HackMaster GM Shield - You GOTTA See This!
- Thread starter ColonelHardisson
- Start date
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
I guess you'd have to answer that for yourself, really. The tour of the shield (10 web pages) shows all the material on it, and much of it seems to be useable for any fantasy RPG. The combat matrices and save charts are for HM (and could be used for older D&D editions), as well as some of the other rules-specific items, but much of it, like name generators, could be used for any game.
It sure will WOW players of any game. Just pull it out and the palyers will go bug-eyed.
Hard8Staff
First Post
<<The tour of the shield (10 web pages) shows all the material on it>>
Actually, colonel, the tour leaves off several panels of info. Basic in-game, but non-combat mode, the other piece of post game (Honor, etc.), Wilderness, etc.
I will say this. About half-way through making this thing (October-ish) I was running a 3e game and kept longing for a completed HM shield. At least half or more of the charts are useful for ANY fantasy game. Also, it's laminated and you can use dry erase markers (we recommend only certain brands that we've tested...see our site for details) and we have left several spaces for notes and listing party members so you can customize it for your own rules-set.
Dave
Actually, colonel, the tour leaves off several panels of info. Basic in-game, but non-combat mode, the other piece of post game (Honor, etc.), Wilderness, etc.
I will say this. About half-way through making this thing (October-ish) I was running a 3e game and kept longing for a completed HM shield. At least half or more of the charts are useful for ANY fantasy game. Also, it's laminated and you can use dry erase markers (we recommend only certain brands that we've tested...see our site for details) and we have left several spaces for notes and listing party members so you can customize it for your own rules-set.
Dave
Dr Midnight
Explorer
Dave, I just want to tell you that this Shield is art.
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
I feel kind of stupid being the only dissenting voice here-- and don't get me wrong, this thing sounds cool-- but won't the flipping of the pages be obstructed by all the material you have behind the shield?
I have a feeling that in actual use I would have far too many dice, binders, papers, and whatnot tucked within the protective, loving, embrace of the shield to flip the flip flaps!
I just worry that in order to flip the panels I would have to:
(a) remove items from behind the shield, subjecting them to the view of unscrupulous players (ie, all of them)
(b) lift the shield up or lean it over-- subjecting the items behind it to the view of unscrupulous players (ie, all of them)
(c) keep items out of the way of the flipping panels, removing them from the protective, loving embrace of the shield and subjecting them to the view of unscrupulous players (ie, all of them)
Wulf
I have a feeling that in actual use I would have far too many dice, binders, papers, and whatnot tucked within the protective, loving, embrace of the shield to flip the flip flaps!
I just worry that in order to flip the panels I would have to:
(a) remove items from behind the shield, subjecting them to the view of unscrupulous players (ie, all of them)
(b) lift the shield up or lean it over-- subjecting the items behind it to the view of unscrupulous players (ie, all of them)
(c) keep items out of the way of the flipping panels, removing them from the protective, loving embrace of the shield and subjecting them to the view of unscrupulous players (ie, all of them)
Wulf
Well, this won;t help 100%, because I know I sometimes have a couple of books or a stack of something behind my screen (I currently just use a Generic set of Shadowrun GM Screen (one for each Edition 
) Clipped together with thos big black binder clips into a 5 panel screen, and i clip notes and such inside it ), but they do leave a 1" gap underneath all the "Flip" screens, so that you clearn your dice and papers... Like I said, this won;t help everything, but...
Hell, this just became my all purpose GM Screen for the game conventions... And all I run there is Shadowrun!![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
But this is too cool NOT to use!
Bull
) Clipped together with thos big black binder clips into a 5 panel screen, and i clip notes and such inside it ), but they do leave a 1" gap underneath all the "Flip" screens, so that you clearn your dice and papers... Like I said, this won;t help everything, but...Hell, this just became my all purpose GM Screen for the game conventions... And all I run there is Shadowrun!
But this is too cool NOT to use! Bull
Noah Kolman
First Post
Hey everyone,
Thanks for the kind words. We put a lot of love and effort into the shield, and I'm glad you are excited about it. Now to answer some questions.
We are expecting the shield to arrive at our offices some time next week. Give it about 2 weeks to get to distributors and then to your stores, and you should see it on shelves around then. Be sure to ask your favorite game retailer to make sure they get you a copy.
As for the inner panels of the shield, I have been running the HackMaster game at the office with the prototype we sent to the GAMA Trade Show. While the outside panels are a hard card stock, the inside panels are thinner and more flexible. This allows them to be easily bent and twisted to avoid anything you might have behind the shield. In addition, the inside panels have 1 inch of "dice clearance" from the table, so you won't need to bend them at all in most situations. I have had no problems swinging or flipping the flaps during the game.
Thanks for the kind words. We put a lot of love and effort into the shield, and I'm glad you are excited about it. Now to answer some questions.
We are expecting the shield to arrive at our offices some time next week. Give it about 2 weeks to get to distributors and then to your stores, and you should see it on shelves around then. Be sure to ask your favorite game retailer to make sure they get you a copy.
As for the inner panels of the shield, I have been running the HackMaster game at the office with the prototype we sent to the GAMA Trade Show. While the outside panels are a hard card stock, the inside panels are thinner and more flexible. This allows them to be easily bent and twisted to avoid anything you might have behind the shield. In addition, the inside panels have 1 inch of "dice clearance" from the table, so you won't need to bend them at all in most situations. I have had no problems swinging or flipping the flaps during the game.
BluWolf
Explorer
I actually dropped the shield a few years ago because I found all it did was keep me from really seing anything. Besides, I run all my game notes off my laptop when I GM.
This however may make me jump back to using a shield.
Of course I have no logical reason whatso ever but I'm dumb like that.
This however may make me jump back to using a shield.
Of course I have no logical reason whatso ever but I'm dumb like that.
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