During the recent Gencon convention, I obtained a sampling of Adventure Scents, from Oddfish Games. These attempt to replicate the smells of various environments frequently encountered during an adventuring session, such as a Moldy Crypt, or a Smoky Campfire. The idea is to add another element to put the group into the mood of the game., and it is something I have been curious to try in our ongoing game.
Since then, I have used the smells a few times in our sessions. Though they certainly work, and cause the expected reactions, I have found they are challenging for our particular group. The scents are strong, very much so, but also short-lived – both of which are generally preferred. But with a large group, which uses a large room, it tends to be unbalanced – one side is overwhelmed while the other side isn’t treated to the experience.
My solution is to use a small fan to help distribute the smell, which has definitely helped. However this adds its own challenge, since while I am holding the fan and the scents, I am not running the game. What I needed was an option to place the smells, and position the fan, to not need external support.
The other challenge is unfortunately the standard packaging – the scents come in a metal tin, which is certainly fine for shipping, but are less than air-tight in storage. This tends to cause “scent bleed”, especially in my gaming bag, and I am concerned will prematurely age the material itself.
Enter my own home-grown solution – a combination of upgraded glass jars with air-tight lids for storage – which also allows for a larger storage size for the future, and my plans to 3d-print a basic frame to hold my usb-fan. This in concept would provide a spot for the open jar to be placed, while the fan runs continuously. Enter a new scene, open a new jar, and the group receives the appropriate scent. Should work – in theory.
Of course, I also need to be careful not to overwhelm the entire game with extras – the point is the game, not the strange smells. So I am trying to keep it an unobtrusive as possible.
