How Much Gaming Stuff Do You Need?

[CleverNickName]

We all know that when it comes to playing D&D, all we ever really "need" are some character sheets, a set of core books, a pencil, and a set of dice. Everything else is optional, depending on your tolerance for book-hogging and sharing.

But it seems that most gamers, myself included, "need" more than just the bare minimum in order to get the most enjoyment out of the game. Depending on the edition of the game, the style of play, and the comfort level of the people involved, other stuff might need to be brought in.

So let's assume you already have the bare minimum (one set of core books, one set of dice, some character sheets, and a pencil.) What else do you need to achieve Maximum Gaming Enjoyment? Check all that apply.

 

[diaglo]

What else do you need to achieve Maximum Gaming Enjoyment? Check all that apply.

(Poll forthcoming...please stand by.)

a group of players
an imagination

 

[CleverNickName]

a group of players
an imagination

A man after my own heart.

I'd still need everyone to bring their own copies of the PHB, their own dice, and their own pencils. Otherwise, I'd go crazy.

 

[DaveMage]

I like having all of it.

Unfortunately, to acutally use all of it, I'd need a secretary.

 

[JeffB]

Other than the stuff I clicked above (extra dice, graph paper, house rules), the only published stuff I buy really are modules/adventures and a DM screen. I rarely buy supplemental/splat books unless it's a campaign setting book.

When 3E hit, I bought tons and tons of books (WOTC and D20), and I won't be doing that again (for 4E). I did'nt use 95% of it (barring modules).

 

[CleverNickName]

Other than the stuff I clicked above (extra dice, graph paper, house rules), the only published stuff I buy really are modules/adventures and a DM screen. I rarely buy supplemental/splat books unless it's a campaign setting book.

*smacks forehead* I totally forgot about published adventures and modules. Oh well, I guess they fall under the "Published supplements" umbrella, so that's cool. Still, it would have been nice to see how many of us need pre-packaged adventures for Maximum Gaming Enjoyment (MGE).

I write my own adventures most of the time. But I must admit, if I am going for MGE^TM, I would choose to run X1: The Isle of Dread.

 

[Grazzt]

So let's assume you already have the bare minimum (one set of core books, one set of dice, some character sheets, and a pencil.) What else do you need to achieve Maximum Gaming Enjoyment? Check all that apply.

Voted nothing. Perhaps not applicable to newer editions, but we've sat down with 1e, 2e, or OD&D and had nothing more than dice, character sheets, some note paper, and pencils and done just fine. No books needed.

Newer editions (3.x/4e), probably still get along fine with just the bare minimum. Ive definitely played 3.x plenty of times without minis, and i dont really care to use a battle mat (it's not a board game)

 

[jenskot]

I really enjoying having the Monster Manual in PDF format. Having the ability to screen shot different monster blocks and arrange them together on 1 page and then print them is very useful. I also love having a DM screen for quick reference rather than a tool to hide dice.

I would really love something in between a monster manual and module. Something akin to an encounter manual. Have... 5 10th level characters, players who love acting/fighting/puzzles/debates, 4 hours to play... bam... here you go!

 

[Aus_Snow]

What I voted for, plus a lined notepad for general note-taking and a whiteboard for 'public announcements', so to speak. Oh yeah, and a homebrew campaign binder. The graph paper I ticked off there is always pre-mappified (by me). The battlemat is a double-sided Flipmat from Paizo. Miniatures vary a lot. House rules is in the form of an actual book, like, bound and stuff - this includes a bunch of rules and whatnot from rules supplement PDFs (by far my preferred way of doing things now - copy & paste & edit ftw). And it's usually *one* core book these days. Ah, I do like that. Plenty of things can be made into vehicles or the like. Oh, and lots of dice.

edit --- Er, just realised I posted all the stuff I usually need for GMing. It isn't the same list, when I'm a player. And I kind of missed some of the OP, so might have started the whole thing askew and gone from there. Oh well.

 

[Deset Gled]

I checked the "nothing else box" but that's assuming that the characters and game are already established. Trying to have an entire group make new character sheets with only one PHB and one pencil just sounds silly.