DM screen or no DM screen? That is the question...

[takyris]

I use a screen. I like 'em. I don't like having the players reading my encouner notes upside-down.

For those of you who don't use screens, how well does your group handle metagaming? Because, to be honest, in a perfect world, I'd roll just about everything myself and just tell the players what happens. As a DM, I find myself getting annoyed when the start saying "But there's no way he could have hit me!" or, somewhat passive-aggressively, "Musta been a good roll..." each time I hit. Sometimes I roll well. Sometimes, though, the party doesn't know that their enemy can see through illusions, and is ignoring the Blur or Displacement -- or that their Ring of Protection has been temporarily disabled by magic in the room. That kind of stuff.

On the flip side, anyone should, in fairness, know how hard something is to hit after one or two rounds of combat against it. In real life, you'd be able to figure out if you were missing because it was nimble or because it has scales or because invisible pixies are pulling your sword off to the left before it can hit...

So it's a give-and-take.

 

[NewbyDM]

I use em... cause,
- i do cheat sometimes
- a couple of my players are sooooooo curious about everything
- there is info one the sides of my DMm screen.
AND
- i need protection against throwing objects... this screen gives me a cover bonus.

And if i play a combat, i sit next to the players.... so that i can move all the pieces more easily.

R.

 

[ForceUser]

I like the screen because it says I'm the DM. It is a device that helps players focus on my end of the table. I can clip important notes to it at eye level, and I can make my die rolls without players knowing the results. I prefer the players to know outcomes based on what I tell them and not by looking at my d20 and seeing a 19. This isn't because I flub die rolls - I play as the die lies in all circumstances - but because I like to describe a Sense Motive vs. Bluff battle-of-wills in RP terms, and sometimes make secret skill checks for players or NPCs before telling them what occurs. I do not use a screen because I am worried about players looking at the adventure notes; if they want to ruin the surprise for themselves then there is not much point in playing anyway, right?

 

[ForceUser]

I do fudge but only for the benefit of the PCs. This is rare but sometimes is needed to keep the hero alive.

It always interests me how D&D is different things to different groups. For me and my players, the risk of character death and the occasional PC dirt-nap is what heightens the drama; therefore I and the other two DMs in my circle of gaming buddies never flub die rolls to save PC lives. Tends to engender a healthy respect for the whole hakuna matata aspect of the campaign world.

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

I like DM screens--it's always been part of the gaming experience to me. My first DM used one, so it feels just sort of weird to... NOT have one. A great screen has some art on the player side that gets players in the mood to game. I always loved the old 1e screen that my DM had--the one with the bearded guy looming towards you in armor, a battle on a hill with a castle, dragons flying above, and a big open chest full of gleaming gold.

As a DM, I like to have a screen because it makes me feel somewhat separated from the players. I feel...like I'm in my own little world, full of fun secrets. I don't like showing off notes and maps, and like others have said, I do fudge the dice occaisionally--usually if I've been an asshat and way overestimated the strength of the party...I'm thinking of doing that less though, just to increase the tension a bit... I love having charts in front of me as well.

Hunching behind the screen, peering over it with an evil gleam in my eye is great fun too--and provides me with some cover from projectiles

 

[Vivictus]

Hmm, good reasons why to use a screen for the most part. though I still will never agree with cheating on die rolls to harm your players characters. Players are more than capable of rolling and hiding a result and cheating themselves if need be to save their own asses.

Perhaps I will try a screen again though. I haven't used one for years. As a matter of fact, my favorite one was the Planescape screen. That thing was the most useful one I think ever made. My problem with screens is that I always needed two of them paper clipped together to fit everything I need behind it. And that is using the 4 panel ones!

I think one main reason I may have forgot to mention that I don't like them though is that even though you can lean up and grin at the players and they can't see what you're doing, I feel more seperated from them. Also when looking at miniatures, it's hard to see over the screen (I could get a higher chair I guess) to gauge my next move. With the screen I have to sit down and stand up way more times than I'd like.

 

[ForceUser]

As a matter of fact, my favorite one was the Planescape screen.

That's what I use; it is the most elegant of them all.

 

[fba827]

I think the screen is important for hiding notes/papers/special DM maps, etc.

However, for dice rolling, it could be screen or no-screen, depending on style of the game. But whichever you choose, be consistent.

The last game I was in, the DM used the screen for notes but did all rolling in front of the screen. Once in a while he does rolls behind the screen, but that's for non-combat situations. (Like when he's checking to see if he wants to see if a creature near by hears our passing by and will/won't attack or if making a bluff check for an NPC. ... plus the occasional unnecessary roll to keep us guessing if he's rolling for a purpose or not..)

That worked quite well for us.

It would also be a good thing to do if there is a lot of potential fudging... if the DM is rolling on the table in front of him in the open, it tends to get the others to do the same.

 

[Shallown]

I roll in the open and let the dice rolls communicate somethings as well. When I rolla 4 and still hit a character when he thinks I should not have. It puts the fear in them. They know it is just not luck but something else. I think of it as the character realizing that "Hey that was my best move and he still almost got me" I try to use the rules and dice to communicate and as a tool. Sometimes using the Meta game gives information to the players I think their characters would have. Like "hey this guy can hit me no matter how smooth I think I am." It translates a lot more than some Gm's think, IMHO.

just another way to look at it.

Later

 

[Desdichado]

We don't usually sit at a table per se, so screens isn't an issue. If the DM is in the big cushy chair relatively far away from the players, and the rolls can't be seen anyway, it doesn't make much difference.