One of the tricks I learned a long time ago was to make my own custom cardboard heroes. To those not accustomed to the vernacular, a cardboard hero is a mini, much like a cast figurine at a 1:25 scale. The cardboard heroes are used in roleplaying adventures to represent players, monsters, npcs, and even items such as weapons and vehicles. They are a cheaper alternative to buying expensive metal or plastic cast figures that can cost you big bucks.
- Create an image of the cardboard hero you want to make. Use photoshop or a free program such as paint.net to create your images. Remember that you need a front and a back for your cardboard hero character.
- Put the front and back images into an Excel spreadsheet. Make the column width 10 and column height 120. If you use a larger width or height your cardboard character will not be at 1:25 scale, but much larger, and won’t fit well on a 25mm hex grid.
3. Print the selected images on a single piece of paper. Use a color printer if you can.
4. Cut the images out, leaving enough space on the bottom where the plastic holder will grip the character.
5. With the two images cut out, place them on some sturdy card stock. I use comic book backing board (found at places like this) which you can find at your local comic book shop. Be prepared to cut the cardstock to the exact size of the paper images.
6. With your card stock cut to the size of the images, prepare to use a gluestick on the cardstock.
7. Carefully use the gluestick on one side of the cut out card stock and then place the front paper image on it. Make sure that it fits precisely on the card stock as once on the stock, it doesn’t move very much at all.
8. Clear away any excess glue with the edge of a finger. Make sure the paper image fits exactly on the heavier cardstock and then press it firmly with the flat of your palm for a few seconds.
9. Now do the same thing to the back of the cardstock. Clear any excess glue away.
10. Now cut the bottom of the cardboard hero if it is too long. You want about 1/3″ to 1/2″ on the bottom so it will fit nicely into a ‘holder’. You can buy both cardboard heroes as well as the bases needed to hold them at Precis Intermedia.
11. Now you have a finished cardboard hero with both a front and a back.
And you can now use them at will on your tabletop map. Be sure to use a wet erase marker to draw your maps. Have fun!
