I've been a DM for a little over a year and in that time the area behind my screen has gone through a few changes. So I was curious in what all you other DM's have behind your screen or if you don't use one, what you have at hand in your "DM area"?
I use a screen and behind it I have my tablet open to my notes on trello and my itunes ready to go next to a bluetooth speaker. I have a book of graph paper containing all my maps in front of that. To my right is my set of dice (with the extra d20). I typically only keep one set of dice here. I find it fun to use the players dice when I need to roll "X" amount of d6's (It is also one of the few times I roll in front of the players.) Also to my right is a little notebook I use to track HP and make other notes. On the left side is the area I keep all the mini's I plan to use in the game sitting next to my pencils and markers.
So with the exception of the tablet open to my notes on Trello, I think it''s pretty standard but that's why I ask, what's behind your screen when you run a game?
To my left, the PHB and DMG. To my right, my dice. In the center, my adventure notes or campaign book. Clipped to the DM screen, various maps I'll need for that night's adventure.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I have my laptop in front of me with one of the books open (generally MM), with homebrew monsters, or campaign notes. To my right is my phone, which is also open to one of the books (again, generally MM). To my left there is a small area for dice rolling, shielded with a box. Beyond my laptop are propped up index cards giving the initiative order, under my chair is my D&D binder and books (character sheets, plot points, dungeons, riddles, etc.), and in my lap I have a small white board where I track hp, stealth or anything else of the like.
I forgot about my index cards on the left. As for the books and binders. I keep those on the floor next to me. I do my best to consult the actual books as little as possible during a game. The stat blocks I need for the night I snip out of the PDF file and copy into my trello boards.
Old PC that is now dedicated to aiding in the running table-top games to the left, hard copy books on a TV tray to my right, tin of dice, pencil, and scratch paper behind the screen, and often a beverage somewhere in the mix.
For certain game systems there are a few minor changes to the array, such as adding a little tally counter (I don't know what the proper name is; you push a button and the number displayed increases by 1) for HackMaster, or replacing the books on the TV tray with a poker set for games like Savage Worlds or Deadlands classic that use cards and/or chips in some way.
My DM screen generally sits off to the side for quick grab/ reference save when players are in combat - I keep track of monster hit points/ac via dry erase. In front of me is my laptop with various DnDBeyond pages at the ready (compendiums and the spell page for quick lookup), Syrinscape for ambient noise, Spotify for music. Next to my laptop is my dice tray and dice. Somewhere in the mix is my small journal notebook with campaign notes. In a bag next to my chair is my tray of minis and battlemats.
Initiative tracker sits in front of my screen. I use a magnetic white board with my PCs names pre- printed on magnetic tape for quick and easy ordering. I like to keep track of status effects and advantage/disadvantage with various colored magnets on the board and rings around minis so that my players can have a quick reference to easily make decisions.
My two physical copies of the phb are distributed around the room for my players to use as needed.
Behind my screen are my dice, a pencil, and a scratch pad I use to take notes as we play. My game notes are on my iPad mini, along with Apple Music with my extensive D&D playlists and, lately, DnDBeyond. Also close to hand are an opaque box containing the minis I intend to use, the current page of my game world's calendar, and a scratch list of unused NPC names for when the PCs talk to someone at random.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Are you a DM in need of advice? Want to get it from a DM of nearly 40 years of experience who happens to be an anthropomorphic bear? Join the thousands of readers at the DM's Den. New articles every week. Questions answered! Answers questioned! http://dmsden.tumblr.com
To my left, PH and MM. To my right, three sets of die, campaign notes, graph paper, pens, speakers, and minis. In the center, I have my Big Notebook of Homebrew, and 1 d20 with 20 side up, in case I need to fudge something, so I can just show my players, "I got a 20 on that one."
For home: a Monster Manual with tabs made from post-it notes to each creature that will be used (damage is recorded on these tabs) and a hardcover adventure with:
section tabs made from tape
post-it notes next to creature stats (to record damage)
handout and illustration printouts affixed (using blue painter's tape) to each page where they would be used
For conventions: a printout of the adventure and numbered ziplock bags for each encounter containing:
miniatures for the creatures involved
a folded printout of their stats (damage is recorded on this printout)
any handouts, illustrations or NPC stats associated with the encounter
tiny rubber bands for any ongoing effects (if any) that a creature might inflict
a condition description card (to hand to players) for any specific condition(s) that a creature in the encounter might inflict
and 1 d20 with 20 side up, in case I need to fudge something, so I can just show my players, "I got a 20 on that one."
That confuses and enrages me in equal parts. Perhaps I have a strong sense of if something does not go the DM's way so be it. Instead of flat out lying to your players just tell them something happens. ick
In other news, A paper tablet, dice set, my phone with a few tidbits on it, a convertible tablet with DDB open with a number of monsters open in various tabs. Occasionally I will also print out some monster stat blocks from DDB. I just leave the music on a random playlist that is all environmental music, maybe someday I will add audio ambiance and maybe scented candles (sewer smell anyone?) to go the whole nine yards for sensory experience.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
That thread has been marked locked. However this is not the place... unless you mean if the dice get rolled behind your screen when you play. The area behind my screen is where I rolled 90% of my dice rolls. If A) The story hinges on the Enemy's save or B) the player is hit with a powerful attack (ie. A dragons breath. I roll in front of the player and in the case of B I ask the player for some of there own dice. So that their own dice can betray them. I find that this allows everybody to celebrate the roll or revel in the near max damage.
So dice spend most of the time with me behind the screen during a session. With the exception of the rare pivotal dice roll. (Which gets rolled for all to see) If my big bad guy rolls a ONE so be it!
Left side: A4 notepad for health tracking. Small notepad for roleplay notes.
Centre: Folder of printed campaign details, quests, side quests, order of "events", NPC generation and record sheet, Player character sheets, backgrounds and upcoming personal quests. 5e DM screen directly infront of this with additional pages tapes to it for quick reference; prices of various items, healing potion breakdown, actions breakdown. Then i have wee character and NPC pegs as an initiative tracker (a la Acquisition Inc).
Dice normally get rolled on the A4 pad which can/cant be seen by players, depending where they are sitting.
my binder with story markers,Pencil, npc list, bad guy list with stats, PC list with party names, max hp and AC for each so i don't have to keep asking, Dice, Minis, Note cards with weapons / Spells/ Items written on them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I've been a DM for a little over a year and in that time the area behind my screen has gone through a few changes. So I was curious in what all you other DM's have behind your screen or if you don't use one, what you have at hand in your "DM area"?
I use a screen and behind it I have my tablet open to my notes on trello and my itunes ready to go next to a bluetooth speaker. I have a book of graph paper containing all my maps in front of that. To my right is my set of dice (with the extra d20). I typically only keep one set of dice here. I find it fun to use the players dice when I need to roll "X" amount of d6's (It is also one of the few times I roll in front of the players.) Also to my right is a little notebook I use to track HP and make other notes. On the left side is the area I keep all the mini's I plan to use in the game sitting next to my pencils and markers.
So with the exception of the tablet open to my notes on Trello, I think it''s pretty standard but that's why I ask, what's behind your screen when you run a game?
Check out my campaign here on Obsidian Portal
To my left, the PHB and DMG. To my right, my dice. In the center, my adventure notes or campaign book. Clipped to the DM screen, various maps I'll need for that night's adventure.
I have my laptop in front of me with one of the books open (generally MM), with homebrew monsters, or campaign notes. To my right is my phone, which is also open to one of the books (again, generally MM). To my left there is a small area for dice rolling, shielded with a box. Beyond my laptop are propped up index cards giving the initiative order, under my chair is my D&D binder and books (character sheets, plot points, dungeons, riddles, etc.), and in my lap I have a small white board where I track hp, stealth or anything else of the like.
"First in, Last out."
- Motto of the Bridgeburners
I forgot about my index cards on the left. As for the books and binders. I keep those on the floor next to me. I do my best to consult the actual books as little as possible during a game. The stat blocks I need for the night I snip out of the PDF file and copy into my trello boards.
Check out my campaign here on Obsidian Portal
Old PC that is now dedicated to aiding in the running table-top games to the left, hard copy books on a TV tray to my right, tin of dice, pencil, and scratch paper behind the screen, and often a beverage somewhere in the mix.
For certain game systems there are a few minor changes to the array, such as adding a little tally counter (I don't know what the proper name is; you push a button and the number displayed increases by 1) for HackMaster, or replacing the books on the TV tray with a poker set for games like Savage Worlds or Deadlands classic that use cards and/or chips in some way.
My DM screen generally sits off to the side for quick grab/ reference save when players are in combat - I keep track of monster hit points/ac via dry erase. In front of me is my laptop with various DnDBeyond pages at the ready (compendiums and the spell page for quick lookup), Syrinscape for ambient noise, Spotify for music. Next to my laptop is my dice tray and dice. Somewhere in the mix is my small journal notebook with campaign notes. In a bag next to my chair is my tray of minis and battlemats.
Initiative tracker sits in front of my screen. I use a magnetic white board with my PCs names pre- printed on magnetic tape for quick and easy ordering. I like to keep track of status effects and advantage/disadvantage with various colored magnets on the board and rings around minis so that my players can have a quick reference to easily make decisions.
My two physical copies of the phb are distributed around the room for my players to use as needed.
Behind my screen are my dice, a pencil, and a scratch pad I use to take notes as we play. My game notes are on my iPad mini, along with Apple Music with my extensive D&D playlists and, lately, DnDBeyond. Also close to hand are an opaque box containing the minis I intend to use, the current page of my game world's calendar, and a scratch list of unused NPC names for when the PCs talk to someone at random.
Are you a DM in need of advice? Want to get it from a DM of nearly 40 years of experience who happens to be an anthropomorphic bear? Join the thousands of readers at the DM's Den. New articles every week. Questions answered! Answers questioned! http://dmsden.tumblr.com
To my left, PH and MM. To my right, three sets of die, campaign notes, graph paper, pens, speakers, and minis. In the center, I have my Big Notebook of Homebrew, and 1 d20 with 20 side up, in case I need to fudge something, so I can just show my players, "I got a 20 on that one."
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Lets please not rehash DM fudging again. lol
Feel free to read the heated debates here.
That thread has been marked locked. However this is not the place... unless you mean if the dice get rolled behind your screen when you play. The area behind my screen is where I rolled 90% of my dice rolls. If A) The story hinges on the Enemy's save or B) the player is hit with a powerful attack (ie. A dragons breath. I roll in front of the player and in the case of B I ask the player for some of there own dice. So that their own dice can betray them. I find that this allows everybody to celebrate the roll or revel in the near max damage.
So dice spend most of the time with me behind the screen during a session. With the exception of the rare pivotal dice roll. (Which gets rolled for all to see) If my big bad guy rolls a ONE so be it!
Check out my campaign here on Obsidian Portal
Right side: Monster manual, DGM, PHB
Left side: A4 notepad for health tracking. Small notepad for roleplay notes.
Centre: Folder of printed campaign details, quests, side quests, order of "events", NPC generation and record sheet, Player character sheets, backgrounds and upcoming personal quests. 5e DM screen directly infront of this with additional pages tapes to it for quick reference; prices of various items, healing potion breakdown, actions breakdown. Then i have wee character and NPC pegs as an initiative tracker (a la Acquisition Inc).
Dice normally get rolled on the A4 pad which can/cant be seen by players, depending where they are sitting.
my binder with story markers,Pencil, npc list, bad guy list with stats, PC list with party names, max hp and AC for each so i don't have to keep asking, Dice, Minis, Note cards with weapons / Spells/ Items written on them.