Hey everyone, I just had a couple questions I wanted to ask those that actually do use fan made content in their games.

I have only recently discovered fan made content and have been very impressed with some of the detail that has gone into these projects!

My question is: how do you implement these fan made expansions/mechanics in a physical sense? Do you print the cards and laminate? What about for monster tokens? Are there any techniques, products, etc. that you use to add fan made content to your Arkham game so that it seems like it is of the physical quality as the official components of the game?

Or is fan made content more for playing Arkham digitally? I've heard of a program that allows you to play the game on your computer and add new components to it. Could anyone maybe explain how this works, as well?

For Heralds & AOs and similar stuff: I print them, and then laminate them.

For Monsters & other token: I never printed any of these, but IIRC some people used to print on paper and then glue the paper on foam.

As for the program, I guess it's an app that allows you to draw at random encounters and stuff. If you're interested, it might be worth checking here the details of the AH Toolkit

Hope this helps

Thanks, Julia! It certainly did help.

I was wondering a lot about monster tokens. I feel like in the monster cup, it would be easy to decipher which ones weren't official (and maybe not grabbing one because you are worried it might be a particular challenging fan made one). I think that just comes down to not second guessing and really just grabbing the first one you touch, haha.

Can you share any content that you've really enjoyed playing?

Sure! Follow the link in my signature and you'll discover what bizarre world is my twisted mind.

Generally speaking, Heralds created by

- Amikezor

- Avi Dreader

- Julia

- Rovdjuret

- Veet

are all worth playing (and really for advanced players, or not-advanced players who like being butchered)

I guess all of the guys here have a link in the signature to their photobucket, if you want to have a look at their stuff.

Finally, the best things *ever* conceived for Arkham is the Arkham Horror Fan Creation League, conceived by Avi. It gives a great idea of what the game can offer when pushed to the limit.

As for the monster token: yeah, exactly. You could consider plastic protection for coins to use with each monster chit: in this way, being both the custom and the original ones sleeved in the same way, you can't touch and say any more what's official and what's not.

I've used OfficeDepot and FedEx for printing AH stuff. I only laminated the players' mats, though. I did a bunch of the Citizens of Arkham, and despite knowing the feel on the tokens in my hands, I "honor system" that whatever I pull out of the monster cup is what comes out.

Digital Arkham: Try searching for VASSAL.

I print the cards out and use them. Heralds / AOs / Investigators tend to be easiest to add to your collection. See the design notes in Lovecraft Country Horror for tips on printing and implementing new cards in your game.

I use Office Depot for everything, ask them to print it on Maximum weight card stock. You can then proceed to laminate it if you really want that extra thickness, but I don't find it necessary to go that far. For double-sided pieces (items, monsters, etc.) I arrange everything on two pages in Strange Eons making sure to mirror the pages (Card Deck is the best way to get everything arranged) , export the Print-Quality PNG's (300 DPI) to my computer and center the pages together using Photoshop. GIMP is also effective for this if you don't own Photoshop.

I have yet to find a good way to print out a more authentic Monster Token, Game Board or Investigator Marker. I don't know if you can actually print stuff on that thick of...paper? I don't even know what the FF creators use.

Aqua, for monster tokens I knew I'd never get "authenticity" but while both of these styles are noticeable in the monster cup by feel, I got one batch to be "substantial."

One batch of tokens printed on card stock and glued front and back was as thin as you might expect. But I bought a beat up base game on ebay with this purpose in mind, and used glue dots to attach front and back card stock to a preexisting FFG monster token, and you've got something that you're not afraid of crushing in your hand.

At Office Depot, the glue dots I used were maybe $1.54 for forty or sixty of them. Little round things in a nondescript packaging. I also found that I couldn't find THAT kind of adhesive anywhere else; other products were too thick and ballooned the size of the finished token. And I should add that once I won the used base game on ebay, someone uploaded individual monster tokens I could've bought separately. BGG marketplace might be a good place to find them, too.

I've only just recently started experimenting with custom content; most of the help here is more use than I will be.

However, I have recently taken on the undertaking of manifesting the entire Lovecraft Country set. This undertaking is still a work in progress, BUT I did come up with the idea to print out the boards via photoshop onto fabric transfer paper and then ironing them onto a sturdy fabric to create "fabric maps/boards" that fit sort of the old-timey feel of the game, and also are much easier to store than traditional boards.

I personally think that this might be the best method for boards. The only significant issue is that it's risky as the transfer paper can be pricey and, if the ironing process doesn't take or the print doesn't come out crisp enough, you may have a tough time reading the alternate encounter text for each location.

Other than these things (or if you just like the idea of fabric boards enough to keep trying), this method is pretty great. I'm not a "perfectionist" so the first try worked out just fine for me (even though there are a few missing letters/mismatches along the seams).