What should go on a DM screen?

[Jeff Wilder]

Help me pick stuff to go on a custom DM screen. I use all "official" WotC books (but not setting-specific books, e.g. Forgotten Realms or Eberron), so stuff from non-core products is fine. However, what I'm especially looking for are those rules that (1) come up frequently and (2) seemingly always have to be looked up.

So far I've got: Grapple rules, Bull Rush rules, Turning rules, Cover rules, Dispel checks, Track DCs, Climb DCs, and Listen DCs.

What would you add, given the above?

 

[diaglo]

random prostitute table

with/for names of NPCs

 

[Ravellion]

Hardness of items.

 

[Ry]

Trip rules.

 

[diaglo]

AoO. what provokes.

also SR, DR, and weapon sizing damage

 

[Maldur]

none, I would not even put those on
the screen is on an angle that wont let you read them, so just put a few reminders on it, like "DONT FOREGET AOO" in a nice large font, and put rules on a different, plastified sheet.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

One small skeleton for every killed PC, one big skeleton for every killed party.


edit: I have an idea
At first, the front side illustration is b/w only, but then you have stickers that show a piece of it in colour. Everytime you kill a character, you put one of the stickers on screen. Look how fast you can get a cheerful, coloured DM screen

 

[philreed]

I think for this thread to be useful to you we need more information about your usual game session. Do you deal with weather? Do the starvation rules get used frequently in your game? Things like that need to be known in order to make intelligent suggestions.

 

[Gentlegamer]

One small skeleton for every killed PC, one big skeleton for every killed party.

You beat me to it! You can also use color coded skulls to correspond to how a character died . . .

 

[Kae'Yoss]

You beat me to it! You can also use color coded skulls to correspond to how a character died . . .

or maybe the DM should keep his digital camera (or a polaroid) handy at all times.

DM: "Your character's dead"
Player *gasp*
DM *flash*

Then you just have to write something on that picture: "April 27th, Kevin's face when his Dwarven Fighter Strongbeard Foeaxe bites the dust (crit from axe-wielding orc)" And stick it to the screen.