Props!

[Crake]

So in the campaign I'm DMing I used a worn and burned map during the last session rather than just drawing the map and omitting "burned" sections. I used a combination of pen ink and a water based calligraphy ink to have certain pieces of the map run (I think that's the proper term for it where the ink spreads out and whatnot?) and since it was folded in places it threw my players for a bit with smudges that crossed over. My players absolutely loved it and had a lot of fun analyzing it in depth, and while the interaction was minimal on my part, I too enjoyed watching them pour over every little detail trying to determine its significance.

So it got me wondering, what kinds of props does the playground use while DMing?

[Toy Killer]

I regularly use props, but it's unfortunately never very intricate.

One of my players has a spirit sight ability (homebrew campaign fluff, Shamelessly stolen from dark souls) So I do quick doodles of stick figures, showing how they died. I find it more effective and interpretive then simply saying "you see him get eviscerated in front of you! Oohoohoo!"

The only really intricate work I do is a progressive DM screen. after the first few secessions I start making a DM screen with art depicting the adventures and leave silhouettes for future events. As things fall into place, it really shows the progression of the PCs through the story and alludes to future events passively.

[Duke of Urrel]

I like drawing pictures, so I often make pictures part of the game when I'm the DM.

I think pictures are especially good when you want PCs to discover an odd-looking gizmo or magic item that they have to figure out how to operate. This is good for PCs with Disable Device or Use Magic Device skill, who get a chance to shine when other players have no idea how something works.

It's also fun to write messages using foreign alphabets, such as letters taken from the Japanese Hiragana syllabary or the Futhark (runic) alphabet. Hand these to PCs with Decipher Script skill and let them mystify their comrades by figuring out what they mean!