D&D 5E Most useful DM tools at the table? Please share

[Rabbitbait]

I like the trinkets chart from the PHB. I generally use an item once every two sessions or so and it always gets the players speculating.

 

[DaveDash]

Ill also chime in with another incredibly useful tool for those who play online (can even be used by regular groups in between sessions).

Microsoft Office Online and/or Google Docs.

It's incredibly useful to be able to post up XP per session, loot found per session, and all sorts of other things you track in spreadsheets, able to be accessed by all your players from the browser.

Each week after game time I go and update a xls spreadsheet with everyones XP and the loot gained for that session. It's very easy for the players to then divvy it out amongst themselves, and keep a historical record of who got what when. We've all had the question "So how much gold am I supposed to have?" or "How much were those gems [that they got three months ago] worth again?".

OneNote is also pretty handy for note taking, since it's fully searchable and all your players can collaborate in the one notebook. If you're reasonably technically savy with the right kind of tablet, you can also hand-write your notes and have them converted into text (and become searchable). Pretty cool stuff.

 

[meomwt]

Pencil and paper for keeping track of initiative and hit points.

A chart with the players' AC's, spell save DC's and CON saves. Saves time in combat, I don't have to keep asking them for their own stats, I have them in front of me.

 

[collin]

I have used the DM tracker from Goodman Games since v3.5. Some of the sheets within it are still usable with any version, while some are more 3.5 specific. However, the handiest thing about it is the back cover which is a watermarker erasable initiative chart, and I use it all the time. For $5 it's not a bad investment.
http://www.goodman-games.com/9700preview.html

 

[Burticusb]

If you have an iOS device, you can't beat Game Master 5e by Lion's Den, the same folks that brought you Fight Club 5e. The tools and look are perfect, you don't get all the content out of the box, you have to conect to their non-affiliated Dropbox to download it. (Basically, WotC gave them a C&D since it was so accurate, and they found a loophole)

 

[Tony Vargas]

A DM screen is a good idea, unless you have a set of dice that only roll what you want them to.

You really just want to have the books with you. You're going to have to look up spells in the PH at some point, for instance. And conditions, as previously mentioned, are good to have ready.

 

[aramis erak]

For combat tracking, I use DMMinion on my iPad. There is a pc version as well. Otherwise, I have the conditions page printed out for players and I ordered Gf9's spell cards to assist with quick lookup of players spells at the table.

I use physical laminated cards for initiative tracking. I have, written on in alcohol soluble ink, the PC name, Dex, player, passive per and passive investigate. I've punched them all in the lower left corner, and use a hinged ring. I write the current combat's initiative in water soluble ink. works REALLY well. Almost as good as the Gamemastery combat pad, but with better info...

I find that using a tool on the tablet is just too much power drain.

 

[ehenning]

If you have an iOS device, you can't beat Game Master 5e by Lion's Den, the same folks that brought you Fight Club 5e. The tools and look are perfect, you don't get all the content out of the box, you have to conect to their non-affiliated Dropbox to download it. (Basically, WotC gave them a C&D since it was so accurate, and they found a loophole)

The community is very active, even working on XML import files for various modules for GM 5.

You can find some of the available files here:

https://sites.google.com/site/d20fightclubdownloads/

All of this is community driven and supported. You still should have all the related books as it doesn't include all the rules text, etc., but it makes managing encounters a breeze.

 

[delericho]

In 4e days, my DM made extensive use of condition cards. A new version of these would seem to be a must-have (well, almost), as conditions come up often enough that having a separate reminder is useful.

Some sort of token for tracking Inspiration is a good idea. The best version of this is a special d20 that the DM gives to a player when he has it, that the player then rolls at the appropriate time.

(Not for D&D, but with Firefly I've found it very useful to have three colour-coded packs of Post-it notes handy - Red for Complications, Green for Assets, and Blue for anything neutral.)

 

[Patrick McGill]

Notecards are my friend! I often will put the main engagement points of my session on notecards, important NPCs, random encounters, whatever. Some particularly simple sessions will go wholesale on notecards so that I just use those + my grid maps.

The 5e DM screen has been for me one of the most useful screens ever. The NPC name generator, the Something Happens table, and stuff like that help me grease the wheels of my session, and there's also useful info on there for coming up with DCs and stuff like that.

I've found some use from Paizo's Game Mastery cards as well, and Gale Force 9's Spellbook cards have been absolutely essential, especially when not everyone owns a PHB. It's a lot less annoying going through cards than flipping through a book.

I always get pre-game anxiety, every single session, and being prepared helps to alleviate that somewhat.