D&D 5E To Screen or not to Screen

[Lanefan]

Always have. ... My main beef with it is the visual 'dead zone' right behind it for me, making me place the battle mat off a distance.

The table I use to DM from is somewhat lower than the main table (which isn't big enough for all of us), which solves much of this.

I haven't used a screen in a long time. At least since 4e.

Am I the only one taken aback by 4e being referred to as "a long time" ago?

Lanefan

 

[Lanefan]

Oddly enough, I find myself using a screen AND standing up most of the time.

Don't the initiative tents fall of the screen when you walk around with it?

;-)

My guess is that it's just a really tall screen that he stands behind. Very imposing and intimidating from the player side. I like it!

Lanefan

 

[Blue]

Used a screen when I was a neophyte DM that could really use the help of the easy-access-charts. Did away with it a decade later when I stated using a laptop for DM stuff. Then did away with that. My session notes (including a couple pages of outside stuff to work in foreshadowing and reoccurances) is about 6-8 pages printed (single sided so I don't have to worry about needing info on the front and back of the same sheet). Oh, and the top page is a reminded of character motivations and stuff so if I'm improving I've got an easy cheat to provide hooks.

I have that, a steno pad, and my dice - everythign is flat. I have a pair of great big d20s I roll in front of everyone. So yes, they players will know that they get missed on a 13 or hit on an 8 - something their characters should be able pick up from seeing how easy it is for the foes to hit them anyway. If I need to do a die roll that is secret from my players I shade it with my hand. But really, I've got players who love the drama of rolls bad for them as well as the taste victory of the opposite and can separate character from player knowledge.

 

[cbwjm]

If I used a laptop to run my games, I'd perhaps be less likely to use a screen. As is, I use both ipad to contain the adventure and paper for scratching notes such as hit point totals that I'd rather my players not see. I'm fine with them seeing what I roll and depending on whether or not I roll in front of, or behind, the chart depends largely with if I am standing or not. In battle, I'll often be standing to have a good look of the map and rolling in front of the players because it is easier.

The 5e screen does have some useful charts, I like it mainly because I have the conditions right in front of me which is handy, and if I haven't already prepped a number of names in advance in case I need to suddenly give a name to someone then it also has a random name chart.

 

[MNblockhead]

My guess is that it's just a really tall screen that he stands behind. Very imposing and intimidating from the player side. I like it!

Lanefan

I'm imaging him walking around with a changing screen on wheels, like they have in some hospitals, except the inside is covered in charts.

 

[MNblockhead]

Am I the only one taken aback by 4e being referred to as "a long time" ago?

Lanefan

I realized, this year, that I've officially made the transition to "old guy." mid-40s isn't really that old, but after hiring someone who didn't didn't exist before Internet with color graphics and wasn't born when Kurt Colbain died (and Nirvana being more of the my younger sister's generation of music), yeah feeling old.

One advantage I have over, say, my parent's generation is that much of my generation's pop culture is coming into vogue again. Most of the major pop icons of my generation are actually familiar to 20 somethings, which was not at all the case with my parent's generation.

 

[transtemporal]

I run my laptop for maps etc but for dice rolls I just roll in the open. I used a screen but stopped for all the reasons the OP mentioned.

 

[rgoodbb]

Having just run my first game as DM, I found the table very cluttered and I felt a little hemmed in. During combat I had to stand up and move round the table with MM in one hand and dice in the other.

I had the 5e screen, a laptop, a dice tray and a writing pad on the table. The core books were on a chair next to me and I had maps, letters, mini's, grid and pens in a bag next to me on the floor.

I wanted everything possible there so I was prepared for anything, but it's possible I need to scale back. Dice Tray and Screen could maybe go since I can't see the screen anyway with the laptop in front. Rolls would be in the open and I'm not sure about that yet as with 2 players they could die more easily on an unfudgable roll

It might be possible to write notes on the laptop and get the players to note down initiative. That would just leave me with the laptop and some dice on the table and anything else in a bag or on the chair next to me. The screen could be folded up there and used for reference as well.

I think if I do reduce clutter, I might do this in increments to see if it works.

Intersting subject, particularly for me with not a lot of room to work in. As a new DM, I am following all the posts avidly.

Cheers.

 

[pdzoch]

I use a screen. Keeps the queued monsters from view. As well as monster hit points, maps, etc from view. Die rolls are private and discrete to support the narrative feel and flow of the game. I have to stand up anyway to move around my table, so the screen is not as much a factor (Our group makes heavy use of miniatures and terrain board, so there is a lot of standing by everyone). I use a LARGE table, so it is not cluttered for me (6' x 5' (two tables put together)).

 

[MNblockhead]

Having just run my first game as DM, I found the table very cluttered and I felt a little hemmed in. During combat I had to stand up and move round the table with MM in one hand and dice in the other.

I had the 5e screen, a laptop, a dice tray and a writing pad on the table. The core books were on a chair next to me and I had maps, letters, mini's, grid and pens in a bag next to me on the floor.

I wanted everything possible there so I was prepared for anything, but it's possible I need to scale back. Dice Tray and Screen could maybe go since I can't see the screen anyway with the laptop in front. Rolls would be in the open and I'm not sure about that yet as with 2 players they could die more easily on an unfudgable roll

It might be possible to write notes on the laptop and get the players to note down initiative. That would just leave me with the laptop and some dice on the table and anything else in a bag or on the chair next to me. The screen could be folded up there and used for reference as well.

I think if I do reduce clutter, I might do this in increments to see if it works.

Intersting subject, particularly for me with not a lot of room to work in. As a new DM, I am following all the posts avidly.

Cheers.

Decluttering is an art. There may be some DMs that found what works for them and just have been doing that for years. I find I'm constantly tweaking and changing things. I have gotten better at deciding what I need for a specific game and minimizing the amount of "stuff" I have to keep track of. Still, I am much more comfortable running games from my home so I can keep the clutter at the table to a minimum but still have the option of taking 15 seconds to run and grab something from the shelf if I need to.

Never ran a game at a convention. I'd probably need to wheel in an old steamer trunk to cart all the stuff I might need "just in case." At least I could also use it as my chair.