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View Full Version : What's Behind Your DM Screen?



Penelomeeg
2017-12-20, 02:10 PM
I'm running a 5e campaign in person soon ans I was wondering what supplies/items would be good to prepare? Also what tables and info should I out on the bacl of my DM screen? I will not be using maps or minis if that gives more clarity for suggestions.

Black Knight 2k
2018-02-01, 03:56 PM
A list of quick names.
Quick note taking tools.
All basic rules in short form.
Water, for drinking.
Dice
A list of any other things you might have to quickly come up with, and don't know if you can.

Kadzar
2018-02-01, 08:16 PM
In addition to any tables, pre-planned material, and maps (even if you don't use battle maps, it can be nice to have a general idea of where you are), which will vary depending on what kind of campaign you run, I like to have one set of notes that lists when certain things have happened, usually within the accuracy of an hour, and skipping time if nothing interesting happens for a while (such as when sleeping or traveling). Basically a time log. This includes things like noting down when they encountered monsters and any treasure they found.

Another set of notes covers less time-dependent setting notes that come up in play that I might want to reference in future sessions. Granted, I only thought to do this near the end of my last campaign, so it ended up being just a loose page of notes of a few NPCs and stuff about the players' ship and a few things jotted down in my campaign planning journal, but it was helpful and more convenient than checking the time log.

Also, a good thing to have is some note cards hanging over the DM's screen with the individual names of the player characters roughly positioned to where their player is seated to help you remember them, along with things like the PCs' class, race, and passive perception score.

bc56
2018-02-02, 07:35 AM
I have a binder with all my notes/maps/homebrew monsters, some dice, and whatever books are being used at that instant. I have on the screen, a random name generator, a list of status conditions and their effects.

hifidelity2
2018-02-02, 07:46 AM
A list of quick names.
Quick note taking tools.
All basic rules in short form.
Water, for drinking.
Dice
A list of any other things you might have to quickly come up with, and don't know if you can.

Surly you mean Beer for drinking

redwizard007
2018-02-03, 11:13 PM
Also, a good thing to have is some note cards hanging over the DM's screen with the individual names of the player characters roughly positioned to where their player is seated to help you remember them, along with things like the PCs' class, race, and passive perception score.

This is bloody brilliant! I've been gaming for 25 years, and I've never seen this done. We usually had it on something, but putting them on the screen like this to help remember basic character details is a nice move.


I personally, like to have a few note cards with pre-generated treasure and some random encounters relevant to the area so that we don't get bogged down rolling on random generators.

A running list of NPCs that the players interact with is important as well. You want to use Bob, not The Innkeeper, so a list of names can be handy.

One trap that I have seen many fall into, is to use a laptop, tablet, or phone as a DM tool. DON'T! There are already too many distractions at the table. If players see you touch electronics, they will do the same. Soon some jerk is on FB...

inexorabletruth
2018-02-04, 04:20 PM
Apps.

There are so many D&D apps these days, I don't bother keeping my pencils sharp anymore. Character generator apps, map/dungeon generator apps, initiative tracker apps, condition modifier apps. There are even apps which do all of that in one!

A lot of the battle map apps have a "DM Screen" effect, so you can even share your battle maps on the cloud so they can see the battle without seeing your dungeon notes. In live sessions, I plug my tablet into my TV and run the whole dungeon on 36" high def; my old square/hexagon maps are just rolled up in my gaming table.

As for 5E: I'd like very much to recommend Roll20 and Gamemaster5.

Only thing I keep old school is the dice. I've used dice rollers in the past (some which claim to be even more random that real dice) and it just doesn't build the same tension. There is nothing quite like the look in your players eyes when you start rolling dice without explaining to them why. Heck, sometimes I just do it because I'm bored because the players aren't focusing. Nothing snaps them back to character quite like seeing me adding up results and comparing them with my notes.

Of course I don't play live as much as I used to... but I'll say this. If all the character sheets, all the DM notes, all the encounters, and all the modifiers/loot/curses/etc are on a cloud, the cleanup is suddenly fast and easy, leaving more time for playing.

Psikerlord
2018-02-04, 05:50 PM
Yep some good suggestions so far. I think different GMs remember different things/need help with other things, so personalise your screen to suit you.

Eg I remember rules no problems, there would be no use having an actions summary etc for me for say 5e (like what does dodge do, etc). I am however very poor at improvising names, so I a list of random NPC names is essential for me.

I generally like to have:

1. NPC names. I also like to have a quirks table.
2. note with PC's name, wisdom/perception and Int score. I like the idea of a prior poster about putting card on your screen about where the player is sitting to help remember their name!
3. random encounter tables
4. weather tables
5. wilderness travel rates, light sources, lost table
6. encounter distances
7. healing/recovery rules if complex
8. gear availability/cost
9. skills list
10. treasure tables
11. couple of generic location maps

edit - I roll all combat dice in the open, but will make the occasional perception check etc for PCs behind the screen.

Anonymouswizard
2018-02-04, 06:14 PM
Personally? Nothing, because I don't use a screen.

I've got a good enough memory to remember core mechanics, have no problem picking up a book when I forget something, and like to roll openly.

When I did use a screen I kept tables on it. Generally ones transposed from the book.

These days I have a folder beside me when running a game, with maps, NPC stats, notes, and anything else I think I'll need. I'll just open and flick through it, removing sheets I think I might need quick access to soon, and use the folder as a screen when I want to hide rules (which is rare).

I do still own a screen, I've just got no interest in using it as one.

My list of useful GMing materials:
-paper copies of tables
-NPC stats
-adventure notes
-maps
-list of setting appropriate names
-note of PC names, rough outline of specialty, and Perception scores/passive Perception.
-list of relevant houserules for the campaign.
-drink and snacks
-metagame currency tokens

Wasteomana
2018-02-04, 09:50 PM
I've never been big on DM screens in general and don't use one. Personally I like giving as many of the things I would put behind my screen as possible to the players.

I have a player who keeps track of what monster has taken how much damage.
I use index cards folded in half with the numbers 1-20 on them for initiative, so everyone knows at a glance where they are in initiative order by glancing at the table. In especially complicated fights, I have a player who tends to write down what monsters are with what initiative.
I play 4e, so I have a cheatsheet with all the monster math for the edition on a spreadsheet in front of me. I don't need to hide it b/c the math is extremely transparent in that edition. I sometimes make notes on post-its and put them below the spreadsheet but my players don't try to read my handwriting because I take most of my notes in Japanese and decoding them would be a whole bunch of effort to ruin the game for themselves.
I keep a babyname book with dozens of index cards in it for notes of important NPCs. I can generate them quickly and by grouping the NPC by quest/locale/etc you can always have a good name at the ready and the players generally don't know if you just generated it, or if you are reading off your bookmark.

I don't keep things behind the screen I don't need to because I would prefer to have the table feel more open and have everyone participating in this group experience. I feel that mentality better supports the way I run my games and it has worked out well for me over the years.

Pugwampy
2018-02-05, 02:48 AM
I am an open screen DM . All my needed info is next to or behind me .

You never needed a screen to shnook the players over . I do it all the time in plain sight . :smallbiggrin:

Knaight
2018-02-05, 03:05 AM
I don't use a screen. What I do have are session notes of some sort, which is usually a sheet of paper or two, which generally involves some combination of a map and/or a faction relationship web, plus miscellany. I might also have some quick rules references, for games that benefit from them.

Florian
2018-02-05, 03:09 AM
I don't use a gm screen. But what's in front of me would be the same as what'd be behind one:

- Bag of dice
- iPad with PDFs, PRD open in tab, more tabs with useful online generators (names, quick encounters, odd things to flash out locations)
- Pen and Paper to track initiative, hp and so on.
- Jar of various sweets (wine gummy and such). I use sweets as pieces on the battle map.
- Beer

MrStabby
2018-02-05, 10:27 AM
Info about the PCs. Background existing relationship etc.. stuff to work into the sessions.

Faction info - favoured spells, insignia etc..

Future plot points to foreshadow, clues to slip in that will be relevant in future sessions and things like this.

For rules - just spell effects that I might want to look up.

Velaryon
2018-02-05, 02:01 PM
I don't use a screen. I used to, but I found that they impeded my view of the map at least as much as they kept players from seeing my notes, and when I would stand up to move miniatures around the battle mat, I kept knocking my screen over.

Now what I do is I put my laptop on a side table next to me, angled so that I can see it and others can't. I have a general outline of what I am expecting to happen typed up and open on the screen. Important NPCs and monsters will have a separate document that I can reference if I need to remember what a certain feat, ability, or item does, but their actual stats are on paper in front of me.


A lot of the battle map apps have a "DM Screen" effect, so you can even share your battle maps on the cloud so they can see the battle without seeing your dungeon notes. In live sessions, I plug my tablet into my TV and run the whole dungeon on 36" high def; my old square/hexagon maps are just rolled up in my gaming table.

Which one do you use for that? That sounds handy.

FabulousFizban
2018-02-06, 05:55 PM
behind my screen? beer and cheetos

Belac93
2018-02-07, 12:10 AM
Funny story, actually: in my last one-shot, my players thought I had a stack of notes behind my GM screen for a pre-prepared adventure.

The notes consisted of 10 NPC names, and some doodling paper.

Guizonde
2018-02-07, 09:21 AM
although i don't use a screen, i've been keen on using one just for a few thingies:

tacking on it all the core mechanics and tables of the game i'm playing (for rogue trader/dark heresy, that'd be a list of extended actions, costs of various common items, damage of common weaponry, and crit tables/ hit locations. i've never played dnd 5, but i'm sure you get the idea. on official screens, it's usually printed on it).

keeping a cheat sheet of the pc stats and items. you'd be surprised how often it's more expedient to have those rather than wait for the pc to calculate results.

a stack of post-it notes on top of loose leaf paper. sometimes, players won't want to reveal what they see to the party for different reasons. writing down what they see and tossing them a piece of paper makes it dynamic and secret, and avoids destroying a piece of loose leaf for things like "you guys are followed by your hallucinations".

a stopwatch in case of time-sensitive puzzles. they don't come up often, so instead use the stopwatch to allow for fair playtime between split parties.

printouts of commonly referred-to sections of books. my rt dm uses a tablet with pdf's, but it's not as ergonomic as grabbing the book. he told me he sometimes just photocopied rules, charts, and pages that he thought he might need.

reading through the thread, there are some awesome suggestions, pick and choose what you like.

also, i'd recommend drinking shandy rather than beer when dm'ing. past experience has taught me that there's a time and place for everything and drunk dm'ing is no exception. you try and dm effectively after a marathon 12 hour session sober, now try that roaring drunk. hilarious, but definitely not to be done with little system mastery or a serious campaign... but man, i've got great memories of getting plastered with my group and drunkenly doing the impossible. booze really does lower your inhibitions.
"that rat-ogre insulted my family! roll initiative, my fists are rat-poison!"
*punches out giant rat bare-handed*
(next morning)
"i did that?! i only had a 1 in 20 chance of pulling it off!"

that said, in a drunk dm moment, i did give my pc's a tank. not my best idea. they ended up committing genocides and founding monsanto.

inexorabletruth
2018-02-07, 12:36 PM
Which one do you use for that? That sounds handy.

My Battle Mapping app du jour is Dungeon Sketch, because it's free, easily customized, and fairly intuitive. Roll20 does it (allegedly) better, but you have to pay a subscription for it.

Back in the good old days, I used PhotoShop with layer masks. Then I learned how to write code and build some simple apps to do it for me. There are some killer apps out there for D&D, though, so there's no reason to make one anymore. I played a 4E game a couple of years back on GiTP, using an app that allowed individual players to log in and control their own character. Once logged in, you could only see what your character sees. It would track movement speed, HP, temporary modifiers, active buffs/debuffs, remaining Heal Surges, and spell durations for active spells. It was amazing. I failed to catch the name of the app, and it's become my white whale.

SarcasticDom
2018-02-08, 08:36 AM
I'm still getting the grips of DMing, since I'm a little rusty and this is currently my longest running campaign, but behind my screen

-My set of Dice
-A cup of Earl Grey, No Milk, 2 Sugars
-My laptop, with numerous word docs open containing my settings history, nations, campaign info, session info, NPC info, and homebrewed monster stats
-A note pad, where I write down intiative counters and monster HP
-Loose pieces of paper for rushed notes and the such

Jay R
2018-02-08, 10:02 AM
The last time I ran a 2e game, I had a printed Excel with each character's name, race, character stats, saving throws, primary weapon stats, and languages known.

Anything I might want to know without asking them.

For instance, they hear voices in the next room. If I have to ask them if anybody knows Ogre, then I've identified the enemy as ogres, and told them who should listen. Instead, I glance as the sheet, and when Pyxil listens at the door, I tell him he hears a harsh guttural language. If Sophia listens, I tell her that they are arguing in Ogre about dividing their loot.

FabulousFizban
2018-02-08, 11:38 AM
in reality i use a laptop. I have a file that contains basic info on my players: names, saves, passive perception, languages - that kind of thing. As well as notes on whatever I'm running, and several options for thematic music (i like using pokemon battle music for encounters :P). Something i picked up from another DM are initiative cards - folded pieces of paper that have the players name written on each side of the fold that I hang over the screen, that way everyone can quickly see turn order. You can even have each player roll about 20 initiatives in advance and record the numbers on a slip in order to speed the game up. One of the more useful things behind my screen are story cubes, which allow me to quickly create a unique personal history for any npc the players might decide to interact with. Also, again, beer and cheetos.