D&D General What goes in your DM binder?

[toucanbuzz]

If anything at all?

For those who use books and paper, what are your must-have items? I'm perhaps a bit old-fashioned in that I don't use a laptop, but I operate better that way. Even so, I've always had some sort of notebook, binder, folder...something that has my essentials. Curious what others feel is "must-have" and anything anyone is willing to share!

 

[The Green Hermit]

Maps, calendar, any handouts, random encounter tables, NPCs. I have sections for each area we visit.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Notecards. I pass messages to players and stat out unique items on them.

Other than that, I've got my folder with character sheets and notes, and generally I carry around a little thing with glass beads and odds and ends to act as minis. Those are about the only essentials besides dice and books. I usually have a map, but I also usually don't use it.

 

[Quickleaf]

I put together a photo album of my DM binder for a nearly 2 year run of Tomb of Annihilation: ToA DM's Binder 2018-2019

 

[Zardnaar]

Mapa, notes, the adventure printout,printouts of PDFs.

 

[Tallifer]

Pencil scribbles of possible encounters with NPCs and monsters. Lists of strange effects and powers for various things (such as 10 different kinds of Gnome cookies and their properties; 20 different noble houses and their goals).

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Just some light notes, names of place and people, question to ask, Etc.

 

[Zio_the_dark]

If I don't have time to print my USB key has all my data and is always in my pocket ^^

Otherwise light set of printouts and cards for my players if playing "Live".
Oh and some additional sets of dices just in case! (Even if they don't go to the binder )

 

[Don Durito]

A Whiteboard that's somewhat bigger than A4 but fits in my backpack (Just)
Index Cards.
- Index Cards. Good for monster stats, or location notes and the like because they can easily be sorted through - plus making players write stats for animal companions or wildshapes on them in advance speeds up the game immensely. Also good for NPC stats if you want to hand them over to a player to play them for some reason.

• A plastic pocket with things like useful maps. I also have a photocopy of the inside of the DM screen because I find the actual cardboard pysical thing just gets in the way. I usually also have photocopies of key pages for each character class, in case people need the rules and don't have books.
• The tokens from the 4E starter set. Some of my players occasinonally bring minis, but I have them if I need something to represesnt locations for a more complex battle.
• Dice (of course), pens markers etc.
• A sketchbook that has my scrawled location maps on it if I've prepared them in advance, or which I scrawl them on as we go.
• A giant D6 (used for escalation die in 13th Age, but also generally good for countdowns and timers, and trakcing success or failures toward a goal.)
• Sometimes I take my rolled up Chessex battlemap - but less and less these days.
• I'll take my IPAD if I have art that I've found that I want to show players, or I haven't had time to print out my notes.

 

[atanakar]

Our games are not hosted at my house. My travel kit includes:

Binder: (which as a zipper that prevents anything from falling out)

• Maps : regional, local and towns
• The info on the campaign setting
• The current and previous adventures
• Index cards of the foes
• Copies of each PC sheet of all levels.
• A pad of grid paper

Backpack:

• Individual ziplocks with miniatures for each encounter and tiles
• Dice box
• Non-permanent markers, pencil and eraser
• DM Screen

Tube:
- Chessex battle map