mgbeach
Explorer
Figured my fellow DM's might be wondering about this new item, the Deluxe DM Screen. I picked one up and figured I'd write up a little review.
I don't have the Essentials one but do have the original 4e DM's screen which I've been using for some time. The tables are laid out a bit differently, and some of the table titles have been reformatted to make needed information easier to find at a glance. Additionally, all errata seems to have been taken into account.
One of the first things I noticed was the lack of page references. I understand that both Essentials and errata make that necessary, but they were very handy. Not the end of the world to write them back on there myself for things I reference alot.
Some changes by panel:
Panel 1
XP Rewards chart : New one goes to lvl 30 monsters instead of lvl 40, and only includes XP value for standards (ie, no minion, elite or solo). Good space saver, as it's a standard formula of 1/2 for minion, double for elite, and 5x for solo.
Simplified Damage By Level chart : Lines for each character level as opposed to 3-level blocks. For each level, a single-target damage expression and two-or-more targets expression. On original screen, there were Normal Damage Expressions and Limited Damage Expressions, each with a Low, Medium, and High expression. The change is good in my opinion, as the chart itself is mainly used for quick, out of the ordinary scenarios where a character, for example, falls into a pool of acid. I never really found it necessary to have full expressions for how to create a new monster right there on the screen.
Attack Modifiers chart : same as original, moved from second panel to first.
Monster Knowledge DCs : instead of absolute DC's, changed to Moderate(Monster Level) and Hard(Monster Level). On third panel of new screen is DC by Level (Easy/Moderate/Hard) that this refers to. Like the Damage by Level chart, it is broken out for each level as opposed to 3-level groups. Errata'd pretty significantly here.
(NEW)Base Exploration Speed and Terrain and Travel sections: Very handy to have on the screen. Gives Per Day, Per Hour and Per Minute travel distances for base speeds of 5 through 8. The Terrain and Travel chart is right below that and gives multipliers for terrain types.
Light Sources : got rid of the lines for all the different sizes of fire-based creatures. Perfectly good change in my opinion, and freed up a lot of valuable space.
Food, Drink and Lodging, Knowledge Skills by Origin : remain the same from original screen
DCs to Break or Burst Common Items : moved from Panel 3 on original screen, errata incorporated and most DCs changed to some degree.
Panel 2
Standard Actions, Move Actions, Minor Actions, Immediate Actions, Opportunity Actions, Free Actions: Instead of having these all under the main heading of ACTIONS IN COMBAT, each chart has a the type of action in all caps as the chart title (ie, STANDARD ACTIONS). Great change, makes it easier to see at a glance. Added Ready or Stow a shield under Standard Actions. Added Delay into Free Actions instead of having its own No Action section.
Skill Challenge Complexity : Great addition, wasn't present on original screen. Columns for Complexity (1-5), Successes, Advantages, and Typical DC's. Below that as part of the same section is a list of 4 advantages to be given for each success required beyond 6. This new chart replaced the rather large section on the original that detailed the situations that grant combat advantage. The Conditions on the 4th panel all state if they grant combat advantage anyway, and that's a more natural place to find that information.
Charging : I don't know that charging requires placement on the screen, and definitely not 1/8th of a panel. I think it would have been much better to include something on Cover and/or Concealment, which originally were on the third panel and were removed completely from the screen.
Panel 3
Difficulty Class By Level: Previously mentioned, it takes all errata into account, breaking out Easy, Moderate, and Hard DCs for each level from 1-30.
DCs for Commonly Used Skills : One of the best changes on the screen.. instead of listing all the different actions with the associated skill and DC out to the right, on the new screen they broke it out into sections for each Skill. Some actions left off the original were added as well, including things like Disable Trap, Open Lock, Pick Pocket, Bluffing, Sense Motives.
Additionally, where some actions have a specific DC, many now have Easy, Moderate, or Hard listed. I think that's a great change, soas to not make some things such as hearing whispers, for example, trivial at higher levels. Originally, it was Perception DC 15 regardless of level. Now, it's Hard. So, if you're level 15, it's DC30 to hear whispers (keeping it difficult relative to level).
Panel 4
As with the original, the fourth panel still deals with Conditions, Healing a Dying Character, and Death and Dying.
Significant errata is taken into account, making this panel much less likely to start arguments at the table
Dominated gets more explanation, Grabbed is upgraded to a condition, Marked gets more explanation, and added Removed From Play.
There is a style change, in that the condition descriptions use the convention of referring to "the creature" being affected as opposed to "you." I think originally the text was copied and pasted out of the Player's Handbook, which was talking about when the reader's character was affected. Now it's more general. A small but positive change. Shows they were paying attention to details.
Conclusion
All-in-all, very positive changes were made from the original Dungeon Master's Screen. Wayne Reynold's art on the players' side is very well done, depicting some snowy ruins. A group consisting of a drow ranger firing two arrows simultaneously, a dwarven cleric of Moradin holding aloft his mace, female tiefling warlock clutching a demonic rod and calling down fire, human female fighter (barbarian?) wielding a massive two-hander and halfling rogue inexplicably holding a torch aloft are in the middle of an epic battle. Arrayed against them are a snarling displacer beast, charging dim-witted but brutal ogre, maniacal diving harpies, gnoll snipers raining down arrows from atop a ruined arch, and a red dragon emerging from his winter nap.
With the extent of the errata introduced since the original's release, as well as the improvements in layout and style, I'd highly recommend the new Deluxe Dungeon Master's Screen. At $9.99 USD it's a great value as well.
I don't have the Essentials one but do have the original 4e DM's screen which I've been using for some time. The tables are laid out a bit differently, and some of the table titles have been reformatted to make needed information easier to find at a glance. Additionally, all errata seems to have been taken into account.
One of the first things I noticed was the lack of page references. I understand that both Essentials and errata make that necessary, but they were very handy. Not the end of the world to write them back on there myself for things I reference alot.
Some changes by panel:
Panel 1
XP Rewards chart : New one goes to lvl 30 monsters instead of lvl 40, and only includes XP value for standards (ie, no minion, elite or solo). Good space saver, as it's a standard formula of 1/2 for minion, double for elite, and 5x for solo.
Simplified Damage By Level chart : Lines for each character level as opposed to 3-level blocks. For each level, a single-target damage expression and two-or-more targets expression. On original screen, there were Normal Damage Expressions and Limited Damage Expressions, each with a Low, Medium, and High expression. The change is good in my opinion, as the chart itself is mainly used for quick, out of the ordinary scenarios where a character, for example, falls into a pool of acid. I never really found it necessary to have full expressions for how to create a new monster right there on the screen.
Attack Modifiers chart : same as original, moved from second panel to first.
Monster Knowledge DCs : instead of absolute DC's, changed to Moderate(Monster Level) and Hard(Monster Level). On third panel of new screen is DC by Level (Easy/Moderate/Hard) that this refers to. Like the Damage by Level chart, it is broken out for each level as opposed to 3-level groups. Errata'd pretty significantly here.
(NEW)Base Exploration Speed and Terrain and Travel sections: Very handy to have on the screen. Gives Per Day, Per Hour and Per Minute travel distances for base speeds of 5 through 8. The Terrain and Travel chart is right below that and gives multipliers for terrain types.
Light Sources : got rid of the lines for all the different sizes of fire-based creatures. Perfectly good change in my opinion, and freed up a lot of valuable space.
Food, Drink and Lodging, Knowledge Skills by Origin : remain the same from original screen
DCs to Break or Burst Common Items : moved from Panel 3 on original screen, errata incorporated and most DCs changed to some degree.
Panel 2
Standard Actions, Move Actions, Minor Actions, Immediate Actions, Opportunity Actions, Free Actions: Instead of having these all under the main heading of ACTIONS IN COMBAT, each chart has a the type of action in all caps as the chart title (ie, STANDARD ACTIONS). Great change, makes it easier to see at a glance. Added Ready or Stow a shield under Standard Actions. Added Delay into Free Actions instead of having its own No Action section.
Skill Challenge Complexity : Great addition, wasn't present on original screen. Columns for Complexity (1-5), Successes, Advantages, and Typical DC's. Below that as part of the same section is a list of 4 advantages to be given for each success required beyond 6. This new chart replaced the rather large section on the original that detailed the situations that grant combat advantage. The Conditions on the 4th panel all state if they grant combat advantage anyway, and that's a more natural place to find that information.
Charging : I don't know that charging requires placement on the screen, and definitely not 1/8th of a panel. I think it would have been much better to include something on Cover and/or Concealment, which originally were on the third panel and were removed completely from the screen.
Panel 3
Difficulty Class By Level: Previously mentioned, it takes all errata into account, breaking out Easy, Moderate, and Hard DCs for each level from 1-30.
DCs for Commonly Used Skills : One of the best changes on the screen.. instead of listing all the different actions with the associated skill and DC out to the right, on the new screen they broke it out into sections for each Skill. Some actions left off the original were added as well, including things like Disable Trap, Open Lock, Pick Pocket, Bluffing, Sense Motives.
Additionally, where some actions have a specific DC, many now have Easy, Moderate, or Hard listed. I think that's a great change, soas to not make some things such as hearing whispers, for example, trivial at higher levels. Originally, it was Perception DC 15 regardless of level. Now, it's Hard. So, if you're level 15, it's DC30 to hear whispers (keeping it difficult relative to level).
Panel 4
As with the original, the fourth panel still deals with Conditions, Healing a Dying Character, and Death and Dying.
Significant errata is taken into account, making this panel much less likely to start arguments at the table
There is a style change, in that the condition descriptions use the convention of referring to "the creature" being affected as opposed to "you." I think originally the text was copied and pasted out of the Player's Handbook, which was talking about when the reader's character was affected. Now it's more general. A small but positive change. Shows they were paying attention to details.
Conclusion
All-in-all, very positive changes were made from the original Dungeon Master's Screen. Wayne Reynold's art on the players' side is very well done, depicting some snowy ruins. A group consisting of a drow ranger firing two arrows simultaneously, a dwarven cleric of Moradin holding aloft his mace, female tiefling warlock clutching a demonic rod and calling down fire, human female fighter (barbarian?) wielding a massive two-hander and halfling rogue inexplicably holding a torch aloft are in the middle of an epic battle. Arrayed against them are a snarling displacer beast, charging dim-witted but brutal ogre, maniacal diving harpies, gnoll snipers raining down arrows from atop a ruined arch, and a red dragon emerging from his winter nap.
With the extent of the errata introduced since the original's release, as well as the improvements in layout and style, I'd highly recommend the new Deluxe Dungeon Master's Screen. At $9.99 USD it's a great value as well.
