Supplies for a New DM

[LivesForPain]

Ok, how useful is it as a new DM to have a game mat or battle mat and a DM screen? Are these just frilly accessories or do they actually help with the game?

And other than a set of dice and the core books is there anything else some of you veterans might have to recommend, that will make the game easier or more enjoyable.

Thanks.

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

Well it never fails that you will have to have something to mark on to show where everyone is. Those sneaky players will say they are one place until shown that the place in question is in the line of fire, then they are suddenly "over there". Also, I like to have a BIG stick handy, something to keep them in line helps. The DM screen isn't neccessary but, there will be times when you need to hide dice or notes. NOTE CARDS very important.


P.S. markers for the mats come in handy.

 

[Buttercup]

I don't use a DM screen. I'm not tall enough to see over one.

As for battlemaps, I use a giant tablet of paper with a 1" grid and a box of crayola markers. I draw as I go, and throw the pages away after the session. The tablet costs about $15 and has, I don't know, maybe 50 sheets. With vinyl battle mats you have to use special markers, and be very careful to wipe the ink off. Too much trouble.

(edit: can't spell)

 

[Maitre Du Donjon]

The battle mat (whatever form it may take) is VERY useful (as are a good assortment of figurines). A DM's screen is only useful if your players have a habit of cheating by looking at your notes

Other than that, markers, of course, scraps of paper to pass notes around if you ever need to, what I am missing here (as I glance around myself to see what's lying around)...

Oh yeah, you need a good sense of improvisation, because your player will probably want to do something you didn't think of, mountain dew to keep everyone alert until the wee hours in the morning, and general craziness to play role-playing games

Maitre D

 

[dok]

Some type of map to track where people are in combat is really, really useful. The low-end solution is to simply buy a roll of butcher paper & use tokens or chits. I believe you can buy cardboard tokens of monsters by the pamphlet that have the right facing & scale.

If you do use a battle map, the one thing I Strongly recommend is to go out & buy a cloth tape measure. You can get them for next to nothing at fabric stores. Don't bother counting squares or diagonals. Just measure out distances with the tape measure. Having done it both ways, I can't imagine not using a tape measure.

 

[Nifft]

I keep all my notes (& dice that I don't want players to see) on my laptop.

I like using a Battlemat, because I can't find Hex graph paper.

Get 2 or more sets of dice, because your players will forget them. Have some evil-colored dice (fire red, vile green, puss yellow, whatever) which you use for particularly evil monster using particularly evil powers. Call them your "Evil Dice". Your players will come to fear the dice themselves, and simply rolling one will add as much drama as a creepy music crescendo.

If you don't use a DM screen, print out some handy tables (from http://members.rogers.com/wilson0246/DnD/index.html for example). Also, have something to roll behind for making checks that your players shouldn't see -- like some of their opposed rolls. Personally, I use my laptop to make some of those rolls.

Extra pencils -- like dice, your players will forget them.

Note cards are good, too.

Mood music, chips, juice, peanuts, beer, etc. -- these are useful, too. See if you can get your players to pay for them.

-- Nifft

 

[Halivar]

PCGen. It is the second most useful DM tool I can think of. It takes care of all the tedium of adding hit dice to raise CR's of encounters.

Also, the most important thing to have is a system, a way of doing things that best prepares you for the next session. Depending on whether or not you are really good at memorizing MM stat-blocks, preparation may include one or more of the following:

1) Mapping out not only the anticipated adventure path, but also other possible trails (for those plot-spoiling chaotics who don't give a crap about your "story"). This usually requires having pretty detailed maps of the terrain/cities, because you players will want to know what they see.

2) Prerolling encounters. I know most DM's do not do this, but I throw it out here because it may be helpful to you. The last thing you want is to have to look up random monsters in the MM and then add hit-dice. So, I determine how many hours each adventure path takes, calculate the chance for encounter, and roll up any baddies that might show up. I create a sheet with stat-blocks that I just X out when PC's mow through them. Treasure is also pre-rolled, and I even have their spot/listen/move silently checks pre-rolled. My goal as a DM is to have absolute zero look-up time, and minimize roll-this-then-that-then-this. Many may think this ruins the "atmosphere," so it's up to you.

3) Plan one session ahead. What if the PC's don't give a crap about your side-quest? They may not go.

4) Graph paper and Risk pieces. I always have massive fights predrawn on there. As for run-of-the-mill random encounters, we just dispense with visual aids and talk it all out. Everyone in our group is pretty good as visual thinking, anyhow.

5) Know the rules. Think ahead for possible rules issues that may come up, because if you stick PC's in an inescapable dungeon, they will go through rule-lawyering acrobatics to get out of it. DM screens are, according to Murphy's Law, not going to have the specific rules you need. Have the core books handy.

6) Last, but not least, never leave Rule 0 at home.

 

[Zhnov]

In the rush of playing, if you need to look up something in a book, ask a player who is not busy to do it.

Have the characters make copies of character sheets to give you. Transfer important info from these to your own sheet with the most critical data, and have the players update the character sheet copies at the end of each session. PC sheets are handy to have between sessions, so you can become more familiar with the PCs, and have the critical data to make fun and challenging scenarios.

Everybody brings grub for themselves, whatever they like. Nice people share, ugly people do not. Nothing is a worse distraction that the team breaking after 24 hours just to get food.

Download some of the handy generators to make NPCs, villages, monsters, and treasures. Print these out, or keep them on a laptop, but make them general enough so you can use them on the fly. Saves lots of time.

 

[apocalypstick]

I find the Chessex battlemat to be a must, coming in only (very) slightly ahead of a six-pack of Sam Adams.

 

[Southern Oracle]

I will definitely second the Chessex battlemat, as well as the wet erase markers to write on it. I've found it amazingly handy for noting spell areas of effect, the location of furniture and which way doors open, etc., and it all washes away in a few swipes of a wet paper towel.

I've also taken to making my own counters by scanning pics or searching for them on the internet and cropping them to the appropriate facing. I can always present just the visual I want the players to have with enough prep time.

I also have to plug the initiative cards from The Game Mechanics. They make it super easy to keep track of combat order and cut down on flipping pages for monster stats, either in your notes, the source books, or a preprinted adventure.