Personally, I run everything out of my laptop, and use DnD Beyond for my books, so for me: laptop, notepad, pen, snacks ( and for me, snacks includes a pint of stout ).
Other things are nice but not actually needed: DM Screen, dice tray.
If you want to go the miniature route for combat, you'll need a battle mat of some description ( you can put down a dry erase transparency down over grid paper ), but you don't need to go that route. You can run combat completely as theater of the mind. Personally, I use a dry erase board for abstract maps, and a pack of generic game pawns to indicate the position of "bad guys".
But really all you need is reference materials, an adventure, an ability to make notes, and some dice.
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The Basic Rules are more than enough to play the game.
The 3 core books will give your players additional character options and give you additional resources for DMing, but if you're on a tight budget and you're willing to improvise, the Basic Rules will do.
After that, the single most useful optional book in my opinion is Xanathar's Guide to Everything.
A recent thread asking a similar question. The general theme seemed to be dice, PHB, Monster Manual, and snacks as the minimum. But responsibility for that last one can be placed on the players. DMG and DM screen are not required but highly recommended and after that I agree that Xanathars is optional but the next most useful resource.
Oh, I dunno. You delegate snacks as the DM. You're the one preparing everything for the evening of fun. The least the players can do is bring the snacks.
For paper, I'd say make sure to bring scratch paper for everyone to use. And note cards are super handy, available at gas stations and walgreens, foldable and usable as miniatures in a pinch, for passing notes (which, I guess, is why they are called note cards...good one there, brain). Great to have.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I would have some cheap things that will help in combat.
-You can find images online for 1 inch square grids and print off some pages for use as maps. -We all have old games laying around. Tokens or markers can represent characters and NPCs on the maps. -I cut a sheet of paper into 3/4-1 inch strips. I then punched holes into it about the same distance apart. I then cut squares with these holes in the middle. If one of the characters/NPCs falls to a condition, I write the condition on one edge of the paper and place it over the token as a reminder. -Scotch tape to connect map pieces together to form a larger map. -A way to record the session (app on a tablet, etc.). This way you can go back and listen to all that happened and take notes if you want to "use something the players said against them in a court of law." -Jot down some rules that you will use more than others (conditions, combat actions, etc.) on a piece of paper or two and hang them from your side of your makeshift DM screen for easy reference and less time with the nose in a book or tablet.
As you go, and you find things that could be made easier, come up with simple and on-the-cheap ways to make it run more smoothly. The more experience you get, the more things you will think of yourself.
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Thank you. ChrisW
Ones are righteous. And one day, we just might believe it.
There are a lot of potential answers to this question, and many of them are correct in their own ways.
My first instinct is similar to what Vedexent said right off: paper, pencils, dice, snacks. And at least a couple players.
You do need access to some rules and an adventure. If it's in your budget, buy the core three books (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual). If your budget's a little tighter, one of the two recent starter sets - the Essentials Kit or the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle starter set. Those two kits have the added bonus of including adventure material. If you're on an absolute shoestring budget and that's already been wiped out by paper, pencils, dice, and snacks, get the free rules and either find a free adventure (sometimes available here on DDB, often also easy to find on DMs Guild) or if you feel comfy with the rules and pretty creative, adapt a story you're already familiar with. I took the bones of Smokey and the Bandit, shaved it down to the basic elements, and turned it into an adventure for first-time players with level one characters and they loved it.
There's lots of other stuff that's cool and/or convenient to have as a DM. A DM screen; a bunch of official or third-party adventures and sourcebooks; all the content on DDB and a good laptop or tablet to access it all while playing; software like OneNote or World Anvil to keep track of your campaign(s); maps, terrain, and miniatures; initiative trackers; etc. etc. etc. But you don't need most of that stuff. It's just nice to have.
I say you probably want pens, paper, laptop or something like that, generic miniatures (chess pieces work surprisingly well), a board of some sort for combat, and maybe a DM's board. Not all of these you need, but they sure as hell help.
what core books(PDFs) should I have? -no adventures(yet) I already have that.
The Player's Guide, The Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual. Technically, you can get away with just using the SRD but I prefer books, either in digital or physical form. I was surprised to see some of the published adventures by WotC requiring you to have the Monster Manual (although again, you may find them in the SRD) for the monsters already in the Monster Manual. Other than that, unless you are more of a theater of the mind type of person, a battle map would be very helpful and tokens/miniatures to represent players/monsters/npcs. A notebook or if using a tablet, a digital note taking app is good to have.
The 3 core books PHB DMG MM - but then in all honesty I personally take a different view than most here I think these days players expect some sort of VTT experience.
Owl Bear is free to use - easy to use and you can run the game off your laptop and just run a hdmi cable or something to a tv or decent size monitor this does 2 things - give the players and dm access to a map with grid actual measuring tokens etc. all for free (included in the free tier with owl bear). The other and equally important benefit is you can run hybrid sessions if not everyone can game in person well heck your running the VTT anyway so you can do 1/2 in person 1/2 on discord or google meet.
I get creative all the time with maps and npc's and encourage players to generate their tokens in ai so i can import them to the vtt -
So sure you CAN run a game with real books and a note pad and theatre of the mind - but why would you.
VTT and some VOIP solution if needed for remote players is the best way to run sessions these days IMO. In every aspect from keeping DM costs down to, accessibility of session, to indulging your and the players creativity.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Besides dice? I've been out of the loop as a player for a decade and never DM'ed before. I have a pre-made campaign(I did not make it).
Dice. Books. Paper. Pen. Snacks.
That's pretty much the classic bare minimum.
Personally, I run everything out of my laptop, and use DnD Beyond for my books, so for me: laptop, notepad, pen, snacks ( and for me, snacks includes a pint of stout ).
Other things are nice but not actually needed: DM Screen, dice tray.
If you want to go the miniature route for combat, you'll need a battle mat of some description ( you can put down a dry erase transparency down over grid paper ), but you don't need to go that route. You can run combat completely as theater of the mind. Personally, I use a dry erase board for abstract maps, and a pack of generic game pawns to indicate the position of "bad guys".
But really all you need is reference materials, an adventure, an ability to make notes, and some dice.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
The Basic Rules are more than enough to play the game.
The 3 core books will give your players additional character options and give you additional resources for DMing, but if you're on a tight budget and you're willing to improvise, the Basic Rules will do.
After that, the single most useful optional book in my opinion is Xanathar's Guide to Everything.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/dungeon-masters-only/37009-what-tools-have-you-purchased-and-use-vs-dont-use
A recent thread asking a similar question. The general theme seemed to be dice, PHB, Monster Manual, and snacks as the minimum. But responsibility for that last one can be placed on the players. DMG and DM screen are not required but highly recommended and after that I agree that Xanathars is optional but the next most useful resource.
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D&D Beyond FoundersYou can use part of a cardboard box as a DM screen if budget is an issue - put the info you need on post-its and stick them on it. :)
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
Oh, I dunno. You delegate snacks as the DM. You're the one preparing everything for the evening of fun. The least the players can do is bring the snacks.
For paper, I'd say make sure to bring scratch paper for everyone to use. And note cards are super handy, available at gas stations and walgreens, foldable and usable as miniatures in a pinch, for passing notes (which, I guess, is why they are called note cards...good one there, brain). Great to have.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
One of my Players is a professional baker, who gets tons of "take homes" - no shortage of Player provided snacks there :)
But as my personal snacking preference includes one of these, I tend to bring that for myself :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
what core books(PDFs) should I have? -no adventures(yet) I already have that.
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D&D Beyond FoundersPlease note that none of the official Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks are available in PDF form.
Digital content on D&D Beyond comprises content as seen here in the freely available Basic Rules.
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
I would have some cheap things that will help in combat.
-You can find images online for 1 inch square grids and print off some pages for use as maps.
-We all have old games laying around. Tokens or markers can represent characters and NPCs on the maps.
-I cut a sheet of paper into 3/4-1 inch strips. I then punched holes into it about the same distance apart. I then cut squares with these holes in the middle. If one of the characters/NPCs falls to a condition, I write the condition on one edge of the paper and place it over the token as a reminder.
-Scotch tape to connect map pieces together to form a larger map.
-A way to record the session (app on a tablet, etc.). This way you can go back and listen to all that happened and take notes if you want to "use something the players said against them in a court of law."
-Jot down some rules that you will use more than others (conditions, combat actions, etc.) on a piece of paper or two and hang them from your side of your makeshift DM screen for easy reference and less time with the nose in a book or tablet.
As you go, and you find things that could be made easier, come up with simple and on-the-cheap ways to make it run more smoothly. The more experience you get, the more things you will think of yourself.
Thank you.
ChrisW
Ones are righteous. And one day, we just might believe it.
Here's a link to a good book for a DM:
https://www.amazon.com/CASEMATIX-Screen-Leather-Double-Sided-Customizable/dp/B0CDF3MQSG/ref=sr_1_17?crid=1R95L35LAZ2QJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.p2HFrOKymT71n-ouCy-szXFqoXjHDNkURv5ltkNT3L9_pAGf4jdvN53JMStpIQRt4FftjDSXfOU0rG7qWkiqfHnb5E67dR-GNIxWmA9HUC8xhEZUVluoeI5TFfpVyoLdEqq_m0pb6gOQgvujUlOUliPsZLtz_lt1u0pvNm-YuL_n__48eSPZrZ5yfeGgEnaLLRlkFrQDO1icYCdqIuJvPYXwr11LJq1DSX408xFnfd5r0778mY2-fPVyjx2yLgDg0zeQJKyB8-dL0RxV1MQoou_DsCfb-blZjqaMSST4LJU.4upDyGfHXbE0yYe82VrQkYUQOB9kZx8Ay7w-EDICJfw&dib_tag=se&keywords=dnd+dm+screen+cheap&qid=1728013675&sprefix=dnd+dm+screen+cheap%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-17
There are a lot of potential answers to this question, and many of them are correct in their own ways.
My first instinct is similar to what Vedexent said right off: paper, pencils, dice, snacks. And at least a couple players.
You do need access to some rules and an adventure. If it's in your budget, buy the core three books (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual). If your budget's a little tighter, one of the two recent starter sets - the Essentials Kit or the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle starter set. Those two kits have the added bonus of including adventure material. If you're on an absolute shoestring budget and that's already been wiped out by paper, pencils, dice, and snacks, get the free rules and either find a free adventure (sometimes available here on DDB, often also easy to find on DMs Guild) or if you feel comfy with the rules and pretty creative, adapt a story you're already familiar with. I took the bones of Smokey and the Bandit, shaved it down to the basic elements, and turned it into an adventure for first-time players with level one characters and they loved it.
There's lots of other stuff that's cool and/or convenient to have as a DM. A DM screen; a bunch of official or third-party adventures and sourcebooks; all the content on DDB and a good laptop or tablet to access it all while playing; software like OneNote or World Anvil to keep track of your campaign(s); maps, terrain, and miniatures; initiative trackers; etc. etc. etc. But you don't need most of that stuff. It's just nice to have.
I say you probably want pens, paper, laptop or something like that, generic miniatures (chess pieces work surprisingly well), a board of some sort for combat, and maybe a DM's board. Not all of these you need, but they sure as hell help.
The Player's Guide, The Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual. Technically, you can get away with just using the SRD but I prefer books, either in digital or physical form. I was surprised to see some of the published adventures by WotC requiring you to have the Monster Manual (although again, you may find them in the SRD) for the monsters already in the Monster Manual. Other than that, unless you are more of a theater of the mind type of person, a battle map would be very helpful and tokens/miniatures to represent players/monsters/npcs. A notebook or if using a tablet, a digital note taking app is good to have.
The 3 core books PHB DMG MM - but then in all honesty I personally take a different view than most here I think these days players expect some sort of VTT experience.
Owl Bear is free to use - easy to use and you can run the game off your laptop and just run a hdmi cable or something to a tv or decent size monitor this does 2 things - give the players and dm access to a map with grid actual measuring tokens etc. all for free (included in the free tier with owl bear). The other and equally important benefit is you can run hybrid sessions if not everyone can game in person well heck your running the VTT anyway so you can do 1/2 in person 1/2 on discord or google meet.
I get creative all the time with maps and npc's and encourage players to generate their tokens in ai so i can import them to the vtt -
So sure you CAN run a game with real books and a note pad and theatre of the mind - but why would you.
VTT and some VOIP solution if needed for remote players is the best way to run sessions these days IMO. In every aspect from keeping DM costs down to, accessibility of session, to indulging your and the players creativity.