So What's In The New DM Screen?

The new deluxe D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Screen released today in preferred retail outlets (it releases on Jan 20th everywhere else). Games Plus in Illinois is one of those outlets, and the store owner thalmin reports on the contents of the screen.

First Panel

• NPC Characteristics (d20)
• NPC Ideals (d20)
• NPC Bonds (d10)
• NPC Flaws (d12)
• Name Generator (d20) Beginning Middle End syllables

Second Panel and almost half of third panel is Conditions with Exhaustion

Third Panel

• Setting a DC
• Cover
• Obscured Areas
• Light (Candle, Torch etc. area and duration)
• Skills and Associated Abilities

Fourth Panel

• Travel Pace
• Encounter Distance by Terrain, Audible Distance, and Visibility Outdoors
• Damage By Level and Severity
• Something Happens! (d20)
• Quick Finds (d12)

For more D&D 5E release schedules click here. For photos of the DM screen, click here. Let us know what you think of the screen by rating it.

 

[Jack Abrasion]

Same. I'll be there tonight.

 

[jusdup]

It's good. No complaints. Money well spent... so far.

 

[Wolfskin]

Now this is my kind of DM screen!

 

[Psikerlord#]

The screen sounds pretty good to me, but as always, I will end up photocopying bits of DMG/PHB and sticking it straight onto the screen (covering up less useful stuff) until I get it just how I want it!

 

[Queer Venger]

Picked up mine on my way home from work. Probably my favorite thing on this chart: Name generator. Plus I really like that artwork is on the DM side too and leaves me room to put up my own post-its to customize, not a wall of text as Ive seen other screens. The player side is absolutely old school D&D art.

 

[barasawa]

The first panel looks like a total waste as I don't see it being anything I'll need to check on both somewhat often and rapidly.
After all, if I don't know what the deal is with my npcs, they aren't important enough for those extra details.

 

[thalmin]

The first panel looks like a total waste as I don't see it being anything I'll need to check on both somewhat often and rapidly.
After all, if I don't know what the deal is with my npcs, they aren't important enough for those extra details.

That's where this panel is so useful. They major npcs you probably have all worked out. But sometimes the players start to interact with a minor npc unexpectedly. With these charts they don't need to know that they are going in a direction you weren't expecting. This can help you develop a new side story on the fly.

 

[R_Chance]

That's where this panel is so useful. They major npcs you probably have all worked out. But sometimes the players start to interact with a minor npc unexpectedly. With these charts they don't need to know that they are going in a direction you weren't expecting. This can help you develop a new side story on the fly.

Exactly what I was thinking. Players tend to be unpredictable and rather than herding them down the path I like to let them bump around.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

I picked it up as well and it's clear that the design goal for this screen was not to provide easy reference to rules so much, but to provide tools for making decisions quickly during play.

Even the conditions are presented with the art in such a way as to assist you in knowing when to apply them.

This does make make the screen useful even as I master the rules. But, I would have liked a couple more charts.

 

[Wepwawet]

For once I am considering buying the DM Screen. I think that these are tables I could actually use while running the game. And they're not too many, which is good, only the essential things.