D&D 5E DM Screen 'Wilderness Kit'

A 'Wilderness Kit' has appeared on WotC's website, which includes a DM screen, hex maps, ration tracker, wilderness rules references, and 27 cards. It comes out on 17th November (same day as Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) for $24.99.

Dungeon Master's Screen: Wilderness Kit | Dungeons & Dragons

Learn more about the Dungeon Master's Screen: Wilderness Kit from Dungeons & Dragons.

dnd.wizards.com

CHART A COURSE IN THE WILDS
Venture into the wilds with this kit for the world's greatest roleplaying game.

This kit equips the Dungeon Master with a screen and other tools that are perfect for running D&D adventures in the wilderness.

The Dungeon Master’s screen features a gorgeous painting of fantasy landscapes on the outside, and useful rules references cover the inside of the screen, with an emphasis on wilderness rules. The kit also includes the following:

• 5 dry-erase sheets, featuring hex maps, a food-and-water tracker, and rules references (wilderness chases, wilderness journeys, and the actions you can take in combat)
• 27 cards that make it easy to keep track of conditions, initiative, and environmental effects
• 1 box to hold the kit's cards

 

[Guy Icognito]

That is a pretty, pretty DM screen

And condition cards are nifty
Rather see a full deck tho with doubles

 

[Jeff Carpenter]

a
Agreed - Cleric for example made tracking rations/water trivial in Tomb of Annihilation. The Chult hex crawl was a huge part of that adventure and they spent a lot of space talking about food, water, survival checks, etc. Cleric and paladin made most of that irrelevant.

Not to mention the Outlander background that can fead 5 people basically anywhere.

 

[MNblockhead]

I saw a few videos online of people who made 3-ring binder screens, thought about making one but never got around to it.

I made several iterations of them.

Plus: all the stuff you need for your session can be put in it, and you can fold up and take to your friend's home or the FLGS along with a bag of dice and be ready to play.

Con: I found them to be bulky and in the way. Too much of a divider between me an the players. Also, I put more stuff in their than I needed because I could making it more unwieldy.

Then I moved to the Worlds Greatest Screen I posted about earlier. I got the mini version that fits 4"x6" index cards. I took the templates that DM Dave made available on his blog, made some edits and printed on card stock that I cut down to size. Then I made some custom templates for session references.

But once I started using a horizontal digital display and a laptop, I just got ride of DM screens. I roll in the open and all my campaign stuff is on my screen.

 

[R_J_K75]

I made several iterations of them.

Plus: all the stuff you need for your session can be put in it, and you can fold up and take to your friend's home or the FLGS along with a bag of dice and be ready to play.

Con: I found them to be bulky and in the way. Too much of a divider between me an the players. Also, I put more stuff in their than I needed because I could making it more unwieldy.

Then I moved to the Worlds Greatest Screen I posted about earlier. I got the mini version that fits 4"x6" index cards. I took the templates that DM Dave made available on his blog, made some edits and printed on card stock that I cut down to size. Then I made some custom templates for session references.

But once I started using a horizontal digital display and a laptop, I just got ride of DM screens. I roll in the open and all my campaign stuff is on my screen.

I used a laptop for a short time but stopped once everyone started bringing theirs. Really hard to make a good DM screen thats just enough but not too much. When I made biders for adventures I always added too much stuff I didnt use years ago.

 

[Orius]

Did you ever use the either of the 2e DM screens that were released? I very rarely had to open a book besides to look up a spell or magical item when I was using those. I even continued using them well into 3e.

Both of them, and at the same time, with them paperclipped together to form a big 5 panel screen, as neither of them are big enough on their own for my taste. That left a DM facing panel on the 1989 screen with all tables that were on the 1995 screen as well, so I made a sheet of paper that had some other useful tables, mostly from the screen that came with the Tales of the Lance box, copied and pasted to it, and paperclipped it over the duplicates. I found the THAC0 and saving throw tables to be quite useful myself.

The 1995 DM screen IMO is superior to the 1989 screen. The tables are easier to read, and there's a more useful assortment. And the combined index for the various 2e hardbacks was a lot more useful than Tragidore.

The 5e screen doesn't seem like it has any useful information at all, but that might just be my inexperience with the system. I do like how it's a much heavier stock than the older screens though.

Those binder screens look interesting, I might experiment with something like that.

 

[R_J_K75]

The 1995 DM screen IMO is superior to the 1989 screen. The tables are easier to read, and there's a more useful assortment. And the combined index for the various 2e hardbacks was a lot more useful than Tragidore.

The 5e screen doesn't seem like it has any useful information at all, but that might just be my inexperience with the system. I do like how it's a much heavier stock than the older screens though.

I agree the '95 screen was better than the '89 one but I used them both alot and at the same time. Mine have since fallen apart.

The 5e screens are useless more or less imo and are formatted pretty poorly. I dont have any use for pictures of giants and ghouls throughout the information, only time its a good idea is the size comparison then again thats just a picture so doesnt help much.

 

[Zsig]

I was on the fence on getting the Essentials kit mostly for the cards, now I'm glad I didn't get it.

I'm definitely getting this one (even though I already bought 2 shields for the current edition, and probably wouldn't need another one). The art looks gorgeous!

 

[Orius]

I agree the '95 screen was better than the '89 one but I used them both alot and at the same time. Mine have since fallen apart.

The 5e screens are useless more or less imo and are formatted pretty poorly. I dont have any use for pictures of giants and ghouls throughout the information, only time its a good idea is the size comparison then again thats just a picture so doesnt help much.

Mine are still in decent shape, but I also have them reinforced with packing tape to reduce wear on the bottom corners and hinges.

 

[Reynard]

Not to mention the Outlander background that can fead 5 people basically anywhere.

There definitely needs to be a robust but optional travel/exploration/resource management module for 5E. As it is designed it just doesn't offer anything dramatic or interesting.

 

[Remathilis]

I still have my (very worn) 1E version. I'd like to point out it had a large piece of art on its back.

I think though, I may have used my 2E version longer. The one that came with "Terrible Trouble at Tragidore"

Fun fact: I ran that module with so many different player groups that after a while, I decided it became the D&D equivalent of a tourist trap, complete with people dressed as monsters, games and food, and a "history walking tour" of the environs. Basically, this little town has one thing happen to it and they are milking it for all it's worth!