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

[meomwt]

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

I've got my "DM's d20" - it's white, with white numbers embossed on it. Even I have to pick it up to read what it's come up on, so heaven help anyone else.

I think it came with a boxed set of Runequest rules from the mid-90's.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

As a DM I find one of the hardest to track things to be is the status of a player's Concentration spells. Players cast them, forget they're Concentration and then cast another. Or they take damage and forget to take a Con check for concentration. To remind everyone of this I picked up a cheap set of LED Tea Lights.

I then have them turn it on while they're concentrating on a spell/effect and turn them off (or cover them) when they're not. Seems to work pretty well.

 

[DMCF]

I just checked out Dmminion Lite for Android. The Pay version looks whiz long term since I can edit monsters etc. The GUI works pretty well on my GS4 so far. I managed to load a monster into an encounter but I can't seem to change it's hit points. This would go along way to replacing battle index cards for me if I could get it to track HP/Status etc.

 

[Ody]

Sticky notes for various reasons, usually to put on a token for current status or any other notes as necessary for all to read.

Ody

 

[Wik]

Me, I don't use too many tools outside of the game books. No apps, no special gimmicks. I wish I could get rid of the minis and battlemats, but my players would kill me (but we run gridless often enough). My only tool is my GM binder, which is filled with homebrewed random encounter charts for regions, my adventure notes, and my current favourite tool - the campaign calendar.

One of my players is secretly a lycanthrope/seawolf, and doesn't know it. Knowing when the full moon is occuring is quite useful. It helps for when I drop the quest to another player at a table who is trying to "solve the grisly murders in Bronze Shore" that seem to be on the rise....

Seriously, though- GM binder. Fill it with hirelings, villain stats, campaign information, your deities, maps, and whatever else. Record everything that could be important. Keep it (relatively!) organized. When you feel unable to run a game, open it up, and I guarantee you'll find an adventure hook if you keep that thing stocked.

 

[dd.stevenson]

My favorite heads-up GMing tool is undoubtedly my laptop, with a little baby named RandomNameGenerator.xls loaded up and ready to go.

 

[Li Shenron]

Do you use the DM screen, and which tables do you use?

Never had a traditional DM's screen with rules/tables, just something to hide my dice rolls and notes behind.

What tables from the DM's Guide or the Player's Handbook do you frequently look up?

I am running only the Basic game so far (tho I allowed player's material from PHB and playtest rules).

During the game (not counting the preparation phase), I don't actually use much tables. I keep print-outs of the combat actions descriptions and the conditions, and of course also of the stats blocks of the monsters I am currently using, but otherwise not much else in front of me (I also had a print-out of the whole weapon and armor list, but found out I didn't really need it all the time). At the beginning, the ability check DC table seemed by far the most useful thing to keep in front all the time, but it doesn't take long to remember Easy-Medium-Hard = 10-15-20

What do you steal from other editions or other games, or home brewed charts that you use?

A lot of custom random-encounter-by-area tables, but actually mostly during preparations.

 

[Ktulu]

I just checked out Dmminion Lite for Android. The Pay version looks whiz long term since I can edit monsters etc. The GUI works pretty well on my GS4 so far. I managed to load a monster into an encounter but I can't seem to change it's hit points. This would go along way to replacing battle index cards for me if I could get it to track HP/Status etc.

I can't confirm for the android version, but to damage or heal on the iOS you hit a button in the top right corner to go track hp. Then select the creature or creatures and adjust the hp. I would assume it works virtually the same on the android.

 

[Kaato]

A plastic toy sword approximately 40 cm long which I haul with me to every session I dm. It quickly adopted the name "my dming tool". I use it to vividly express the flow of combat and my players love it.

 

[LearningDnD]

Guys, here is a list I put together of some of the best digital D&D tools for 5th edition: https://www.learningdnd.com/best-dnd-tools/