4e - Dungeon Master Screen Review?

[juggler434]

I am very impressed with the DM screen. I just got it and its incredibly sturdy. Its also very easy to read and is well orginzed with all the info I kept wishing I had readily available.

 

[questing gm]

Positive Review

 

[Darkwolf71]

Indeed. As I said on the Wizards board, best GM screen I have ever used/owned. The overall quality is awesome and it has all the information that has constantly halted my games as I look up this rule or that table.

Big thumbs up from The Wolf.

 

[Ghaerdon Fain]

In terms of sturdiness, it gets an A+++. It really is the best configuration and product in DM Boards ever. The art is dark and yummy, but not immature.

The content is as always, 95% previously published stuff with a little bit of DCs for "commonly used skills": climb, escape, find tracks, detect magic, heal and listen, each with a number of DC options/levels.

I don't understand why add in exp rewards, damage by level and char advancement? So many other things could have been added there.

A screen for me is something to ease my mind and keep me from referencing the books every round. 75% of it I will use until I am completely familiar with 4E, but that first board seems dumb for quick reference in the middle of gameplay... I'm probably going to create a single sheet to clip on to that section.

All in all, buy it! It's worth the price. Overall a solid A- imho

 

[Holy Bovine]

As thick as the PHB cover?! I must have this baby! The one thing I always hated about my old DMs screens (3E era) was that they were flimsy and wouldn't stay up with all of the extra stuff I like to pin on them (index cards, pictures of NPCs etc).

One question - it is landscape format?

 

[thalmin]

Yes, it is landscape format.

 

[Grimstaff]

I don't understand why add in exp rewards, damage by level and char advancement? So many other things could have been added there.

exp rewards is for scaling encounters on the fly, as encounter level is based on that now.

damage by level is for special/unexpected manuevers, like tipping over a brazier of hot coals onto your halfling packbearer.

 

[Dane]

In my short time DM’ing 4e, I have copied and made my own screen with the charts that I frequently access. Before buying the DM screen, I had in my mind certain charts that I thought were absolutely necessary. I doubted that everything I wanted would be included. Boy, I was wrong; mostly.

The only charts I find missing are the weapons and armor charts. I have referenced them quite a bit, usually during impromptu encounters when I quickly need to know weapon damage.

The DM screen exceeds my expectations in just about every way. It is sturdy, gorgeous, includes just about everything I need, including some content that I had not considered but that will come in handy, and it is organized logically for easy reference.

 

[Scribe Ineti]

All in all I'd say this is a product worthy of my money. It's time to retire my 3e Eberron screen.

My FLGS just called to tell me they're holding a copy for me, so I'll pick it up tonight, but I wanted to know...

What are the screen's dimensions as compared to the Eberron screen? I love the Eberron screen's size and landscape layout, and would love to have a 4e screen that's longer than it is tall. It's easier for me to sneer at my players over the shorter screen than the old taller screens.

 

[Klaus]

From another site:

It has the following tables:

XP Rewards (DMG 120)
Damage by Level (DMG 47)
Food, Drink, and Lodging (PH 222)
Light Sources (DMG 66)
Character Advancement (PH 29)
Actions in Combat (PH 286)
Combat Advantage (PH 279, but it has a listing of a variety of conditions granting CA and their page numbers)
Attack Modifiers (PH 279)
DCs to Break Most Common Items (PH 262)
Target DCs (DMG 42, this is the one that wasn't updated)
Fall Severity by Character Level (DMG 44)
DCs for Commonly Used Skills (just a list of some DCs compiled from some skills - Athletics, Perception, Arcana, Heal)
Cover (PH 280)
Concealment (PH 281)
Conditions (PH 277)
Healing a Dying Character (281)
Death and Dying (PH 295)

So it's not as complete as the one I posted over at the Fan Creation forum, eh? Well, at least the size is right that I can tape my tables over these...