DM essentials and organization at the table

[Buttercup]

I've been trying to reduce the amount of stuff I need, but the following seems to be essential. Dice, writing implement & paper, battle mat & marker, my adventure notebook & the counters I'll need for that session. Beyond that I also prefer to have the PHB, my DM screen, the Freeport campaign setting book, and a bottle of water.

Mostly we play at our house these days, so it's easy enough to get my hands on anything else I might need.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

What do I like to have?

- Battle mat, markers, and minis/counters; makes combat more visual and fun

- Dice. Lots of 'em (especially d20s and d6s)

- Pen & blank paper for recording general notes

- Core rulebooks

- Specific rulebooks for a session (say for a special monster or locale)

- My DM binder, which has

--- PC stats
--- Adventure notes & background
--- Encounter notes
--- DM cheat sheets (same info that's on a DM screen, but I don't use a screen -- I keep it in my binder)

- Absolutely essential for preparation: my PC, with MS Office, Etools, and Jamis Buck's NPC generators (I don't use a PC at sessions, though)

- My combat tracking sheets: