GM aids

What are some of your preferred gaming aids? I put together this one, because I had found myself often needing to create an NPC on the fly, and then of course the players ask about them later and I don't remember lol. This is just an example to get the idea across, the actual list is more expansive of course.

I really like cards. I have Short Order Heroes cards to help with GMC traits, as well as a Decuma deck that I like to sometimes draw from and answer the prompts.

But my favorite GM aid is the players. I'll usually just ask them for the answer.

I like the Paizo magnetic combat tracker for F2F. Foundry VTT automates everything, and if you find it doesn't, it can be added.

For PF1, I find the NPC Codices to be invaluable for when you need stats on an NPC on the fly.

Before I went to playing online with a VTT I really liked magnetic mini bases with magnetic status markers. The ones from Alea Tools were my favorite.

I also created movement measure sticks by cutting thin, square dowels into 6" segments painted alternate dark and light colors in 1" blocks. An idea I got from the DM's Craft YouTube channel.

I used the Paizo magnetic combat tracker for a while and thought it was great at first, until I realized that it was just easier and quicker to use pencil and scratch paper.

MNblockhead said:

I used the Paizo magnetic combat tracker for a while and thought it was great at first, until I realized that it was just easier and quicker to use pencil and scratch paper.

Click to expand...

This. If for no other reason than I would have a written record of the battle: how many creatures were fought, how long the battle took, etc.

We play by VTT now, but I remember having several notebooks full of battle trackers.