What do you fill your DM's folder with?

[Kzach]

I'm about to start DM'ing for a new face-to-face group and it's been awhile since I've done anything other than LFR or casual sessions. So my DM's folder is non-existent at the moment.

As I was thinking about what to fill it with, I figured it'd make for a good topic of discussion and I could get some ideas for my own folder.

Some things I remember from my previous folders are:

• A massive listing, separated by race, of NPC names, with spaces next to them so I can put reminder marks next to them in case the PC's ask, "What was that guy's name again?"
  
• Some random encounter charts for various wilderness types and terrains based on level brackets.
  
• A slew of maps broken up into sections like taverns, swamps, caves, dungeons, etc. for emergencies.
  
• Treasure lists of varying values with detailed descriptions of items to make treasure a little more interesting.
  
• Monster encounter sets for random emergencies, ie. a group of goblins with minions, standards, leaders of roughly the party's level would be one set.

Basically I like to have things on hand for when I'm stuck or the players go off in a random direction I didn't foresee, so a lot of these things are to help me through those moments. But by all means, let us know what other types of things you have in your kit.

 

[brunswick]

I always make sure to have a few GM sheets handy containing:

(i) Summaries of the Party Members (Defenses, HPs, Passive Skill Totals) so I dont have to keep asking them their AC, Passive Perception or whatever,
(ii) A list of Powers, by Character, so that I dont have to either constantly ask the player what the Power does and/or look up the rulebook. I make a point of reviewing this before the game starts so that I am pretty familiar with what everyone can do,
(iii) A GMs time log so I can flag passing rounds, minutes, hours and days so I can update our "game log" with the relevant details when the session is over,
(iv) A GM "Condition" tracker so I can scrawl down the conditions affecting NPCs and/or Player Characters each round - I'm constantly forgetting the conditions affecting/inflicting PCs and NPCs unless I write them down - I had experimented with poker chips on the table-top but they kinda got in the way of the scene,
and contributed, I felt, to a 'board gamey' feel, which I didnt like,
(v) A GM 'misc page' where I note down names of NPCs, Taverns, donkeyhorse prices etc., if I decide to wing part of the scenario and dont want to tell the players 'erm, I've forgotten' the NPCs name the following session.

I also bundle together notes along the lines of what you mention but that sort of stuff tends to stay in my 'very heavy' campaign folder which stays nearby in case I need it but is only pulled from its shelf as I need it.

I think (actually, I know) that I have a tendency to over-prepare for games but I'd rather have all I think I might need to hand rather than staring blankly at the players if they do something totally unexpected (not a pleasant experience).

Good thread.

 

[Perram]

Some good suggestions already!

I'm constantly working on my folder, always looking for ways to improve it. For me I divide it into two parts: One for the campaign and adventure information, and one for just general resources.

For my Campaign Section:

• The front of my folder is always the notes I need for the session at hand, the current adventure etc... This makes the most important information easy to access.
• The next session is established NPCs and important NPCs with notes on them. I run very character centric games, so this is really the meat of my folder. If they have stat-blocks already generated, I'll keep them here, but most of them do not. I group the NPCs by faction or location, as appropriate.
• The next section is my campaign history, in chronological order, starting with the initial write up when I started it, and then grouped notes for each adventure that I've run in the campaign. This also includes the character's back stories.
• The next section is an in character journal kept by one of the party NPCs, I write it up after every session, and distribute it before each session, usually several days in advance if I'm able, in order to keep the campaign fresh in everyone's minds.

For my resource section:

• NAMES! I keep something on hand that I've called a 'name stick.' Which is simply a piece of card-stock paper, folded in half, with a column of names printed on each side.
• Encounter ideas. These are small little scenes that I've planned out, some combat oriented, some not, that aren't part of the main adventure write-ups. I make one whenever I get the idea for a neat little side scene. When the opportunity comes up in game, I pull one out.
• Stat-Blocks! I never let a stat block go to waist! I save all my previous NPC stat-blocks that I've made, as well as more general ones I make just for this section. Just re flavor the NPC, make a couple of changes to feats and spell selection, and the boss encounter from 4 levels ago can become the lackey of the most recent encounter.
  And I don't hesitate for a minute to take a stat-block I fancy from a published adventure and adding it to this mix. Not only does this save me work, it also helps provide variety to my encounters because other stat blocks from other authors have ideas I wouldn't have thought of!

I know that there are more resources that I would like to add, and intend to do so!

 

[Nonei]

My own folder is quite disorganized, so I will definitely be looking at a lot of these suggestions. I wanted to add a link to the site that helped me the most to have things ready when I was a new DM: How I Prepared for 19 hours of gameplay in just one hour.

I have never been able to prep in just one hour, lol, but it has a lot of really good tips and also links to lists of things like non-combat urban encounters and NPC quirks. Perhaps it will help you in getting back in the swing of things.