The DM's Screen

[JoeGKushner]

I've used several. I find that I enjoy the Kalamar one, and the blank one where you can customize it. Monte's decesion to go with a different format was also a good idea.

If it's got the level vs. cr table on it, it'll probably be something I can use.

 

[buzz]

Monte's decesion to go with a different format was also a good idea.

I'm truly amazed that no one thought of the landscape screen concept before that (that I'm aware of). Such a simple, yet incredible, improvement.

 

[Staffan]

I'm truly amazed that no one thought of the landscape screen concept before that (that I'm aware of). Such a simple, yet incredible, improvement.

I think there was a landscape GM screen for Call of Cthulhu in the mid-90s or something.

 

[woodelf]

Once upon a time, to save wear and tear on your rulebooks, a DM screen was one of the essentials of AD&D. You needed one to hide your notes, find the Turn Undead tables, the Combat Matrices, the Saving Throws.

With the rise of the "Compleat Statblock" in D&D 3E, I feel that to a large extent the DM's screen has been reduced in usefulness. I use the 3.5E Deluxe DM screen from Wizards, and mostly just for Turn Undead and the odd skill check reference. Oh, and hiding my notes.

You mean you've got all the combat rules memorized? Heck, if i were running D&D3[.5]E by the book, i'd at least want those two huge tables of modifiers and actions [from the combat chapter] on my DM's screen.

Anyway, while i used a screen for AD&D2, it wasn't so much for the standard rules--with the exception of turning undead, all the basic info (THAC0, saves, etc.) is on the character sheets, and i want the screen for during the game when i'm in a hurry, not for between-game when we can just get the books out. For me, a GM's screen is mostly about somewhere to hide my notes, etc., and maybe to paperclip other stuff to, thus effectively increasing my table space (and preventing it from getting buried).

What my GM's screen evolved into was a substitute for the rulebooks, and i had a second screen that was my "ok crap i need an adventure right now and i don't have any ideas" crutch. Each was 6 letter-sized panels of cardstock with both sides pretty much covered, many of the charts/tables/lists considerably reduced in size from the original.

Here's a sampling:
"running-the-game" screen:
frequency & chance of wilderness encounters
swimming effects of encumbrance
minimum passageway sizes
armor effects on character width
rates of climbing
cave-in location
a whole butt-load of encounter tables
metalic ores and gems
ore purity
mining rates
effects of clothing and armor on personal temperature
temperature damage to characters
wind velocity effects
chance of stopping a fall or tumble
movement in reduced visibility
chance of capsizing
chance of food spoilage
some more encounter charts for other climes/biomes/etc.
structural saving throws
surprise modifiers
morale ratings
archery target table
missile fire cover and concealment adjustments
character saving throws
item saving throws
poison strengths and types
acids
classification of weapon-like objects
matrix for clerics affecting undead
weapon class and type of assorted objects
hurled boulders
smaller-than-man-sized weapons
thresholds of pain for mounts
movement rate penalty for leg wounds
punching and wrestling results
5-, 10-, and 20-roll binomial tables
grenade-like missiles
armor class by armor type and body part covered
piecemeal armor
properties of rope
lists of colors, tastes, and odors
selected divided rolls
hit locations
...and lots of other stuff.

In short, i basically had all the rules from the AD&D2 PH, DMG, and Complete... books (well, first 4), plus the AD&D1 Wilderness & Dungeoneer's Survival Guides, plus a whole bunch of Dragon articles, plus some house rules, all boiled down to ~13pp, so i could run a game and have all those rules with just my screen. It's more of a quick reference than just a screen, and means i didn't need to take a single book, and yet could have all the rules at hand.

My "preparing an adventure" screen, meanwhile, has stuff like
lists of titles
Titles, Offices, and Positions
NPC Professions
Material Spell Components
Special Component Availability and Cost
Alternative Spell Component Limitations
Crystal Balls: Range, Size, Weight
Scrying Devices: Special Features
Revised Subject-Location Chances
list of tuning forks for plane shift
Melting and Boiling Points of Pure Metals and Alloys
Reputed Magical Properties of Gems
Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Vegetables
Treasure Types
Experience Point Values of Monsters
Values of Animal and Monster Furs
Values of Immature Plants
Values of Miscellaneous Eggs and Young
gem tables
the 50 basic plots
random dungeon generator
random city generator
random tunnel generator
..etc.

Basically, stuff that was important during prep or downtime, rather than in the midst of play. Again, a dozen pages distilling the essential material from the DMG and Survival Guides, plus the best material from Dragon.

In D&D3E terms, i have the distilled equivalent of the entire combat chapter, the entire skills chapter (i.e., all the DC lists), plus turning undead and a couple other things on my running screen--does the official screen have that much stuff? While i admittedly only rarely used most of the rules on my screens, it was nice having them handy when they came up. Instead of just the most-frequently referenced rules (which i don't think i really went to the screen for, anyway, because the frequently-used ones are the onse i remember), i specifically had all the obscure rules--those sorts of rules that otherwise necessitate stopping for a book-check. Seems to me that's the real benefit of a screen: cheatsheet for the obscure stuff, rather than reference for the basic stuff (though you want that there, too, for beginners).

 

[woodelf]

The really wacky rules stuff that needs to be referenced in the middle of a melee is usually so obscure one would never think to put it on a screen anyway.

3e and d20 in general don't require much table referencing, and when I do find my groups refencing the books, it's usually the sort of info that won't fit comfortably on a non-Kenzer-monstrosity screen, e.g., spell descriptions. Ergo, a screen that the GM can tailor to their needs seems ideal.

Well, like i said, i'd say the combat rules certainly merit summarizing--*i* certainly am not going to remember some of the lesser-used actions/modifiers [and by "lesser-used", i'm still thinking of ones on the page-long summary list of actions, not anything more obscure], but they're sufficiently compact to make sense to put on a screen. Ditto for all the skill DC tables. And a few other things like that.

I wonder if the whole DM screen concept is really becoming a relic of the early days of D&D. I don't find myself using them when I play other systems. It also seems like a lot of contemporary RPGs have eliminated the concept of adversarial player-GM relationships, maknig the idea that a GM needs a screen to hide things from the players kind of outdated. Does anyone else see this?

Anyway, I tend to fudge rolls a bit as a GM, so I don't mind having a screen to hide them. Still, using a screen at all seemed a knee-jerk reaction on my part when I got back into the hobby full-force with 3e ("I'm the DM. Of course I need a screen."). I find I tend to stand up or move the screen to a side table, as ideally I don't like having a barrier between me and the players. I have a feeling that, the next game I run, I probably won't even bother with a screen.

It doesn't take an adversarial relationship to give the screen a worthwhile place. Even assuming a cooperative relationship (as i do), the GM's job is still to make the game fun, and that sometimes necessitates the keeping of secrets. I use a screen, when i do, mostly to hide my notes, NPC stats, etc. Much of the fun as ap layer is being surprised, IME, and many sorts of challenges are more interesting when unknown. So, while i don't always use a screen, i almost always have some hidden notes. A screen is just one, relatively easy, way of hiding them, especially if there are lots.

 

[woodelf]

I'm truly amazed that no one thought of the landscape screen concept before that (that I'm aware of). Such a simple, yet incredible, improvement.

Well, i couldn't tell you exactly who, but i know i'd seen at least one landscape GM's screen before D&D3E came out, and i'm pretty sure i already owned one or two. So it's not *that* new of an idea.