D is for Death Pogs!

It’s Death… in POG Form!

Death pogs are one of the most successful additions I have made to my gaming table. I originally had the idea to create death pogs from laminated bits of card-stock because my goodie-goodie players kept wanting to do things like keep bad guys alive so they could face trial or interrogation. Well, in the chaos of combat, it can be quite challenging to remember where an enemy fell and which defeated baddies are dead, and which are merely dying.*  The Death pogs solved the problem with flying colors! (mostly red.) Then, when I saw this article from NewbieDM, I thought, “Egad! Washers! Why didn’t I think of that!?” and so I created the sturdier, death pogs 2.0.

Death pogs in action on my game table.
Note: the group's Paladin stabilized all the
dying guards before the group left.

Death Pogs have been such a success at my game table that even if my players are only battling one or two opponents they insist on commemorating their demise with the placement of a pog.

If you are a GM and want to create some death pogs for yourself or a loved one, feel free to download the image below to print your own pogs. (simply set your image resolution to 100px/inch for a 1” token) The simple instructions for mounting can be found by following this link.

 

Death pogs make great Christmas gifts... Seriously! I gave a set to one of my players who had started up his own game. The set came complete with a custom carrying case made from an old prescription bottle, wrapped in paper colored to match the death pog motif and then Mod-podged to a fine, resiney finish. The player LOVED them and remarked on the thoughtfulness of the gift for weeks.

Oh! and if you would like to design your own custom pogs for free, I recommend you check out Token Tool from RPTools. It’s free to download and simple to use. The pogs do not even need to be related to death.

*For those unfamiliar with D&D, a character's injuries are measured in hit points (hp). When a character reaches 0 hp he/she/it is considered disabled; between 0 and -9 hp, the character is dying (unconscious and will likely die if untreated) at -10 hp and below, the character is all dead, leaving you only one choice... to go through his pockets for loose change.