecluus ]

My Favorite Purchase(s): Custom Jumbo d20 "Beholder" Dice ($35).

Cartographer's Cache #001: Neverthirst Oasis

The first issue of Cartographer's Cache is here! This issue features a map of a desert oasis in a fantasy setting. The scene is further set by a deep chasm and rope bridge, a ruined structure (abandoned oasis waystation), and the submerged skeleton of an aquatic megafauna.

Both daytime and nighttime themes are included. Versions of maps include gridded & labeled, gridded & non-labeled, and non-gridded and non-labeled (perfect for virtual tabletop gaming). 

Cartographer's Cache is a monthly RPG map series that I am releasing via this blog. Each month I will create a new map and release it as a pay-what-you-want product on DriveThruRPG.com. The theme of each month's map is decided by public vote via my various social media accounts; primarily Facebook.

This month's theme was suggested by Micheal Ruger via the RPG Gamers group on Facebook.  

Each map is released as a compiled PDF that is sized to a full-page 8.5" x 11 template at 600 dpi resolution. Versions for each map included in each release will be suitable for campaign planning, game table handout, and virtual tabletop (VTT) play will be included with each issue.

You can get this product for Free (pay what you want) exclusively at DriveThruRPG.

Random Door Generator

As I have time I am going to start releasing a series of simple random generator widgets for tabletop role-playing games here at Paths to Adventure. Once I've released enough of these, the plan is to create an interactive Digital GM Screen that can be customized to add various generators to tablet or laptop screens at the game table.

Here is the first in that series of widgets: The Random Door Generator (for when you need details about a dungeon door).

Click Here to try out the Random Door Generator

AAW Games @ GenCon 2016

AAW Games / Adventueraweek.com
Kobold Press / Playground Adventures
Booth at Gen Con 2016 in Indianapolis, IN.

Sadly I was ill this year, and unable to attend Gen Con 2016. However, a lot of my work was available in the exhibit hall, and AAW Games, Kobold Press, and Playground Adventures had an amazing booth setup.

While it was a real drag to miss out on the event, luckily there were no shortage of fantastic pictures that allowed me to vicariously enjoy the convention from my sniffle-ridden home office.

I'm very much looking forward to going to Gen Con 2017 (the 50th year). It will be a blast for sure! And, I have a lot of folks to catch up with.

It was awesome to see so many products I worked on available to con-goers, and pretty neat to see the new massive banner I created for AAW Games (a composition and graphic design with art from Mates Laurentiu) displayed proudly next to the tall standalone sign I designed last year.

In fact, the graphic created for the banner is available on the AAW Games Facebook page as a wallpaper, and you can download it right here!