I used to print handouts, cheat sheets for my players, spell cards, cards for magic items, I even 3d print them props… but they never use any of those.
DM screens aren't just for fudging dice rolls. It is for placing all the information you don't want your players to know behind. It hides your notes, your battle tracking information (monster health and stats and such). Also, just because the screen is there doesn't mean you need to make all rolls behind it. There are also times that you roll for the outcome of something (stealth, for example) that you might not want the players to know the result of until later, not to be able to fudge the roll. Not a criticism, just another perspective :)
I've made a rule of never fudging dice for fairness sake, I'm known for not fudging my dice in our group which is funny cuz no one even fudges tbh haha. What I do as a DM is justify why the circumstance may change, lets say the players are losing, options are they get captured, enemies get bored and flee, enemies have other reason (zombies or otherwise) and don't pursue if things get hairy for players, or simply the players might lose, give them options, ways out etc. Just communicating with players really helps. I kinda get the DM screen but I haven't used 1 in a while since we transitioned to roll20 cuz covid.
I have a TV tray with a cigar box on it where I would make those rolls such as a Find/Remove traps roll. All of my combat rolls are made where the results can be seen.
Also, on your paper/device player sheets: I have noticed that people that have the programs assist them with their character, means they themselves understand them less
@@greystorm9974 Agreed, But I do keep premades for new players who randomly join so they dont have to sit and wait to make them, But they are Folders, has character sheet, all the info on any Skills, Spells, and items they have, as well as blank paper to write on for notes, later if they wish to return and would rather play another ill set a time to help them make one.
Here's a rule of thumb: "if you needed to "fudge the dice", then you didn't need to roll the dice". If the dice don't change the outcome, it's obviously a crucial part of the story. A closed roll's purpose is to cause the "oh no, what's happening?!?!" feeling. Just roll closed dice randomly every once in a while, then pause, and announce something random, like: "the DM suffers of severe malnutrician and demands snacks for his efforts" Don't pay for minis, gummybears will work (the slain get eaten). Don't buy $2 copper coins, if you can just as easily use pennies (or write it down). Battlemats are not crucial, they just help with distancing and formation. You need $4 worth of dice and 3 (rather expensive) books. Everything else is just "nice to have". When I started as a teenager, many many years ago, our friend got the core 3 books and a set of odd dice for his birthday, and we all started like that, buying our things along the way. I took years before we all had our own dice. What is a really must have item, is a wild imagination! You get +2 on enjoyment if everybody has a sense of humour too
I like the advice and I agree with most of it but if you are playing D&D 5e then DnDbeyond is a worthy option. The more players using the DnDBeyond Initiative Tracker the less the DM needs to do. It puts all the rolls in order with the Enemies too and only those rolling manually have to be handled manually by the DM. I agree with laptops running out of power unless plugged in, but screen shutting off helps. Same with tablets which are even faster. It's just a non-issue with speed getting into your character and let's be honest here. The player that's supposed to go next needs to be ready with their intended action unless something changed moments ago on the battlefield. Also players forgetting their character sheet is a problem, while with a smartphone and DNBeyond you are never leaving your character home and can even look at it anytime they want to think about their PC in-between sessions. As for the DMs screen, I agree BUT I do not agree with the statement that if you are hing your rolls you're doing it wrong. This is very wrong. I dont want the thief to know that she failed her detect traps roll. Failed to open doors check on a door too. I dont want them to make a failed roll then have another player attempt. In reallife does somebody slamming a door know they didn't do it well enough? Not likely. Maybe the door can't be opened by someone in the party, yet they spend an hour trying to make it open maing a lot of noise. There are other scenarios that fall under this. How about deception skill roll versus insight. Do you want your players to KNOW that they defeated their roll or failed? It doesn't make sense if they do. The point is there are scenarios in which the DM wants to hide a roll, but it should probably be done sparingly. I'm not saying do the above but it shouldn't be dismissed either.
As a DM with far more years than 99.9% of the people the reason I use the screen if for a few reasons and this is not a set order. When you attack and "describe the attack" the players do not know if the creature hit or misses. A creature coming close in combat can be interesting and is way better than it misses. You can keep upcoming minis and handouts hidden. It helps to keep your notes hidden from players eyes. It makes it more mysterious and you can roll the dice just to scare the players. I understand and could DM without screens. I have DMed a ton without minis. But that was when I was young.
Yeah, my current DM keeps his minis behind the screen until they show up in battle. heh I'm fine with a screen... and have been in more games with them than not, but playing without one is just fine too if that is best with your play style. :-)
I do use my Laptop as my Screen and it litterally has a DM screen image on it if needed, But I like Digital because I can have every Map, Image of NPC/Enemy, Tavern, Dungeon Sounds for Ambience, Plus all my Quests info, and I dm a 4hr game every Sunday for 7 Players, and I agree I do like having my Handouts (I do keep notebook as well for ideas and Quick Notes as well).
As a DM/Player myself, I tend to only use miniatures for the PCs. Everyone else is a numbered token or printed/cut out picture. By doing that it makes it very easy to see all the Player Characters (as they are the only miniatures on the table) which tends to lower the amount of brain-drain on my Players.
1. The strictly paper rule is not at all accurate imo. We have gone the other way in our group. It is sooo much simpler to keep track of everything through dndbeyond. It helps a lot and we use it for everything except for note taking.and it is the best thing we’ve done! 2. I don’t hide dice rolls for my players because i need to cheat. I do it because some rolls need to be hidden to not give the players too much information. My recommendation. Make a small DM screen using two small photo frames. Put some nice to have information like passive perception and so on of the characters on one side and print some great art and put it in the frames pointing to the players. That makes them get a feel for the game and it feels really immersive. As a DM you can even change art between sessions and use artwork that correspond to the location the PCs are in.
I do it all , I don't do enough props except player maps, and I have never done coins, but I am addicted to buying minis and scatter terrain, I have 10 billy bookcases filled. I enjoy setting up lots of scenes or separate rooms on the table and it gets the players excited that they might do an encounter in some on the rooms or areas
Note/Map/Wanted Poster handouts is a easy done, you can print on white and use Tea or coffee to stain or print on pre Color distressed paper you can buy, Great for quest starters, etc. You found a Letter, it leads you to where someone they were after is Hiding in a Cave ... yuou find a Map, X Marks the Spot (But to what ... Treasure or is it just a trap) ... your in a Tavern talking to a guy about a Missing person they wish you to find, and you see a face at the bar you think you have seen before (Yes a few weeks back a wanted poster, make the face easy to describe in the bar)
Great video! I actually keep a DM screen on a side table to hide certain surprise minis :) It's also handy to have some of the quick info nearby. Once in a while I will roll a dice or two behind it, but not tell my players what it was for, just to keep them on their toes.
That's a good idea. I'm hard on screens in the video, but there are lots of good reasons to have one. I just think people should decide if they like using one before spending a lot of money on a really cool one.
If you have enough dice, you can even use them as minis. the bigger creatures will get a higher die such as a d20 and the smaller ones will get d4 or d6.
15:30 if you give the "decision" and make a role with dice or a random event deck whatever you own it to yourself to go with it never fudge a dice. If you relay want to dice something for the story tell you players ""there will be no role" and tell what happens. Own your decisions and your roles :D (I also don't use DM screen)
If you are beginner DM here are some things i recommend to be a better DM: 1 plan for quest and some NPC prepared and done that will guide the player to the quest (give them reasons to do it). Give the players the illusion they have choice, give them chooses but play so most things they chose will end up doing the quest anyway. Have prepare tavern map +NPC and arena fight. Tavern because every city or village has one (you can use the same map over and over again). Why an arena, if the game gets stuck in the cityt is fun to bring up a safe aria where the PC-scan do fight, character stats of NPCs for arena is grate to improvise stats. Have a Tarot deck needs some randomness to trow up the game or you are frozen what to do draw a card if you hate it yo u will know immediately what to do, its its to evil you can blame it n the deck and its the PC-s problem now :D. A random deck you can associate with personality is awesome also to generate NPC personality on the fly :D. Pro tip don't let the players ever have the "Deck of many things".
I love having my dm screen, I especially like the focus it gives you (not meaning I always wanna be in focus) but it sets you apart, because as a dm, you are a player, but you are in a weird way set apart in a fitting way for the role of dm. I also like to hide the minis behind it, so they dont just see what they will come up against. But also, I have the exact problem with reaching over to the map, but I just walk around the table sometimes, but I see the problem! I just think the advantages outweigh the problems, but then again, that is very up to every player for themselves :)
That was a great, funny video. I've been playing DnD off and on for 20+ years. I have the mat, use props, use minis but I use them for involved combat only, like against the boss or if there's a large volume of enemies. There's combat that i don't use minis at all so a combo of mini vs no minis for me and I'm not a mini guy. No collection for me, but in awe of some of the ones I've seen over the years. Love paper minis. I do use the DM screen and always have tho. As I've improved my Dming over the years, it's a great tool to build suspense when players see you roll and they look in anticipation for me to do something. But I think mostly, for me, it's something that I reference for rules and notes. I've customized screens for my adventures with needed rules and story info. Strongly agree with you on paper character sheets. I'm prolly 25% digital when running/playing DnD. I'm doing Strahd right now at my FLGS and use the book only as a foundation and use other material to build the world. What do you use to organize your games for notes, NPC's and world building? I really like Microsoft One Note. User friendly and flows well. Your channel's great!
I use WorldAnvil.com to organize my world at a macro scale. (www.worldanvil.com/w/irth-danricc if you promise not to judge too harshly). But the only time I really use that site during a session is to pull up a map on occasion. You can add overlays and links on top of maps so the players can click on a town/place of interest and pull up information on it. Mostly what I use to write sessions is just MS Word. I hadn't thought about using One Note. I've used that in the past for other things, but I find I need a simple somewhat constraining program otherwise I get distracted with formatting and other nonsense... lol. I do have a couple excel spreadsheets I use to tally season encounters and the like, but nothing fancy. I could share those but I never really intended them to be used by anyone other than myself so they're not exactly polished.
Though I've only been playing for 3 years I think I've found a system that suits me and my players (at least in our chosen medium for now). I use microsoft excel, discord, roll20. Excel for making character references/area of interest cards (images and text organised then snipped), discord for summaries of sessions/those cards I made previously in excel/other snippets of info organised by text chat and roll20 for combat only really, though it is a good place to gain players attention through a world map with tokens designating where people/places are. Its been working great so far as everything worldbuilding is centralised in the discord chat as of right now, handy for online sessions (people reference it before/during sessions), though I might want to reconsider if I go back to sessions irl or create a far more complex world (only session 9 of current session though we've covered a lot of story/worldbuilding so far). I'm probably gonna use world anvil or some personalised one note app in the future (I'm learning to code due to engineering so might take a stab at making a more personalised app). Any recommendations as far as worldbuilding goes though? I tend to seed it every so often but focus on the story that I've developed moreso. Just asking since my DM style is so different to my friends (I'm always trying to improve, I've gotten really good reviews from players but still want to progress, always on the grind).
i don't use 3D minis... i use Tokens. Print a image from the internet, glue it on a round wood piece, put a epoxi sticker on it and BAM enough :-) and also WAY more easier to store also a DM Screen for me is just a "important stuff is written on the back so i can see it" and it should be landscape so i'tm not "cut of" from the players. I do roll behind the screen when i roll opposed checks or so but combat wise WILL be rolled open
22:50 also you want to set you dice on the table with the highest number up because it charges them up :D god i have so many dice :D (also I did buy a fancy set and they role so far grate :D) also you guys gave good advice's :D
I love the dm screen tip I’ve been looking at them for a while and can’t bring myself to spending $40 for one but I didn’t even think abt the fact of it getting in the way. Thanks so much now I realize I don’t need it😂😂
YA in terms of needs, those are the bare minimum and honestly perfectly good by themselves. I'd say in terms of basic wants though I will say showing reference photos/battlemaps is a godsend in helping give players an idea as to what's happening, on top of vivid description. Helps a lot with speeding up the understanding of what is around the players/transitions from scene to scene, allows a lot more information to be conveyed etc.
2:42 here is my recommendation Descent is a grate board game and it has bunch of stuff you can use to upgrade your game like puzzle like small boards that with together:D and bunch of miniatures, also its a grate game.
We always play with DM screens, mainly to hide maps and to have handy charts easy to view... but I also don't play with minis at all in the games I run; I only do theater of the mind. I've tried doing battles with minis over the years, but I don't honestly prefer it. I have a huge collection of painted minis and BattleMats and all that to prove it. lol In the current game I am playing in as a player, our DM adores minis and has literally THOUSANDS that he and his wife painted. lol (He also plays Warhammer) Needless to say, in that game, we always use minis... in fact, we use my huge BattleMat too. ;-) Personally, I prefer not playing with minis, but I am very happy playing with them if the DM is using them. :-) I'm flexible enough. lol Oh... I should also point out that we play old-school D&D, so maybe that matters? Dunno. Our D&D is basically a mix of B/X and AD&D 1e... with some 5e things we like mixed in. heh Been playing with the same group since the 80s, so I guess we are stuck in our ways. lol ;-)
I appreciate your thoughts and comments. They work for you so you cannot be wrong. I do know this video is two years old, however, I respectfully disagree with some of the items. A) I love using DnD Beyond as a DM and as a player. It keeps everything in order. Also gives easy access to info. B) DM screen for me is used for holding easy access notes, as opposed to flipping through binder. It keeps monster health secret as well. I do not use it for dice. Minis - I use monster tokens (i print out the pictures of the monsters) i do not spend money on minis just on the paper/ink to print out tokens.
I would also suggest Pathfinder Pawns and the D&D resurrected tiles Dungeon,city,wilderness helps spice up the grid map and speeds thing up a little so you don't have to draw everything
Really cool video. You two seem to enjoy rpgs in a likeable manner. I agree with so many of these and really liked the hand crafted weapons and equipment, will try those out. I also like a notebook for every player for taking notes :)
Legally blind, so can't use the typical DM screen except as a physical barrier and … I don't want that. I DO use a small/low screen (HeroQuest's for quite a long time), but only to conceal _my_ copy of the map and some stat blocks, that's all. Why have more? Pens don't give me great contrast in all lighting, so I like to use bits of scatter to define space on a "stage" (Professor Dan's Ultimate Dungeon Terrain "dungeon pizza", except mine's not a circle), it's still a bit abstract but the scatter gives players a sense of changes in elevation and cover/concealment as well as being something that can be quickly dropped into place when an encounter starts and brushed away when it ends. I use numbered large print cards with my map, the front side is a few keywords to help me describe the space quickly in very large print, and the back is still large but is meant to be held up away from the players so I can read it-secrets, encounter specifics, etc not for players to see. Likewise cards with monster stat block cards and a few laminated tables I can't or won't just memoorize but do need at the table. It's not the most portable/minimal setup in the world, but it's pretty portable and very lightweight. Players often have their mini, but everything else is typically a pawn or token, and the scatter is mostly foams and corks and the occasional washer or screw to make sure it doesn't blow away.
I just discovered your channel while looking for DIY initiative trackers. Subscribing now because I love your attitudes. Will be running my first mini-campaign in 3 weeks or so, so the advice on what not to buy is timely and fantastic. Bulk of the party is either folks who have no idea of what the funny dice are for and those who have been out of the game for decades( like me). I hope you're still looking at comments after 3 years because I just have to know. Was that a Warhammer Goblin Shaman I saw.??😊
Thanks for you kind words! We never got into Warhammer. I think the one you're referring to is a goblin from the Journey Through Middle Earth board game.
Hey you never know where you'll meet the right people for dnd. I recommend being open to all possibilities. We tried indoctrinating our friends but it did not stick. Our hard core group is made up of my cousin, his wife and a mutual friend from my old church. We would not be as close as we are except for dnd😉 it forms strong bonds.
Awesome video! Thank you for this content!!! Love the pickles, clear sleeves, and affirmations on the need for MORE DICE... 💜 Thank you guys! I’m feeling something stirring... is that..? My.. imagination...? I wasn’t sure if I still had it! Just did my first session last night, it’s so much fun!
I got a bunch of Pokémon minis from a kid's party I was attending with my younger cousin. I don't regret just taking fistfuls of them. The parents hosting were cool with it anyway and so was the birthday kid. 😇 I have excess of standby now and that's not even my own I've kept from childhood. 👾
Fudging dice rolls is absolutely warranted and good policy. A single unlucky die roll that prevents the success of the party or kills a character is in no way fun nor does it advance the story. Sometimes it is necessary.
I agree that fudging dice rolls should be used for fun. I once had a level 1 character straight up killed by the first hit (critical) in the first combat, in the first hour of the first session of a campaign. If I was the player I would have been upset that I spent more time making the character than playing them, and basically had two social encounters then died. I think I was rolling openly, but I told the player that the character was not dead, just out of combat, and then we kept going and I made sure to level them up quickly. Similarly, I have also started to hear more people give the final blow to the most dramatic/satisfying character. I tried it as a DM and really liked it. Like, did the enemy almost kill your character 3 times and then you land a great hit that gets it to 2hp? Yeah, I"m going to give the kill to you, that is way more satisfying for everyone than letting the next PC kill it with a basic attack.
Metal coins would work for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay because you'll almost never find a treasure hoard. If you do, and your GM has you properly indoctrinated into WFRP style, you will be too paranoid to take any of it. :)
I like a dm screen to help keep my notes secret, it is too easy for a player sitting close to glace and your papers and to me that breaks immersion if they see how many hit points a monster has, also I have the players roll in my dice towers connected to my screen, for rolls their character wouldn't know.
DM hiding Dice rolls, I roll for Rogues checking for traps, because they think they checked good enough but did they, I do let them roll for unlocking because you would know if the door unlocked or not, but the DM job is a Narrator of a great story and if fudging a dice roll to make a Fight more epic is fine as long as you're not doing it to just kill a player, Ive lowered attack damage a few times, to put a player at 0 and not well below it, allowing players to stabilize them and they get a chance to live. It is all up to the DM, long as his players are smiling, then he is doing his job, it's not his job to send lv1 goblins against a 7th-level party, oh you slaughtered them, here is 10000xp each, if it is challenging it isn't fun. ... OH New Addition to my DM Bag, I carry a few Fighter, Mage, Cleric and Thief Premade Characters ... I quite often now get walk in Players, I've had games with a little as 5 Players and as many as 10, if they wish to return or play again they can keep the character or Roll up new ones for next time, but I don't have to stop a game to have a new player join.
Don't waste your money..... On anything listed...... Paper, Pen/Pencil, 1 Dice set, Free copy of the Basic rules,/character sheets/cheat sheets (DnD Beyond), a simple story/quest/campaign, and some openminded friends...... That is ALL you need to start playing and exploring D&D...... Yes you can go out and buy minis, battle mats, expensive dice sets, scenery and extra bits & bobs, but for starting out and getting the basics down you need none of that.
Hope you didn't give the impression we were pushing people to spend money. Because we agree with you people that don't have to spend anything to get the full D&D experience. We even mentioned it a few times :)
I used to print handouts, cheat sheets for my players, spell cards, cards for magic items, I even 3d print them props… but they never use any of those.
DM screens aren't just for fudging dice rolls. It is for placing all the information you don't want your players to know behind. It hides your notes, your battle tracking information (monster health and stats and such). Also, just because the screen is there doesn't mean you need to make all rolls behind it. There are also times that you roll for the outcome of something (stealth, for example) that you might not want the players to know the result of until later, not to be able to fudge the roll.
Not a criticism, just another perspective :)
Agreed!
I've made a rule of never fudging dice for fairness sake, I'm known for not fudging my dice in our group which is funny cuz no one even fudges tbh haha. What I do as a DM is justify why the circumstance may change, lets say the players are losing, options are they get captured, enemies get bored and flee, enemies have other reason (zombies or otherwise) and don't pursue if things get hairy for players, or simply the players might lose, give them options, ways out etc. Just communicating with players really helps. I kinda get the DM screen but I haven't used 1 in a while since we transitioned to roll20 cuz covid.
I have a TV tray with a cigar box on it where I would make those rolls such as a Find/Remove traps roll. All of my combat rolls are made where the results can be seen.
@@gaberael8724 I roll for Find traps, I let them roll the Unlocks and Removes because you know if you got those, But you cant be sure you found traps.
I love when people say "we played for awhile... 4 years" and knowing that new people keep coming into this hobby.
Also, on your paper/device player sheets: I have noticed that people that have the programs assist them with their character, means they themselves understand them less
@@greystorm9974 Agreed, But I do keep premades for new players who randomly join so they dont have to sit and wait to make them, But they are Folders, has character sheet, all the info on any Skills, Spells, and items they have, as well as blank paper to write on for notes, later if they wish to return and would rather play another ill set a time to help them make one.
Here's a rule of thumb: "if you needed to "fudge the dice", then you didn't need to roll the dice". If the dice don't change the outcome, it's obviously a crucial part of the story.
A closed roll's purpose is to cause the "oh no, what's happening?!?!" feeling. Just roll closed dice randomly every once in a while, then pause, and announce something random, like: "the DM suffers of severe malnutrician and demands snacks for his efforts"
Don't pay for minis, gummybears will work (the slain get eaten). Don't buy $2 copper coins, if you can just as easily use pennies (or write it down). Battlemats are not crucial, they just help with distancing and formation.
You need $4 worth of dice and 3 (rather expensive) books. Everything else is just "nice to have".
When I started as a teenager, many many years ago, our friend got the core 3 books and a set of odd dice for his birthday, and we all started like that, buying our things along the way. I took years before we all had our own dice.
What is a really must have item, is a wild imagination! You get +2 on enjoyment if everybody has a sense of humour too
I like the advice and I agree with most of it but if you are playing D&D 5e then DnDbeyond is a worthy option. The more players using the DnDBeyond Initiative Tracker the less the DM needs to do. It puts all the rolls in order with the Enemies too and only those rolling manually have to be handled manually by the DM. I agree with laptops running out of power unless plugged in, but screen shutting off helps. Same with tablets which are even faster. It's just a non-issue with speed getting into your character and let's be honest here. The player that's supposed to go next needs to be ready with their intended action unless something changed moments ago on the battlefield. Also players forgetting their character sheet is a problem, while with a smartphone and DNBeyond you are never leaving your character home and can even look at it anytime they want to think about their PC in-between sessions.
As for the DMs screen, I agree BUT I do not agree with the statement that if you are hing your rolls you're doing it wrong. This is very wrong. I dont want the thief to know that she failed her detect traps roll. Failed to open doors check on a door too. I dont want them to make a failed roll then have another player attempt. In reallife does somebody slamming a door know they didn't do it well enough? Not likely. Maybe the door can't be opened by someone in the party, yet they spend an hour trying to make it open maing a lot of noise. There are other scenarios that fall under this. How about deception skill roll versus insight. Do you want your players to KNOW that they defeated their roll or failed? It doesn't make sense if they do. The point is there are scenarios in which the DM wants to hide a roll, but it should probably be done sparingly.
I'm not saying do the above but it shouldn't be dismissed either.
As a DM with far more years than 99.9% of the people the reason I use the screen if for a few reasons and this is not a set order. When you attack and "describe the attack" the players do not know if the creature hit or misses. A creature coming close in combat can be interesting and is way better than it misses. You can keep upcoming minis and handouts hidden. It helps to keep your notes hidden from players eyes. It makes it more mysterious and you can roll the dice just to scare the players. I understand and could DM without screens. I have DMed a ton without minis. But that was when I was young.
Yeah, my current DM keeps his minis behind the screen until they show up in battle. heh I'm fine with a screen... and have been in more games with them than not, but playing without one is just fine too if that is best with your play style. :-)
I do use my Laptop as my Screen and it litterally has a DM screen image on it if needed, But I like Digital because I can have every Map, Image of NPC/Enemy, Tavern, Dungeon Sounds for Ambience, Plus all my Quests info, and I dm a 4hr game every Sunday for 7 Players, and I agree I do like having my Handouts (I do keep notebook as well for ideas and Quick Notes as well).
As a DM/Player myself, I tend to only use miniatures for the PCs. Everyone else is a numbered token or printed/cut out picture. By doing that it makes it very easy to see all the Player Characters (as they are the only miniatures on the table) which tends to lower the amount of brain-drain on my Players.
I forgot to add this. Use of music is amazing for DnD.
1. The strictly paper rule is not at all accurate imo. We have gone the other way in our group. It is sooo much simpler to keep track of everything through dndbeyond. It helps a lot and we use it for everything except for note taking.and it is the best thing we’ve done!
2. I don’t hide dice rolls for my players because i need to cheat. I do it because some rolls need to be hidden to not give the players too much information. My recommendation. Make a small DM screen using two small photo frames. Put some nice to have information like passive perception and so on of the characters on one side and print some great art and put it in the frames pointing to the players. That makes them get a feel for the game and it feels really immersive. As a DM you can even change art between sessions and use artwork that correspond to the location the PCs are in.
I do it all , I don't do enough props except player maps, and I have never done coins, but I am addicted to buying minis and scatter terrain, I have 10 billy bookcases filled. I enjoy setting up lots of scenes or separate rooms on the table and it gets the players excited that they might do an encounter in some on the rooms or areas
Note/Map/Wanted Poster handouts is a easy done, you can print on white and use Tea or coffee to stain or print on pre Color distressed paper you can buy, Great for quest starters, etc. You found a Letter, it leads you to where someone they were after is Hiding in a Cave ... yuou find a Map, X Marks the Spot (But to what ... Treasure or is it just a trap) ... your in a Tavern talking to a guy about a Missing person they wish you to find, and you see a face at the bar you think you have seen before (Yes a few weeks back a wanted poster, make the face easy to describe in the bar)
Great video! I actually keep a DM screen on a side table to hide certain surprise minis :) It's also handy to have some of the quick info nearby. Once in a while I will roll a dice or two behind it, but not tell my players what it was for, just to keep them on their toes.
Sounds like your a fun dm!
That's a good idea. I'm hard on screens in the video, but there are lots of good reasons to have one. I just think people should decide if they like using one before spending a lot of money on a really cool one.
If you have enough dice, you can even use them as minis. the bigger creatures will get a higher die such as a d20 and the smaller ones will get d4 or d6.
Have enough dice? You can never have enough dice.
At 21:10 we an see the Risk: Lord of the Rings minis! We've done the same thing at our table!
15:30 if you give the "decision" and make a role with dice or a random event deck whatever you own it to yourself to go with it never fudge a dice. If you relay want to dice something for the story tell you players ""there will be no role" and tell what happens. Own your decisions and your roles :D (I also don't use DM screen)
If you are beginner DM here are some things i recommend to be a better DM: 1 plan for quest and some NPC prepared and done that will guide the player to the quest (give them reasons to do it). Give the players the illusion they have choice, give them chooses but play so most things they chose will end up doing the quest anyway. Have prepare tavern map +NPC and arena fight. Tavern because every city or village has one (you can use the same map over and over again). Why an arena, if the game gets stuck in the cityt is fun to bring up a safe aria where the PC-scan do fight, character stats of NPCs for arena is grate to improvise stats. Have a Tarot deck needs some randomness to trow up the game or you are frozen what to do draw a card if you hate it yo u will know immediately what to do, its its to evil you can blame it n the deck and its the PC-s problem now :D. A random deck you can associate with personality is awesome also to generate NPC personality on the fly :D. Pro tip don't let the players ever have the "Deck of many things".
I love having my dm screen, I especially like the focus it gives you (not meaning I always wanna be in focus) but it sets you apart, because as a dm, you are a player, but you are in a weird way set apart in a fitting way for the role of dm. I also like to hide the minis behind it, so they dont just see what they will come up against. But also, I have the exact problem with reaching over to the map, but I just walk around the table sometimes, but I see the problem! I just think the advantages outweigh the problems, but then again, that is very up to every player for themselves :)
That was a great, funny video. I've been playing DnD off and on for 20+ years. I have the mat, use props, use minis but I use them for involved combat only, like against the boss or if there's a large volume of enemies. There's combat that i don't use minis at all so a combo of mini vs no minis for me and I'm not a mini guy. No collection for me, but in awe of some of the ones I've seen over the years. Love paper minis. I do use the DM screen and always have tho. As I've improved my Dming over the years, it's a great tool to build suspense when players see you roll and they look in anticipation for me to do something. But I think mostly, for me, it's something that I reference for rules and notes. I've customized screens for my adventures with needed rules and story info. Strongly agree with you on paper character sheets. I'm prolly 25% digital when running/playing DnD. I'm doing Strahd right now at my FLGS and use the book only as a foundation and use other material to build the world.
What do you use to organize your games for notes, NPC's and world building? I really like Microsoft One Note. User friendly and flows well.
Your channel's great!
I use WorldAnvil.com to organize my world at a macro scale. (www.worldanvil.com/w/irth-danricc if you promise not to judge too harshly). But the only time I really use that site during a session is to pull up a map on occasion. You can add overlays and links on top of maps so the players can click on a town/place of interest and pull up information on it. Mostly what I use to write sessions is just MS Word. I hadn't thought about using One Note. I've used that in the past for other things, but I find I need a simple somewhat constraining program otherwise I get distracted with formatting and other nonsense... lol. I do have a couple excel spreadsheets I use to tally season encounters and the like, but nothing fancy. I could share those but I never really intended them to be used by anyone other than myself so they're not exactly polished.
Though I've only been playing for 3 years I think I've found a system that suits me and my players (at least in our chosen medium for now). I use microsoft excel, discord, roll20. Excel for making character references/area of interest cards (images and text organised then snipped), discord for summaries of sessions/those cards I made previously in excel/other snippets of info organised by text chat and roll20 for combat only really, though it is a good place to gain players attention through a world map with tokens designating where people/places are. Its been working great so far as everything worldbuilding is centralised in the discord chat as of right now, handy for online sessions (people reference it before/during sessions), though I might want to reconsider if I go back to sessions irl or create a far more complex world (only session 9 of current session though we've covered a lot of story/worldbuilding so far).
I'm probably gonna use world anvil or some personalised one note app in the future (I'm learning to code due to engineering so might take a stab at making a more personalised app). Any recommendations as far as worldbuilding goes though? I tend to seed it every so often but focus on the story that I've developed moreso. Just asking since my DM style is so different to my friends (I'm always trying to improve, I've gotten really good reviews from players but still want to progress, always on the grind).
i don't use 3D minis... i use Tokens. Print a image from the internet, glue it on a round wood piece, put a epoxi sticker on it and BAM enough :-) and also WAY more easier to store also a DM Screen for me is just a "important stuff is written on the back so i can see it" and it should be landscape so i'tm not "cut of" from the players. I do roll behind the screen when i roll opposed checks or so but combat wise WILL be rolled open
22:50 also you want to set you dice on the table with the highest number up because it charges them up :D god i have so many dice :D (also I did buy a fancy set and they role so far grate :D) also you guys gave good advice's :D
I love the dm screen tip I’ve been looking at them for a while and can’t bring myself to spending $40 for one but I didn’t even think abt the fact of it getting in the way. Thanks so much now I realize I don’t need it😂😂
You need a pencil
Paper
Dice
Imagination
Accessories are fun
Not NEEDS
I still LIKED the video
YA in terms of needs, those are the bare minimum and honestly perfectly good by themselves.
I'd say in terms of basic wants though I will say showing reference photos/battlemaps is a godsend in helping give players an idea as to what's happening, on top of vivid description. Helps a lot with speeding up the understanding of what is around the players/transitions from scene to scene, allows a lot more information to be conveyed etc.
My experience is that coins make good props to throw on the table but that once the players put them on the sheets they disappear.
Dice trays and paper minis are great…. But these days I use a VTT for maps and monsters and my player have their own minis when playing at the table
2:42 here is my recommendation Descent is a grate board game and it has bunch of stuff you can use to upgrade your game like puzzle like small boards that with together:D and bunch of miniatures, also its a grate game.
We always play with DM screens, mainly to hide maps and to have handy charts easy to view... but I also don't play with minis at all in the games I run; I only do theater of the mind. I've tried doing battles with minis over the years, but I don't honestly prefer it. I have a huge collection of painted minis and BattleMats and all that to prove it. lol In the current game I am playing in as a player, our DM adores minis and has literally THOUSANDS that he and his wife painted. lol (He also plays Warhammer) Needless to say, in that game, we always use minis... in fact, we use my huge BattleMat too. ;-) Personally, I prefer not playing with minis, but I am very happy playing with them if the DM is using them. :-) I'm flexible enough. lol Oh... I should also point out that we play old-school D&D, so maybe that matters? Dunno. Our D&D is basically a mix of B/X and AD&D 1e... with some 5e things we like mixed in. heh Been playing with the same group since the 80s, so I guess we are stuck in our ways. lol ;-)
I appreciate your thoughts and comments. They work for you so you cannot be wrong. I do know this video is two years old, however, I respectfully disagree with some of the items. A) I love using DnD Beyond as a DM and as a player. It keeps everything in order. Also gives easy access to info. B) DM screen for me is used for holding easy access notes, as opposed to flipping through binder. It keeps monster health secret as well. I do not use it for dice.
Minis - I use monster tokens (i print out the pictures of the monsters) i do not spend money on minis just on the paper/ink to print out tokens.
SHOTS!!!
AWESOME PROP
THIS MIGHT BE MY NEW FAVORITE CHANNEL
I would also suggest Pathfinder Pawns and the D&D resurrected tiles Dungeon,city,wilderness helps spice up the grid map and speeds thing up a little so you don't have to draw everything
Really cool video. You two seem to enjoy rpgs in a likeable manner. I agree with so many of these and really liked the hand crafted weapons and equipment, will try those out. I also like a notebook for every player for taking notes :)
thank you so much Keks:)
Legally blind, so can't use the typical DM screen except as a physical barrier and … I don't want that. I DO use a small/low screen (HeroQuest's for quite a long time), but only to conceal _my_ copy of the map and some stat blocks, that's all. Why have more?
Pens don't give me great contrast in all lighting, so I like to use bits of scatter to define space on a "stage" (Professor Dan's Ultimate Dungeon Terrain "dungeon pizza", except mine's not a circle), it's still a bit abstract but the scatter gives players a sense of changes in elevation and cover/concealment as well as being something that can be quickly dropped into place when an encounter starts and brushed away when it ends.
I use numbered large print cards with my map, the front side is a few keywords to help me describe the space quickly in very large print, and the back is still large but is meant to be held up away from the players so I can read it-secrets, encounter specifics, etc not for players to see. Likewise cards with monster stat block cards and a few laminated tables I can't or won't just memoorize but do need at the table.
It's not the most portable/minimal setup in the world, but it's pretty portable and very lightweight. Players often have their mini, but everything else is typically a pawn or token, and the scatter is mostly foams and corks and the occasional washer or screw to make sure it doesn't blow away.
@15:30 "You Tell EM!" Way to support your man! LOL!
I just discovered your channel while looking for DIY initiative trackers. Subscribing now because I love your attitudes. Will be running my first mini-campaign in 3 weeks or so, so the advice on what not to buy is timely and fantastic. Bulk of the party is either folks who have no idea of what the funny dice are for and those who have been out of the game for decades( like me).
I hope you're still looking at comments after 3 years because I just have to know. Was that a Warhammer Goblin Shaman I saw.??😊
Thanks for you kind words! We never got into Warhammer. I think the one you're referring to is a goblin from the Journey Through Middle Earth board game.
@@onepipwonder915 It looked so much like the fig i painted long, long ago that i had to ask. Keep up the great work.
Man your D&D campaigns sound fun. I would love to find a group like you guys near us.
Hey you never know where you'll meet the right people for dnd. I recommend being open to all possibilities. We tried indoctrinating our friends but it did not stick. Our hard core group is made up of my cousin, his wife and a mutual friend from my old church. We would not be as close as we are except for dnd😉 it forms strong bonds.
A tip : watch movies at Kaldrostream. Been using them for watching a lot of movies recently.
@Brett Francisco Yup, I've been watching on kaldrostream for since december myself :D
Awesome video! Thank you for this content!!! Love the pickles, clear sleeves, and affirmations on the need for MORE DICE... 💜 Thank you guys! I’m feeling something stirring... is that..? My.. imagination...? I wasn’t sure if I still had it! Just did my first session last night, it’s so much fun!
thats awesome!
I got a bunch of Pokémon minis from a kid's party I was attending with my younger cousin. I don't regret just taking fistfuls of them. The parents hosting were cool with it anyway and so was the birthday kid. 😇
I have excess of standby now and that's not even my own I've kept from childhood. 👾
There are so many board games with lots of minis that make collecting some super cheap :D
Bingo Chips work well for enemy tokens I think too, because you can write on them....
Fudging dice rolls is absolutely warranted and good policy. A single unlucky die roll that prevents the success of the party or kills a character is in no way fun nor does it advance the story. Sometimes it is necessary.
this is true.. always go with your instincts, the DM usually knows best :)
I agree that fudging dice rolls should be used for fun. I once had a level 1 character straight up killed by the first hit (critical) in the first combat, in the first hour of the first session of a campaign. If I was the player I would have been upset that I spent more time making the character than playing them, and basically had two social encounters then died. I think I was rolling openly, but I told the player that the character was not dead, just out of combat, and then we kept going and I made sure to level them up quickly.
Similarly, I have also started to hear more people give the final blow to the most dramatic/satisfying character. I tried it as a DM and really liked it. Like, did the enemy almost kill your character 3 times and then you land a great hit that gets it to 2hp? Yeah, I"m going to give the kill to you, that is way more satisfying for everyone than letting the next PC kill it with a basic attack.
The DM screen is inside the surprise zone. Everything outside the screen is in the surprise zone.
You guys are fun! Thanks for the tips!!
Use lego men?
Metal coins would work for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay because you'll almost never find a treasure hoard. If you do, and your GM has you properly indoctrinated into WFRP style, you will be too paranoid to take any of it. :)
I like a dm screen to help keep my notes secret, it is too easy for a player sitting close to glace and your papers and to me that breaks immersion if they see how many hit points a monster has, also I have the players roll in my dice towers connected to my screen, for rolls their character wouldn't know.
The summary at the end was great! What was that music at the end? Videogame?
use dice for health it works great
Great Video!
Check your local dollar tree. FULL SET of 7 dice for $1
thats great
He’s pretty sad about the coins 😂
lol i know. its too bad.
DM hiding Dice rolls, I roll for Rogues checking for traps, because they think they checked good enough but did they, I do let them roll for unlocking because you would know if the door unlocked or not, but the DM job is a Narrator of a great story and if fudging a dice roll to make a Fight more epic is fine as long as you're not doing it to just kill a player, Ive lowered attack damage a few times, to put a player at 0 and not well below it, allowing players to stabilize them and they get a chance to live. It is all up to the DM, long as his players are smiling, then he is doing his job, it's not his job to send lv1 goblins against a 7th-level party, oh you slaughtered them, here is 10000xp each, if it is challenging it isn't fun. ... OH New Addition to my DM Bag, I carry a few Fighter, Mage, Cleric and Thief Premade Characters ... I quite often now get walk in Players, I've had games with a little as 5 Players and as many as 10, if they wish to return or play again they can keep the character or Roll up new ones for next time, but I don't have to stop a game to have a new player join.
thanks for the help
Do you have that condensed rule sheet where we can download it?
better late than never! Rules cheat sheet -drive.google.com/file/d/1btHSXKDuik3P3JDWq8HUhS8heN3z0681/view?usp=sharing
4 years is several years?
yeah.... lol but I get that four years is nothing to a lot of people.
the whole point of dnd is the math
Yep hundred percent
Don't waste your money..... On anything listed...... Paper, Pen/Pencil, 1 Dice set, Free copy of the Basic rules,/character sheets/cheat sheets (DnD Beyond), a simple story/quest/campaign, and some openminded friends...... That is ALL you need to start playing and exploring D&D...... Yes you can go out and buy minis, battle mats, expensive dice sets, scenery and extra bits & bobs, but for starting out and getting the basics down you need none of that.
Hope you didn't give the impression we were pushing people to spend money. Because we agree with you people that don't have to spend anything to get the full D&D experience. We even mentioned it a few times :)
Nah bro dead wrong with the dm screen
Why are her eyes watering?
I was choking on a chip lol
More experienced GMs don't fudge dice rolls. Just don't do it and your rolls will mean so much more to the players.