Budget Props and Costumes
What can you do with just a little bit of moneyHaving a good costume and good props can contribute a lot to the game. These pages are designed to show some ways to get the most bang for limited bucks.
Props
The $15 Alchemy Lab
Assembled by: Suzanne Brownbill
After a heavy fighter with lots of armour...alchemy is probabley the most prop intensive Epoch career. But just because you need a lot of props does not mean you need to spend a great deal of money. The lab discribed here would be a very respectible prop for a new alchemist. It would be suitable for making level 2-3 potions. You would be expected to add to your lab as your character gained skills but you can do this over time, watching for sales and hunting out good bargans.
When putting together an alchemy lab on a tight budget, your first and probabley last stops should be to your local dollar stores. It may take a little hunting but dollar stores contain a great wealth of cheap stuff that will look great in your lab. I look for things made out of black or clear plastic, wood or metal. Glass is too prone to break.
| Photo | Item(s) | Price | Store | Notes |
 | Ingredients phys rep | $3.42 | Dollarama | You don't need a lot of any one flower to represent an ingredient. I look for bunches with lots of different types of flowers on them to get the most bang for my buck. |
 | Recepie Book | $1.14 | Everything for a Dollar | I chose this one because it looked the most period. Try and avoid ones with shiny covers or ones that portray happy cartoon characters. |
 | Potion Vials | $1.14 | Everything for a Dollar | These were sold filled with toothpicks in a twelve pack. They are especially nice as they are in four colours allowing for some colour coding of your potions. |
 | Cauldron | $1.14 | Dollarama | I found a dollar store that had all their Halloween gear out in July. Getting a big bowl will allow you to make larger batches but will take more room to store both in and out of game. |
 | Wooden Spoon Collection | $1.14 | Everything for a Dollar | This selection of spoons offers some veriety but a stiring spoon would surfice |
 | Measuring Spoons | $1.14 | A Dollar or Two | Metal mesuring spoons are perfect for mesuring out all your ingredients |
 | Scale | $1.14 | Everything for a Dollar | Blue is not an idea colour but cheep scales are harder to come by. |
 | Heat | $1.14 | A Dollar or Two | For heating your potions. |
 | Teapot | $1.14 | A Dollar or Two | This teapot has an infuser build right in. A tea ball or tea infuser would also be good choices. |
 | Strain | $1.14 | A Dollar or Two | You don't want to leave customers of your alchemy picking bits of herbs out of their teeth |
 | Lab Bag | $1.14 | Everything for a Dollar | A box, basket or bag gives you someplace to store all your stuff. |
| Total: | $14.82 |
Some other items you might want to look for would include: a mortal and pestal, a sand dial, tongs.
If you've got more money to spend, be sure to check out science supply stores, discount retailers like Walmart or Winners, used goods store, surplus stores etc.
