Do you guys use DM screens? And what is your "must have" information on them?

I use my own custom screen that has conditions, items, travel and a few other rules like grappling, exhaustion, etc. on it plus a blank whiteboard space for PC stats like perception. I also use monster tents that I hang over the screen so that the monster stats are right in front of me and the players see a pretty picture of the monster on the other side.

Hopefully if DDB turns out to be good for running games on a laptop at the table, I'll switch to that though. So far, so good :)

I had to google monster tents.  That's pretty cool.  

Quote from subsistcyber >>

I had to google monster tents.  That's pretty cool. 

The whiteboard sounds like a good idea. Cheers

I find DM screens imperative.

Having any kind of information at a glance is very useful (my favorite example being the Conditions), and being able to attach anything else you need is a hefty bonus.

Additionally, it prevents my players from noticing (even unintentionally) what I'm looking at - my maps, the next monster's ambush, etc.

Finally, I believe it builds some needed tension whenever I roll out-of-combat dice. Doubly so when I'm rolling for the chance of a trap or an NPC's truthful reply (compared to passives or asking someone to roll). It's much better when they do not know whether I rolled a 9 or a 20.

I use the regular old DM screen as of right now though I've been thinking about attaching things to the blank spaces such as "Random Encounter Rolls" or my own "Something Happens".

I use a DM screen, although usually I stick my own things to the inside -- the passive perception of the party, their armour classes, the names of the players mapped to the character names. Initiative order. Things I don't want to have to keep asking! It also has some good stats and useful things on the inside regardless.

I use a 3-panel screen with inserts of my own making.

The info on the outside (facing players) is a map of the continent they are on and the calendar the setting uses.

The info on the inside (facing me) includes:

• Lingering injury table, and a reminder for me when a roll is meant to be made
• Potion miscibility table, should anyone ever actually drink more than one potion in short period of time
• Scroll mishap table, should anyone actually not be successful in using a spell scroll
• Our house-rule that provides bonus hit dice recovery on completion of a long rest based on what quality of lifestyle the character is paying for (incentivizing actually spending money to live well)
• The conditions, for ease of reference
• Individual and hoard treasure tables for greater speed filling in found treasure details whenever I haven't specifically placed the treasure (which happens a lot because my players drive the story, and I just react to what they are doing, unless I'm running a published adventure).

I also have a screen I made myself. Most of my info is homebrew. Service & Goods prices, a chart for the availability and quality of said services and goods depending on the size of the city/town. Etc. Potion effects and durations, things that come up often enough that I don't want to crack open a book. A DC chart for quick checks. Common weapon lists for quick reference. And the player side is Hieronymous Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

I have a screen, and I won't play without it.

I use almost none of the preprinted charts on it, though. I have my player's information I need (AC, hit points, weapons, immunities vs vulnerability, alignment, etc), monster info (although I have currently fallen in love with monster tents, so I have a stack of baddies we're likely to encounter stacked inside the screen so I can plop it up top during the battles), combat order (we're playing with some newbies so I'm trying to make sure they learn to take full advantage of their turns and am constantly reminding them "Do you want to do this this turn? This?") Weapons and items info, notes on encounters I've planned, initiative for the session (we roll about 10 initiative rolls before the game during 'housekeeping" so we're not stopping before battles and slowing down the actual game.) I think I'm forgetting something, but that's the important stuff. ;-)

I built a DM screen out of old CD cases using this guide. I made a little cheat sheet for narrating (based on some articles from The Angry DM) and a table that I use to help me set DCs. The +# next to the header on each category is their proficiency bonus plus the modifier of their highest stat for that level - so at level level 5 ("Exceptional" on the chart), they will have a proficiency bonus of +3 and will likely have at least a +3 mod to their main ability score. The percentages are the probability of each level of character hitting that DC. 

In addition to this, I made a little booklet with references to common DCs for each of the skills along with times when that skill or ability score would likely be used. I printed out the pages and use one of those report covers from Staples that has the removable spine and clear acrylic front and back. I also have a clipboard that I use to hold some graph paper for writing notes, tracking initiative/combat, etc. and taped to it I have a cheat sheet with their passive perceptions. 

I am considering moving all the things I have for the stats and abilities, along with some cheat sheets I have for environmental damage, cover and lighting, travel speeds, etc. into a binder with a protective sheets. 

I should note that I keep my laptop open at the table to reference the notes I have written for the basic structure of the session and to quickly look up obscure things that are not frequently referenced.

I use two computers, a phone and a box. Computer A has all the quest stuff on it, maps, baddies, NPCs and other DM notes. Computer B has Party info on it, who they hail, some stats, magic items they have, etc. The phone has random generators that I can roll on, such as loot and random encounters. The box is a box, nothing special, it blocks peeking eyes from the "book of vile darkness".

what i have for a dm screen is all of my pc base stats and hp, Healing potions dice counts, hindering conditions and some encounter tables

I use the standard 5E screen, attaching any session-important things as needed -- with one change. We cut our screen in half, so we have two folds on one side, two on the other, and it's open in the middle. This allows for easier maneuvering of battlemap, and also connects us to the players better. We saw it on some old school D&D documentary, and were like... Why haven't we done this?

Traditional DM screen here, I just toss a post-it note up for the passives and AC of my players. I may have to do monster tents in the future...might give me more room for my notebook :)

I seem to be the odd man out here - I run everything off of a laptop.

I find DnD beyond, Google Docs, and the occasional Google Search to be fast enough to look up what I need on the fly.

Quote from Vedexent >>

I seem to be the odd man out here - I run everything off of a laptop.

I find DnD beyond, Google Docs, and the occasional Google Search to be fast enough to look up what I need on the fly.

I use my laptop to run Syrinscape, otherwise I have a "no electronics" rule at my table due to the proliferation of people on their phones playing games, facebooking, or otherwise not engaged in the game for whatever reason.

I don't use a screen, mostly for logistical reasons: my apartment is small, I run my games around my living room coffee table, and there isn't space for a GM screen. I usually am sitting by the TV with my computer in my lap - I hook my computer up to the TV so I can easily share maps, pictures of monsters, etc. with the party, and also so I can run sound effects and music through the TV's speakers. I use an old clamshell VHS case for Star Trek: TNG as my dice box; it obscures my rolls from the party but it's also portable, which is important because I have a tendency to move around (stand up, sit down, pace around a bit, etc.) when I'm narrating something.

I kind of would like a GM screen, though, or something similar that would have reminders in a visible location. For example, I keep forgetting to make the casters roll Concentration checks, and until recently I kept mixing up the rules for rogues' Sneak Attack and the optional Flanking rules.