I would love to do some fun things with the thermal printer I have lying around, however, I’m not so sure it is possible to get BPA free paper. Even the “BPA free” paper comes with similar molecules like BPS, which has been shown to be just as bad for the human endocrine system. If anyone can correct me on this and point me to some paper I would be comfortable with my kids handling (kids put everything in their mouths), please let me know.
This looks awesome but I've read in the past that there are a lot of PFAS chemicals on these thermal printer papers. Is there like "safe" paper they have now that you can use for these things?
Thermal printers for TTRPG handouts is such a good idea. Handing a player a physical slip with a riddle or loot description is way more immersive than reading off a screen.
Just a question, but on these threads it’s nonstop talk about how dangerous the paper is like using it for one dnd game will give you cancer but we don’t blink twice at cashiers handling it 8hrs a day?
I just use index cards and a pen, but I wish I was a competent enough sketcher to make them look as cute as these printout templates. These look great.
I do this, I give my players an rfid tag, scanning the tag prints their character sheet, background and any secret goals they have (With cuts in between) they can then destroy the secret materials and scan again if they forget.
I was thinking about this recently in order to solve the problem of RPG fights. Deterministic combat is not super exciting, but dice throwing is even worse. What if instead you quickly printed a puzzle that you can do on a timer, and your score determines whether you miss or hit a critical.
Also instead of meta-progression through stats you have increased difficulties through the puzzles, but you improve your puzzle-solving skills.
Years of re-enactment combat got me thinking along the same lines.
The core of hand-to-hand combat is feinting - persuading you are going to hit your opponent in one place, so they move their defences to that place, and then hitting them in another place. That's a simple mechanic that could be translated easily into cards or any other bluffing format.
It gets more interesting with animals (who don't feint much) and large monsters (who don't need to feint because their attacks will overwhelm your defences), so dodging and armour come into it then.
But that brings up hit points, which are a ridiculous mechanic for modelling all of this. Stabbing someone in the arm or in the gut is completely different, it has very different effects, and should be modelled differently.
And this is where the rabbit-hole takes over and it gets too complicated ;)
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Also instead of meta-progression through stats you have increased difficulties through the puzzles, but you improve your puzzle-solving skills.
The core of hand-to-hand combat is feinting - persuading you are going to hit your opponent in one place, so they move their defences to that place, and then hitting them in another place. That's a simple mechanic that could be translated easily into cards or any other bluffing format.
It gets more interesting with animals (who don't feint much) and large monsters (who don't need to feint because their attacks will overwhelm your defences), so dodging and armour come into it then.
But that brings up hit points, which are a ridiculous mechanic for modelling all of this. Stabbing someone in the arm or in the gut is completely different, it has very different effects, and should be modelled differently.
And this is where the rabbit-hole takes over and it gets too complicated ;)