How Much Will You Carry to a Game?

[Beginning of the End]

It depends.

I think the most I ever carried was as a travelling DM for D&D -- about a dozen books for any given session. Plus dice, screens, and a large filing box full of campaign notes.

In our current campaign we play at the DM's house. He's got about 6 binders of campaign notes; a dozen rulebooks; dice; minis; yada yada yada.

As a player I've rarely brought more than the rulebook + dice + character sheet. I think the only exception was a WEG Star Wars campaign, and that was only because the GM wanted access to my Star Wars supplements.

 

[fba827]

Whatever fits in my handbag - which is usually 4 or fewer books that I think I'll need, along with dice, notebook, pencils, and char sheets. If I'm DMing also my laptop.

 

[mac1504]

When I DM (which has been the case since last June) I typically bring a large briefcase type bag that carries a PHB (to loan out to players), my laptop, portable speakers (for playing music), DM screen, dice, adventure, and my Alea markers.

I also bring a toolbox full of miniatures and a grocery bag with cut out foam board tiles for the adventure we are playing. I tend to bring a bag of chips and a six pack of beer, but the host of that session usually prepares the food and most of the snacks.

 

[carmachu]

Whatever's required.

Snacks are always a must, whether its cooked or just chips and soda.


Whatever books are needed. Right now I carry about a half a dozen.

And minis, I keep bringing unquire painted ones for teh the DM as they get done. But I leave them there.

I also bring modeling stuff to repair minis as things get broken.

 

[greatamericanfolkher]

I bring my laptop if I'm DMing, otherwise I don't get it out at the game. Regardless of if I'm running or playing I bring my dice case, pencil pouch, at least a pad of graph paper, the core book for the system we're playing in, and any relevant book being used by someone at the table (during my ghostbusters game, I hauled around almost every d20 modern book printed).

 

[Umbran]

For a tabletop game, I'll carry roughly one backpack of stuff, not counting whatever munchies I've agreed to bring.

To a live-action game... all bets are off, as there's costuming, props, and possibly set-pieces involved.

 

[Dausuul]

Let's see. I typically bring the following in my backpack:

3 Player's Handbooks (I bought two extras because someone is always short)
Adventurer's Vault
Martial Power
Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
DM's screen
Character sheet
Bag o' dice

Obviously, aside from the DM's screen, that's player stuff. When I'm DMing, I do so at my own apartment, where I have ready access to all my books and minis. My group has an unofficial custom that the DM hosts the game; "away DMing" would be an intimidating prospect for me.

 

[owlbear]

DMing: Laptop, all the books (some pdf, some hardcopy), dice, snacks.

Playing: PHB (though I've usually got all my powers written down on paper), character sheet, dice that betray me at every turn!, snacks.

We keep the miniatures, white board, bag 'o dice, pens, pencils, paper, etc where we game.

 

[drothgery]

1 normal-ish backback full of stuff is the absolute maximum. Usually it's the absolute minimum number of books to run my character (no more than three books, including the PHB; if my PC needs more than 3 books during play, it's too complicated), maybe one or two others of general interest.

I'll bring more than that if I've got something new I want to let the rest of the group take a look at, if someone's creating characters, or if I'm the DM.

 

[Richards]

• 3.5 Player's Handbook
• 3.5 Dungeon Master's Guide
• 3.5 Monster Manual
  [*]Rules Compendium
• Pocket folder with character sheets, PC tracking sheet, abbreviated monster stats, any player handouts
• Issue of Dungeon containing the session's adventure (or printed copy of the adventure if it's one I wrote myself)
• Dice bag with my dice
• Check box containing the "enemy" miniatures for the current adventure
• Check box containing PC-related miniatures (animal companions, familiars, wild shape forms, mounts)
• Recipe box holding my playing-card-sized initiative cards (one for each PC and monster)
• Cardboard geomorphs for the current adventure (homemade or Dungeon Tiles), and/or homemade maps on the back of one or more sheets from an old desk calendar
• Campaign notebook
• Pad of graph paper
• Several pencils
• Snacks, if it's my turn to bring them

All but the last fit into a backpack-sized book bag.

Johnathan