As a Game Master that uses terrain in my tabletop RPG games, I am constantly on the lookout for good items that I can pick up and turn into something else. My preferred hunting grounds is the flea market and several of the thrift stores locally nearby to my home. Often while out and about I fail to find anything. But from time to time I find a gem like this one.
This Mother’s Day weekend I was making the rounds and just as I was beginning to think that nothing was going to be found for another week I found a rare gem for the crafting. Khet 2.0 the Laser board game. For a whopping $3 bucks. Well, if you have never played Khet let me tell you straight off. Many crafters out there that have played Khet are cringing at the thought of me crafting these pieces for an RPG game.
The way Khet comes with several pieces and a play board, the Pieces consist of several Pyramid mirrors, Anubis blockers, as well as scarab 2, sided mirrors and your sphinx laser. There is one other piece in this game is the pharaoh. This is your king. The concept of the game is simple, you fire your laser and bounce it off the mirrors on the board in an effort to strike the other opponent’s pharaoh and win the game. There are more rules to it than that but that is the general theme. Overall it’s a great game and if you have the chance to give it a try I highly recommend it.
Now, like I said I picked this game up for $3 bucks, and the reason it was sold for so low is it was missing one piece and the play board. SO, with that said it was home to the craft bin from this game for me. As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I was going to do with these pieces.
Years ago I had run a demo game of D&D at a mini-convention I helped run called Gathering in the Park. One thing I did that day was a physical puzzle that my players need to solve before they could move on from one section of the dungeon. The puzzle was basic but fun for all the players to solve. They needed to aim a laser and bounce it off a series of 4 mirrors to strike a door and make it open Ala Indiana Jones style. Back then I used a plain non-fantasy looking set from a game called laser deflector to accomplish this. It did not look pretty but it accomplished the job.
So, with theses Egyptian tokens on hand I set about wanting to make them look more fitting for dungeon delving play. So, I pulled out the painter’s tape and began the task of covering up all the mirrors and the Laser portal. See Khet fans, you can breathe easy I have every intention of leaving these pieces 100% playable. After all, I need them to work to allow my players a to properly solve my puzzle!
Once properly taped up I set to putting a fine layer of primer on the pieces. Once dried I whipped out my secret stone texturing weapon, stone effect spray paint. This can be a tricky job as if these types of paints can clump or spray with an inconsistent watery texture if you are not careful. Always spray from about 12-14 inches away and pre-spray a sample shot to make sure your paint is ready. Once all your precautions are taken its time to get underway. After two layers of light mist, I had the desired result. I let the paint dry overnight.
My finishing touches on this project was to take the Anubis blockers and set a gem in each of their eyes. I did not have small enough gems to make the pharaoh look right so I decided at least for now not to add gems to his eyes. The results speak for themselves and I am happy with the results. What do you all think? Did I improve on the set or ruin it? In the grand scheme of things I only improved on it as they will see far more use in my home like this then they would have as they were. I hope you enjoyed this little crafting session. Until next time!
Runkle Plays Games 