I’ve always GM’d with my laptop, never used a screen, but I like the idea of it more and more.
I was just curious what people put on there? What do you consider essential and what has come in handy for you?
For reference I run Call of Cthulhu so especially interested in that, but I’ve also done DND so really just curious in general.
viva la dirtleague dm did something I thought was neat. he had folded chits representing each party memeber and enemy (honestly did not look at how home made they may or may not have been). Then when initiatiave is rolled he lines them up and moves them over like you might do with a pool scoring thing as people take their turns and at the top of the order moves them back. I mean he was not consistant with doing that but I think that was the idea.
I was using a screen but after some time I stopped using it. Although the prints I got on the outside were cool, I felt it was kind of blocking the flow between me and players. Things that need to be hidden I open on mobile, rules lookup can be in the open, so the book is opened on the monitor on the side where it doesn’t block our line of sight
Another vote for no screen! I definitely overestimated how common these were.
Now that I think of it, if I were running D&D 3.5 back when it was in full swing, and players had monster book burned into their minds, having even a shoddy copy of a page might have spoiled some fun. But I think that time has passed.
Even if the main point of a scene is a fight with tentacles GM will reveal the true nature of later, fewer players can bring up stats from seeing which page the book is open on, you might be using some homebrew from some blog anyway, or you might even be playing a more free-form system, where even meta-knowledge of the setting does not imply what the creature will do. I think many tables back then used to be more like a boardgame, where knowing what you fight against was half the battle.
And even if some OSR fan might say now “I wish those tables were back”, from what I see around, nowadays there is much more flexibility, randomness and content (i.e. monsters) is not limited to a mainline that everybody knows
So even intentional peeking at GM’s notes gives much less info, and unintentional does not spoil the fun
A lot of the people who responded here have focused on the secrecy, but that’s actually not my goal with it really. It just seemed nice to put the laptop away for a while and have quick reference for rules and plot points all laid out at once.
Do people really have players trying to ferret out secrets that much, or that are that distrustful of dice rolls? I can’t imagine anyone doing that in my group, but maybe I just have a good one.
I do focus a lot more on roleplay and discourage metagaming, so maybe that’s part of it too.
I actually run without a DM screen. I use my story notes and print up the stats for all enemies that I will run, sometimes I will print out a checklist for plot points and objectives the players hit, and I take notes.
Everything else is in my head.i know the rules back to front, and when I don’t, we have a standing table rule to decide on the spot and fix it in the future if the ruling is “wrong,” as long as it’s not catastrophic.
Our games flow, the story, rp, and encounters are king.
Did you use one before you knew all the rules perfectly?
Yeah. I found it annoying on a small table like we play on. I’ve been playing since '86, though.
I would love to get to that point someday. I still need cheat sheets though. 😉
I do not use one. I do all my rolls out in the open, and mostly use over sized dice so my group can see them.
As far as rules, the group keeps me on my toes for them. So I just keep my notes in front of me.
It really seems quite uncommon these days based on all these responses!
I run multiple games without, but the one game I am in the dm (this is his first time dm’img) uses a screen religiously. Although he tends to forget there is info on the screen for him. I think he only uses it as a barrier between us and him.
Call Of Cthulhu comes with a DM screen that summarizes the most important rules, at least the edition I had.
As an idea, the things I had to look up most frequently (and under time pressure) were rules on sanity loss, injuries and healing, combat maneuvers, the list of weapons.
I also like to have a long list of NPC names I can just draw from whenever the players decide that a random passerby must be plot-relevant. This can be combined with a list of quirks (limps, shy, drunk, religious, frightened, foreigner, gorgeous,…).
Pick a name, pick 2 quirks, BAM, instant NPC out of the box.I like that NPC generator idea. That’s clever!
I actually wanted to get that DM screen you mentioned but it wasn’t available where I live. Hoping it becomes available someday though.
I have a ring binder book where I print out my session notes, including monster stats. That I have laying flat on the table. For newer systems I also include a cheat sheet for the most important rules (or page numbers in the rule book!). Maps etc. I don’t like having a wall between me and my players.
It’s interesting, it seems like most people don’t use one based on this thread.
For me the wall isn’t the point, I just like the idea of not using a laptop. I already spend a lot of time on the computer.
My point was, that I do use all the quick reference hints that you would find on the back of a GM screen, I just lay them out flat before me or have them in my analog binder where I keep my notes. That’s a small binder where I can insert sheets that I need for a session and can reference older notes. The downside is that, if you play with minis etc, you would need an extra area to prepare and hide them for a surprise effect…
Hi, another comment voting for the laptop (sorry).I have music tabs, plot points and relevant characters notes, and maybe even some images open for locations and scenes. The game I’m currently running comes with a screen (mouse guard) but I’ve found no good use for it yet, and I roll dice in the open cos not doing so feels silly. But if you really want a screen, most games have some made. Chronicles of Darkness games have tables and how to use xp, but again, never found them too useful. Keeping good flow and an immersive setting for rp is more important to me, and a screen gets in the way.
It sounds like most people are using a laptop!
IMHO having a gm screen behind my laptop is more hassle than its worth. So, on my laptop I have internet access and all relevant info in my foundryvtt (all stats of my player characters, the current relevant campaign Info and battle map,…)
Well the goal would be to not have the laptop
For d&d? https://2014.5e.tools/dmscreen.html on my laptop along with my spreadsheet of notes.
For something less rules-y? Maybe a PDF of the rules, or multiple copies if I need quick reference to several places.
