What materials must a Player have/bring with them at a game session?

[The Ghost]

I do prefer they bring clothes.

Clothing is so over-rated.

 

[Hussar]

I'm the opposite of DannyA here. I've never been the librarian of the group, even though I've mostly been the DM. So, for me, playing D&D, bringing any rule book that is specific to your character is a must.

And snacks. It's just good manners to bring some munchies and something to drink.

 

[Desdichado]

Also, I have a rule about bringing your own pencil. I don't keep many other than my personal one and have had them stolen before, so I'm not a fan of doling them out.

Where I live, I can pop into the dollar store and buy a package of ten or twelve pencils for a dollar.

I doubt they were stolen; it's just one of those things that people don't really attach enough value to to pay attention to it.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Depends a bit on the game and the individual players. I have come to prefer to keep the character sheets at one location and to run the game only at that location. I then also keep the minis, and most of the other gear at that location. If players want to take their character sheets home who am I to deny them? BUT, they will of course give me an exact copy for my own uses in their absence (not that I really ever do need them, but you never know). I can provide an extra PH, dice, pens/pencils if necessary but geez, if YOU can't afford or remember to bring your own there are other issues we need to discuss... Players are encouraged to provide their own miniatures for their PC's which represents their character as close as possible, but as I'm the one with the ginormous minis collection it's not an issue for them to select one to use from my stuff.

I buy my own snacks. I don't know or particularly care what drinks and eats you like, much less to take into consideration your current fad diet, diabetes, allergies, etc. - just friggin' bring your own food. My game sessions are tradiionally long enough for a dinner break. We may call in an off-board pizza strike, go out for burgers, or bake a casserole. If you so desire or cannot afford we'll work it out. Being the DM often means the players allow me the perk of not always having to chip in for dinner - but I do not EXPECT it any more than any player should.

If your PC uses rules from a supplement then by definition you do so only because I have approved its use. If I don't OWN the supplement, however, you WILL bring it to the game or better yet leave it here with your character sheet, etc.

 

[howandwhy99]

Paper, pencil, dice, and miniatures are required to play, but our group usually has so much of that it isn't an issue.

Character sheets are the only real items for players to bring, but even those can be copied from the DM's, if necessary.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Recently, I've been converted to the value of having cash on hand for when you want to encourage another player to do something crazy.

 

[Ahnehnois]

If someone shows up ready to game I'm sure not turning them aay because they forgot their character sheet. Ideally, people would being character sheets and dice and books and chip in for food, and that usually happens fine, but I never make a big deal out of it.

 

[messy]

themselves. everything else is gravy.

it's hard enough finding good players, so just showing up is enough.

 

[Orius]

I voted pencil, character sheet, dice, and PHB. Those are the minimums of what are needed. New players can slide on things like dice and a PHB since those are a gaming investment, and it's ok if they don't have those at first while they try gaming out.

Food and drink I didn't vote for since gaming groups handle this in different ways. It depends on whether everyone is expected to bring something, if one player is the designed buyer, if players take turns, or if the host is expected to provide.

Stuff like splats and miniatures depend on the group's gaming tastes. Naturally if the group hates minis, then they won't be needed. Otherwise, if minis are used, it's probably a good idea for players to have something to represent their PCs. I'd prefer splats and other sourcebooks to be completely optional and up to the players to decide for themselves whether or not to bring them, while the DM has approval over what gets used. But this is also depends on the group, some might prefer the players to bring various splats to the table. A laptop, iPad/Phone or other technological devices also should be an option for the players and not a requirement.

The DMG and MM is DM-only material and the players don't need to access it while playing, so they don't need to bring them. The same goes for campaign notes, that's the DM's responsibility. What campaign information the DM wants the players to know should be provided by the DM in a short handout, but if a player neglects to bring it along, it's not the DM's place to make sure the player knows the information.

Technically, I have more than enough dice for to go around, but we're all superstitious about dice.

I've been thinking about starting up another dice superstition thread, but I don't know if the board feels like discussing it again.

 

[karlindel]

I answered only themselves, as I have no problem holding campaign notes, character sheets, and the like for players, so it is not necessary for them to bring them. Pencils, pens, and dice are even less important, as I have plenty and will provide them as needed.