What Do You Carry to a Game?

[amysrevenge]

Player: Character binder*, tin of PC miniatures, tin of dice, tin of ponytail hoops for status markers, lunchbox

DM: Laptop, tin of Medium miniatures, tin of Large miniatures, tin of ponytail hoops for status markers, non-permanent battlemat markers, battlemat, lunchbox


*I use a specific character binder setup. I have a zip-up binder with the rings removed. All my LFR PCs are individually stored in duotangs, and I have a large character folder (I think it came from one of the WotC WWGDs) that I slip the PC of the day into (the covers of the duotang slide into the folder, giving me access to all the tables on the folder).

 

[DaveyJones]

What's the least?

my towel.

 

[Ktulu]

I am DM; I carry my EeePC netbook and my DM trays (some snap together craft bins I got at Target), one has the player's characters, dm screen, pens, and alea tools markers in it. The next has each encounter's minis separately bagged in sandwich bags. The last has the maps and dungeon tiles I will be using for the game along with my PHB.

Players - Each player has his character binder and dice. Some bring snacks.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm the guy with literally the most invested in the gaming hobby- I have more for systems I rarely play than some guys have for the various D&D campaigns we've played for the last decade+.

When I host, everything I own is at everyone's disposal. When I don't, I'm the guy who brings most of the physical materiel to the game.

Until recently, I was the primary host, but now we have 2 other guys who are splitting that duty. As such, my 10' battlemat bounces between their houses.

I still wind up bringing a rolling suitcase full of minis and dice. At this point, almost everyone in the group has a PHB, so I no longer bring my spares.

The least I ever brought to a game? It was my first game ever- a PHB, a set of dice, and 2 minis (one for me, and one for my buddy who didn't have one). I suppose, though, I could say the same of any new game/new genre, so if someone is planning on running a game of Mecha-Toon, I probably won't be bringing much beyond my paper, pencils and dice.

Since then, I've always brought stuff to share if I have anything to share...typically a backpack's worth at minimum.

 

[Festivus]

Depends on what I am doing, but I always have the following:

Dice, Pencil, Wet Erase Marker

Then in addition to the above...

My Monthly Meetup: Game Schedules, copies of lots of LFR level 1-4 adventures for walk ins, battle mats, tiles, minis

Playing a 4E game: My character sheets and a mini

DMing a 4E game: A copy of the adventure, minis and a battlemat

Playing a Pathfinder game: My character sheets, Pathfinder core rulebook, and a mini

Playing a 3.5 Game: Players Handbook, Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium, character sheets, wire spell/effect templates, and a mini

DMing a 3.5 Game: Dungeon Masters Guide, Rules Compendium, Players Handbook, Spell Compendium, a ton of other books that I might need for that particular adventure, a copy of the adventure, wire spell/effect templates, a battlemat and minis

See why I don't DM 3.5 anymore?

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Ok, I DM at home so I don't actually take anything with me. However if I did DM at someone's house (as I have had to do on a number of occasions) my list of things to take is pretty large. So large that I generally take some sort of plastic storage container to carry it all in. Here's the list:

PHB
DMG
MM
Shackled City AP Hardcover
PC Minis
Any Monster and NPC Minis that the players might encounter that session
2 x Flip-Mats
PC Character Sheets (I keep these between sessions rather than the players)
Dice
Pens/Pencils/Eraser
Calculator
White Erase Markers
Index Cards
Campaign Notebook
Campaign 3-Ring Binder (contains all handouts and other information related to the campaign)
Graph Paper
Spell Radius Templates
Any sourcebooks we are currently using (i.e. Complete Warrior, Draconomicon, Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium) - There would probably be half a dozen or so different books currently used in the campaign, be it for a spell/feat/PrC, etc.
Current "Campaign Records" sheet (we keep track of things such as most kills, number of ko's, most damage dealt/taken in 1 hit, highest skill check, etc.)
Food
Drink

I'm sure there is something that I have missed but that covers just about all of it. As you can see I don't travel lightly. Even playing at home it takes me a good 5-10 minutes just to take it all out of our "junk" room and set everything up in the dining room where we play. If I had to DM regularly at someone else's house I would have to seriously consider either paring back what I use or leave a whole heap at that person's house between sessions.

Olaf the Stout

Edit: One interesting thing to note is that I don't use a DM screen. I own one (2 actually) but I've decided to roll in the open for this campaign so figured I would go without a screen. It's been a big success so far as there is no longer a screen getting in the way and I trust my players enough not to peek at my notes.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I should add that if I was a player rather than a DM my list would be much, much smaller. It would probably consist of:

PHB
Any sourcebooks I was using for my character
Character Sheet
Dice
Pen/Pencil/Eraser
Paper/Graph Paper
Food
Drink
PC Mini

Olaf the Stout

 

[Paul_Klein]

When I GM Star Wars:

Core Rulebook
Starships of the Galaxy
Threats of the Galaxy
Clone Wars Campaign Guide
Galaxy of Intrigue
Dice bag
Pencil case
Small cardboard box filled with Galaxy/Dungeon Tiles
Occasionally a roll of Gaming Paper
The PC character sheets (each in a separate folder)
Force power cards
My folder (with my notes)
My iPod (although that literally goes everywhere with me)
My iPod speaker dock
Occasionally 6 to 12-pack of beer
Occasionally snacks

I travel to my girlfriend's house to GM. I own tons of minis, but I keep them all there so lugging them around is not a problem.

It's not a huge amount, but I can't wait for the day when I live where the game is held

 

[thalmin]

When I DM, I bring PHB, DMG, MM, flip-mats, markers, DM screen, Combat Screen, a double dice set, couple pencils, some blank paper, adventure notes, miniatures for the night's encounters, possibly character minis, and maybe an additional sourcebook if I expect to need it.

As a player, I bring PHB (and PHB2 if my character is from that book) and the appropriate Power book, character sheet, power cards, dice set, couple pencils, character fig. Currently, I am also supplying figs and flip-mats for the DM.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

When I run the game, I bring:

• 3-ring binder
• Dice bag
• Maybe some beer or Diet Coke

My three ring binder contains paper (ruled and graph), my folded referee screen, Monster & Treasure Assortments, JG Ready Ref Sheets, and some pockets containing my maps, keys, the three OD&D little brown books, and the OD&D Reference Sheets.

When I'm playing, I bring my character sheet, my dice bag, and a Moleskine notebook.