D&D General One game 'investment' you made you still use all the time?

[TwoDollar DM]

So looking back over your weeks/months/years of DMing games, aside from the PHB, MM and DMG of course. What one or two resources do you find yourself returning back to use over and over again? For me it is two third party items:

Ultimate Toolbox of Random Tables-the more I use this one, the more I see how it can be used

Book of Ebon Tide-for some reason, this one keeps popping up as a resource, even though its very specialized.

 

[Maxperson]

So looking back over your weeks/months/years of DMing games, aside from the PHB, MM and DMG of course. What one or two resources do you find yourself returning back to use over and over again? For me it is two third party items:

Ultimate Toolbox of Random Tables-the more I use this one, the more I see how it can be used

Book of Ebon Tide-for some reason, this one keeps popping up as a resource, even though its very specialized.

Encyclopedia Magica.

 

[aco175]

We use the dungeon tiles and 3e pre-painted minis. I mean we had them for 20-25 years now it seems. Use them each week.

 

[payn]

Chessex battle mat

 

[Shiroiken]

The 1E DMG has remained useful for me throughout every edition, but I don't know if this counts, since it's still a core ruleboook.

Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names has been invaluable throughout the decades to name PCs and NPCs. It's technically less useful nowadays, due to the billions of internet name generators.

Chessex battle mat

Back when I played IRL, the only accessory used more than this was dice. A good battle mat can last a long, long time, and Chessex was the gold standard.

 

[overgeeked]

There was a similar thread not that long ago. My answers there are the same as they’d be here.

A

D&D General Thread 'Most helpful/useful product to help run sessions for a DM ?'

Sep 15, 2026

I was just wondering, but: what would be (to you) the quote/unquote 'best' product you came across from a DM perspective ? In the sense of making it easier or more helpful to you as a DM to run sessions.

For the specific product, perhaps it was the level of detail so you don't have to come up with as much for yourself, or perhaps it was light on details so you could fill things in on your own ? Was it the way the material was presented ? Was it an adventure or perhaps a source-book ? Was it the details and amount of maps or perhaps the vagueness of them so you could fill them in for...

• abazaba
• Replies: 34
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

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[TwoDollar DM]

The 1E DMG has remained useful for me throughout every edition, but I don't know if this counts, since it's still a core ruleboook.

that is VERY cool, I havent read it properly in years... I actually likely never read it properly

 

[Aurel Guthrie]

I play online. Dungeondraft. Being able to make my own maps is invaluable. Sometimes I just need that one super specific map, so I make it myself. You do need to get assets though a lot of creator's patreons are relatively cheap.

 

[Clint_L]

Decades worth of miniatures and terrain.

Also, the gorgeous, hand-carved, magnetized DM screen my spouse gave me for Xmas years ago. I use it even when I’m playing online.

 

[Gorck]

When my daughter was a toddler, we bought her a reversible chalkboard/whiteboard on an A-frame base. I still use it to this day to track combat (passive perception, initiative, monsters, conditions, spell slots, legendary actions, etc.)