Pledge to today's sponsor, "Send in the Goblins," on Kickstarter… or I’ll send Slug over to ‘fix’ your plumbing. www.kickstarter.com/projects/twingoddessminis/send-in-the-goblins?ref=bmccnj
TPK, TPK, TPK... She even wrote a christmas carol about it! I believe she'd do it. No Scrolls of True Resurrection lying around, forgotten since 3.5, bit still usable.
Thats fun 🤭 i Play with 2 Sets and 2 big d20. 1 Set in a Happy color for good intentet rolls ans one in a evil color , that i do Not feeed so it rolls as evil as possible, for enemie rolls ans stuff. And the 2 big d20. One is blue the other Red. These i roll visible for players in Special situations. Like the red one if the hit would down a player or the blue one if the player get something nice.
I have a dm like that, and honestly, it's great! I love the impact of those moments. I know he has more dice 😂 it just feels really cool to know we're getting into something big
as a beginner DM, I have, - the basic DM screen from wotc - the AC and the passive perception of the players - a list of words to describe attacks so I don't repeat myself too much (which my players told me I was doing after the first two sessions) - my laptop to search for things I don't remember and stats block of ennemies - blank pieces of paper to write inportant stuffs or fights - a set of dies, only one, we're low levels so it's okay for now - a beer (important) and a small bowl for my part of aperitifs - a small note with "you can do it" written on it
@@GinnyDi It reminds me of PDM--always making those combat rolls in front of the players. It's a great policy on so many levels. Also, after 40 years of DMing--a minimalist approach to what is behind your DM screens is what I've found that works best, too. You're already keeping track of so much in one game session and doing a lot of on the fly decision making. The less visual clutter you're dealing with the better. As for your miniatures and your pile of shame--don't feel bad. I have well over 1000 unpainted miniatures in mine. Just a request, I'd love to see more of your painting in videos. The last one you did was fantastic. You don't have to be Lyla Mev or Sam Lenz or Ninjon or the many other fantastic youtubers out there who are out there. That can be really intimidating for some folks. It's cool to see how it's just fine to have well-painted tabletop ready figs--it doesn't have to be competition level.
😂😂 I can't believe I left that out! Though, to be fair, the only way to get your own Ginny Di is to pick up one of my adventures… it didn’t seem like practical advice! 😅
The Sword bit never gets old. Its become something I look forward to in your videos. "How will it get worked into this topic"...I loved the "There will be no survivors" affirmation
Always dropped by one of her characters to start (she's always carrying it, after all) and the stat block could differ based on the needs of the campaign, like finding the perfect video to help you with your next session.
This can be a cursed item, So players will not be able to get rid of it so easily, And when they explain it they'll end up saying: And this is why I'm always carrying a sword!
Knowing that even DM with such a huge audience replaces monsters with something like Funko-pop makes me feel so calm. Thank you for that info! Missing some expensive stuff often makes people stop their imagination.
My solution for my minifigures has always been Legos. Players can customize and enjoy it. I can use a variety of creatures and customize things for each session. Any to top it all off, I have a reason to buy all sorts of strange sets just for minifigs and creatures!
I DM for my 10 year-old and his friends, and we use LEGO minifigs. They are customizable and with his assortment we can make up all sorts of variety, and easy enough to snag one to stand in for a generic NPC, monster, summon, etc. I also use the green baseplates, trees, and some rando things for rocks. There is a LEGO D&D subreddit that has some pretty intense ideas, but I don't go that crazy. I also don't get too pedantic with distances, I'm DMing for kids, but it helps to give the relative distances and locations and that is good enough. Plus it is just fun.
Hey! I didn't realize anyone else did that! Me and my friends all use Lego for our characters. It's not a perfect solution (particularly for nonhumans), but when we've got two people who know a ridiculous number of minifig parts and 30-ish drawers of loose parts to search through, we make it work.
@@LadyBoldly and dont forget there's a QR code on the blind boxes that tells you whats in them! (because blind boxes can burn in hell alongside digital lootboxes)
Best program to track monster HP and imitative is boring old Excel spreadsheets. With a bit of cell function and formatting knowledge you can set up a great system. Bonus is you can prep at work and look like you are doing something really important for the company
High five, paid-to-make-campaign-stuff-at-work buddy! I've got an Excel book with different sheets for every major location my players might go to (with maps and notes), plus more with special encounters. The first sheet is an index with links to the sheets as well as links to websites I might need for quick reference. The office printer is also useful for printing out small battle maps.
was going to say the same thing. i put all creatures into a sheet and they have input box areas where any numbers i enter there, will subtract from their totals. Our character sheets are also excel based.
was just coming here to say this exact thing. i keep the statblocks somewhere else (digital or physical depending on time/monster) but i track hp on an excel sheet that has all the npc's for an encounter. saves me the time and effort of doing math because i can just type the most recent damage into a table and it subtracts from the total. add some automatic coloring to show
Not me looking at the custom screen site knowing FULL WELL I only play digitally with friends states away... but like MAYBE just a look. Awesome video, Ginny! Thanks for letting a newbie DM take a look behind the screen!
Haha, I feel you! 👀 You could just take a peek… you know, for inspiration (and definitely not to fall down the rabbit hole of wanting a full custom setup)
Have you tried Owlbear Rodeo for digital mapping in online games. I run one of my games online, and use Owlbear Rodeo. With free add ons it can track AC and HP, and you can hide these from the players.
My game is online theater of the mind style game so my "DM screen" is a Notepad file with the important story beats and encounters, an initiative list with momster HP. Keeping it minimal allows me to focus on the important things and keeps the ADHD at bay.
We used spare dice instead of plastic counters or minis. It was great, because you could say, "The D4s are goblins, the D6s are orks, and the D12 is a troll." and you can set them on different numbers to tell them apart if need be.
Dice, dice tray, laptop, binder with item cards and loot for the session, notepad & pen for initiative and scratch paper, a bundle of plastic tokens for DM inspiration, and a monocle.
I keep everything on my laptop. Notes, Stats, art, even dice. Nothing is printed except very important magic item's that the players may get during the session. (Oh, and I keep the DM screen upside down. Because its a Spelljammer screen and there is no "up" and "down" in space when outside of the hill sphere of a planet)
I'm old enough that GM screens were just flimsy cardboard things without any info on them. Then I spent years playing with a GM who was really into theater of the mind, and didn't believe in screens, maps, or minis (and his homebrew system supported that). Since I've been GM'ing myself, I like a screen with some info, and I'm starting to consider commissioning a hand-made one like yours, so thanks for the inspiration!
Behind my screen, I've got a beverage (or I'll lose my voice by the end of the session), monster hp on index cards, a summary page of my party's stats, as many dice as I might need to roll in session, and my laptop stand that has space for about 4 books under it. Minis, maps, and props are generally stashed somewhere close by, and my screen has a slot on top I use to track initiative.
good idea on that benny hill theme... i never thought i could use that for my grimdark setting... warhammer 40k... deep inside a derelict space hulk and yet somehow my players managed to make me use that song and it fitted the situation perfectly... the capacity of some players to turn anything, anywhere, into a benny hill sketch is amazing
The way I was THIS close to plan out a way to get my hands on a TV for the sake of the map part of the video just because of how cool it sounded, only to realise (fortunately in time) that I have only ran online D&D as a DM.. ever. Definitely an idea I will be keeping though
I usually don't use a screen anymore, because I find it muffles my voice or otherwise kinda gets in the way. But when I'm gaming out on the porch, usually I have a little dice box, a notebook and pen, the minimum number of books to run whatever I'm doing, and a cheap thin hardcover book that's not important to use as a hard surface to put the notebook on. Oh, and printouts of stuff that I never end up needing. I should stop doing that. I used to have a lot more stuff, but I think minimalism makes me less anxious.
This video has impeccable timing. I finally got a small group to DM for and I’ve been trying to find some pointers on what I should look into getting and using.
Being rickrolled at an angle of less than 29 degrees does not count as being rickrolled. If it were, just imagine the existential horror of 1980s dance floors!
I'm enjoying your videos. A good perspective and a healthy dose of humor added to the stack. For live role-playing: DM screen, pad of scratch paper, laptop with notes in OneNote (if you have access to MS Office, OneNote is a great Notebook. Links, expand/minimize note sections, tables, and such). Excel spreadsheet with a simple add/subtract function for tracking damage. Electronic dice (I'm old and got past the dice addiction long ago when the world was young, that and the random function is fine for a game). Source materials on the laptop JIC. Electronic role playing on Roll 20 base. Just the R20 interface on large monitor and hit point tracking spreadsheet on the other. And adult beverages and hummus as needed. I think you're doing a fine job of presenting the information in an entertaining manner without too much grand standing. Look forward to more videos.
i love your one-shot binder, especially the spell card pages! i usually have: - dice tray with a couple sets of dice - bluetooth speaker - tablet with buttons for music/ambient sounds/lighting scenes - printout of my session plan (if i have one lol) - binder of hand-drawn paper maps (i number them and keep them sorted so i can actually find them) - laptop with my campaign notes, combat tracking spreadsheet, and books/rules references - sometimes random cards or printouts for specific crunchy rules, depending on the system (gotta have the pathfinder 1e grappling flowchart lol) - pencil and index cards - box of paper minis
@sebastianevangelista4921 every woman should be strong enough to carry her emotional support human, lest she find herself in a Women of Weinsberg situation.
@@matthewkreps3352 Oh good, then we're already prepared. My girlfriend tested out if she could pick me up and could. In fact it turned out to be actually useful that time she was taking care of me after a minor surgery and I nearly fainted. :P So yeah, it's a useful thing to be able to do!
The advert goblin fits so perfectly it feels like they were made for it
3 месяца назад+7
There's a certain set of online _tools_ for _5e_ that is absolutely amazing for running the game even if you don't use it for activities that ought to need an eyepatch and a shoulder parrot. The customizable DM screen module is particularly amazing: the initiative tracker tracks monster HP, conditions, etc..., rolls initiative and HP for the monsters if you want it to, you can set it to show AC and PP too, set up a default party, pre-set encounters, shows the monsters' statblocks when you hover over their names... frankly it's so good it could be sold as a separate product, but it's completely free.
@@bargik If you google "tools for 5e" it should show up. If that doesn't work, try "5e tools." You might also consider putting a period between the second set of search terms.
Although my setup has changed over the years, I generally don't use a DM screen unless I have printed a lot of materials that I'll need to lay out and organize. My usual set up is: - A stack of dry erase markers for notes and drawing maps and battle areas on a glass tabletop that has a hex pattern. (If I'm travelling, I use a folding battle mat.) - A small whiteboard(for tracking event timers/monster hit points.) - A dice tray with four or five sets of dice (I roll in front of my players unless it is something that would tip them of to something happening then I use browser-based dice.) - A few cases of miniatures. - Colored mini clothespins with player's names on them for initiative (they clip to the top of my laptop.) - Small, colored binder clips for monster initiative (also clipped to the top of my laptop.) - A party tracking sheet with character stats, skills and abilities listed. - My Laptop which I use for most stat blocks, campaign and adventure notes, PDF Resource books, and occasional die rolling tool, as well as audio. - A small Bluetooth speaker for the background music and ambient sounds as well as the occasional voice recording. - Any handouts/artifacts that I may have for the session (which usually stay in my canvas picnic basket that I transport everything in.)
Just when I think you can't top my favourite video you make another one I love! Seriously, loved the first reveal! The magic 8 ball and the monster sports drinks were a nice touch. The screen you and your dad made was very cool! Keep up the great work.
Thank you for the video, I always love all your stuff! As a new DM who is trying super hard to be organized when I am not an organized person, it's so interesting to see what you as a veteran DM have behind your screen! For combat tracking, I've found improved initiative to be perfect for me. I do a lot of homebrew monsters and it not only covers initiative order, abilities, spells and conditions etc but also allows me to create the monsters right in their very intuitive software without having to use other stat block creators.
I picked up Scrivener to help with my fiction writing and quickly realised it was also perfect for organising roleplaying campaigns. It was great for creating file structures for organising all the different notes from mission ideas, NPC descriptions and world building notes.
Welcome to the in-person digital map club! I use a 65 inch tv built into my game table and use a program called Arkenforge for maps and sound effects. FYI, if your players like bows, get a big screen, they'll love you forever!
I can type just fast enough to usually keep up with transcribing conversations verbatim, so long as I'm not involved. Obsidian lets me easily hotlink keywords on the go, or go back and update them. I can't even count the number of times I've been able to search my entire backlog of notes for one very specific detail someone couldn't remember from 15 sessions ago. Pen and paper never had a chance! It does get points for vibes, though. If I was playing in-person and technology wasn't allowed, I'd definitely use a spiral-bound notebook and treasure its weathered pages.
Thank you, I appreciate thevpeek behind the curtanin. It was surprisingly normal. I was not expecting scandalous, just more higher end stuff. Everything is attainable/ you can make what you have work. I am planing out my first campaign. Watching this video, definitly took some pressure off.
I make A8 notecards for all of the items I give my players, it really helps them keep a smaller table footprint and every characters items can be easily traded with others without having to erase things from their character sheet. I also use physical coins which is an investment for sure but it is a lot of fun to dump a handful of coins and item cards on the table and watch the players figure out how to divide the loot. I no longer need to remind players to deduct gold when buying things and it saves the character sheets from getting the classic eraser holes.
Truly the mark of an experienced DM's space: Notepad, dice, reference material (ie laptop/book). Never let anyone tell you you aren't doing it right, you've landed where the 20-30 year vets landed.
only one thought - 20+ year vets don't usually bring books. most of everything needed is either in their head or on a few index cards as reference notes. as a GM of 45+ years, I almost never bring source material or rulebooks to the session.
I have been looking into making my own DM screen so this is perfect. Also for minis, I use my bottle cap collection. my players like to choose the ones with dragons that I've found or their favorite sodas
@@maxschendell7630 I guess you can, a friend of mines wife told him he can not buy any more dice ... So he backed a kickstarter for an adventure, its not his fault they give free dice with it
I'm a clipboard DM. I can run our group's typical 3-4 hour session off of a page that's half notes and half scratch paper, and monsters stats on the page beneath. I usually keep any maps, props, and additional surprises in another room or something. No DM screen needed! Back when I DID use a screen, I found myself only using it for the status conditions. But if I ever do it again, maybe I'll reconsider!
Thank you very much, very comprehensible and amazingly well organized. I have a strong tendency towards paper, which is why I often write everything down (in widely varying degrees of detail). The downside is that my basement is overflowing with folders full of scribbled notes from my games as a GM and as a player in perfect, albeit chaotic, harmony. And that's despite the fact that I digitize a lot of things afterwards, but I still have space and I don't have a problem for that long. I'm right about that! When it comes to music, I prefer soundtracks for campaigns, as these are perfect for providing background and character music if you avoid familiar themes (The easiest way to lay wreckage to your storytelling is to play the „Raiders March“ and watch your players react.) And I prefer paper rulebooks because I tend to get lost in PDFs.
I absolutely love how easily you've justified your sword as a business expense. Great video! I really relate about having a laptop but generally using pen and paper where possible. I tend to print out all the statblocks and draw a little rectangle next to them to mark hitpoints, like an 'encounter sheet' instead of a character sheet. It takes a tiny bit more prep to print it, but it absolutely speeds things up for me at the table compared to typing the number changes. That said, modifying hitpoints constantly makes me yearn for a system that doesn't use it, but nearly every tactical system does involve hitting the bad guys... well, at least it's enjoyably analog!
Yay, the return of Mite! Good to see her getting a head... or three. Loved the look behind the screen, I've been working on my note taking so always good to see useful ideas.
Fun video! Gonna do as prompted at the end and describe my setup. I ended up getting one of those cloth dice bags with 9 compartments. Seven of them hold 40ish of each normal D&D die size and the other two hold 4 or 5 of each of the 7 additional DCC funky die sizes. My dice tray is a faux leather 11" hexagonal design, camel color, and I keep a yellow lined 4x6" sticky note pad for mostly inititative and HP tracking. I like the colored status rings with the condition written on them, so one box of those. A shoebox full of minis is usually on a nearby chair, rulebooks and monster cards/spell cards in another. No adventure books, but a smaller bag of random generation dice and some cards, like the Oracle Story Deck, combine with my psychotic mind to randomly create every aspect of my games. I actually don't use a screen but let everyone see my rolls if they want... I enjoy their reactions to them LOL.
Love your setup. Mine is a sketchbook with my notes and hand drawn (badly) maps, dry erase pens plus pencils, and blank index cards for a variety of things like status conditions, clues the players discover, monster toughness and parry scores for Deadlands that the players can reference,mini maps made up as needed, plus other uses… My handiest tools are those blank index cards now that I’ve thought about it.
2:56 I appreciate that you are finding the right blend of technology that serves your needs, rather than forcing yourself to use the shiniest tech no matter what. Bravo.
I'm so relieved to hear that you're not a phony dice goblin pretending to be obsessed over shiny math rocks. Also, if you ever want to do more "let me show you some more of my dice collection" videos, I will enjoy them unironically. Also, my Deck of Boons and Banes is supposed to arrive Friday, so yay! #GetGinnyToTheFeaturedTableAtB&N
I generally run everything from my laptop. I use a combat tracker (improved initiative), a note tracker (campaign logger), a custom calendar (donjon calendar), and word documents for campaign specific items and notes. I'm currently running a published adventure and I have taken to printing that out and clip binding it. This lets me make notes, highlight, etc. I generally let the computer do all the dice rolling, but I keep my dice available for non-planned things. I use a 2nd monitor pointed to the players for an initiative tracker. I make pogs from various art collections I've purchased over the years. The PCs (and certain NPCs) have actual miniatures, which helps differentiate the battlefield too. For capstone fights, I do get appropriate miniatures for the BBEG. I'd love to get a monitor/TV conversion for maps like you are using, but it isn't practical right now.
My Deck of Boons and Banes has shipped and will be here Friday!! My campaign is going into the last chapter the Siege of Kalaman and the party has 2 days before the enemy arrives. I plan on having Fizban and Ellywick Tumblestrum run into the party at different times before the big showdown and give them a boon from your deck. How exciting!!
Love the vid! I'd be interested in seeing one about what your session prep looks like (across the spectrum). I spend multiple hours each week preparing for my sessions (fully homebrewed campaign), and while I don't want to reduce the amount of work I put into the sessions, I would enjoy reducing the amount of time I put into them, its exhausting!
What's behind my DM screen? Info that I almost always realize is helpful RIGHT AFTER the session, because my anxiety during the session erases the idea of my notes from my memory. 😅
If I'll remember, I'll let you know after I've run my very first session in a couple of weeks (the 12th of november).. I'm planning on dice, a dicetray, laptop, notes, tea (good stuff) and something to munch upon. Cheers from the Netherlands!
Great video Ginny. You've embraced a lot more tech than I have. :-D My DM Screen is still an old school foldable cardboard with the combat rules. Behind my screen: -- two bags of dice (each about the size of a Crown Royal bag) -- pen and paper for quick notes -- combat stat sheet for tracking monster and character HP -- music player connected to bluetooth speakers -- my laptop handy for my extensive world and campaign notes -- a notebook with maps, special magic items, custom monsters, and NPC data and sketches -- the core rulebooks
Glad to know I'm not the only one who is not always optimally prepared in his campaign. My setup is a bit different. - no screen - laptop with obsidian where i keep track of everything in the campaign. - statblocks are also online - a dry wipe board where i can keep track of dynamic things like initiative. - lots of dice and a dice tray (i throw kinda in the open)
I've not been a DM for long, but I have been an online player for years. The more I experiment, the more I realize a good D&D tool needs: - to be minimal and intuitive, so you don't have to think about how it works during the game - to be flexible and hackable, so the tool adapts to your game and not the other way around - to mostly offer features that speed up the game and compensate your own weaknesses With that said, I present you my three favorite tools: - Raw text files and a good search utility - Spreadsheets to track monster stats and HP - Owlbear Rodeo :)
I love my TV screen; it really helps immerse the players. it's not a crutch, but ore of a tool. I built a new dining room table specifically for with adding a TV in mind. everyone loves it and so do I. Groovy video
I haven't run a table game in years. Most of the people in my games live far away, even in other states, so we use Roll20. I have 2 screens for my PC. One screen has Roll20, the other screen has D&D Beyond with a ton of tabs open for different monsters, spells, NPC's etc. I even keep tabs open for the PC's character sheets because I can often find things on their sheets faster than they can, plus it's easier to find passive stats that way.
Love the video Ginny! Actually I love all of them, but I don't often write comments. My setup behind the screen is very similar. My notebook, printed statblocks and a few sets of dice. I do have a small side table next to the table where I keep my books and the dice I don't seem to need (it's best to have them there just in case). The table I have came with a thick transparant plastic sheet and lies perfectly flat on it. I keep an empty A4 copy paper sheet between the table and the plastic so I can have a player write down initiative on the plastic above the sheet. The contrast of the dark wood and the white paper makes it visible for everyone and it's also easily erased. Keep the awesome video's coming, they're really informative and helpful! Even as an experienced DM, I often learn something or pick up some handy tip. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this. Oh, and you're also really funny 😁
Thank you so much! Love hearing that even a seasoned DM can find something useful (and maybe a laugh or two)! 😄 That initiative tracking hack with the plastic sheet is genius!
I've been playing and running games for about 20 years, and I stopped using a GM screen about 2 years ago. While I played DnD pretty much exclusively until the OGL Scandal, most of what I run today is in another system called Savage Worlds. It uses an exploding dice mechanic, so it's possible for something rolling 2d4 damage to end up dealing 25 damage. The occasional nat 20 coming up against the players is one thing, but when you roll the maximum on a die 5 times in a row, that feels like cheating if it's done behind the screen and it really builds tension for the players when done in their sight. As far as notes go, I used to keep my laptop out, but I have been increasingly relying on good old pen and paper. Important stuff can get digitized after the session. I keep my minis on a box beneath the table so that no one can see what's about to come out, but rolling everything in the open really does change the way things flow
I totally get the appeal of rolling in the open - it seems to create a different kind of tension. I might have to try it out. I actually have a friend who gets his players to roll their death saves privately and message him with the outcome. He said that also really ups the tension when characters go down during combat!
i love the idea of having a little laminated sheet and dry erase marker to quickly write initiatives of everyone pinned to the back of the screen. Sometimes remembering stuff like that can add another layer of being overwhelmed so anything I can do to help me focus and also enjoy myself is ideal
I use a clear 8.5x11 sleeve with a printed 0-30 initiative scale HP tracker in it. That clips inside my binder (on the left side) and I write the initiative on that with wet-erase markers; green for my PCs and red for enemies. I prefer the wet erase markers bc they don't rub off and make me lose track of everything, lol.
Great video! I used to use pencil and paper for HP as well, but these days I find a spreadsheet works best for me. I have a template saved with each party member and their AC in their own row. When I want to prepare for a combat, I just fill out rows for monsters with AC, HP, Attacks and any other abilities so it's all there for me to reference at once. When it's time to roll initiative I just fill in those values and I can sort by that column. Easy peasy.
I use a custom DM screen with removable inserts. I can change it based on the system I am running, or even group--some inserts are customized on reference tables best suited for my particular group, or just notes on current important quests, NPC's, or often referenced info on current dungeon or area.
Pledge to today's sponsor, "Send in the Goblins," on Kickstarter… or I’ll send Slug over to ‘fix’ your plumbing. www.kickstarter.com/projects/twingoddessminis/send-in-the-goblins?ref=bmccnj
⚔ P ! P ! P ! ⚔
Wait, how much blood is in a horse?
Are you wearing pants
Not all of the way
Did...did...did you just Rick Roll me?
I am both offended, and impressed.
Mental note: Write out affirmations reassuring me that there will be no survivors.
1:26 the third note really cracked me up 😂
TPK, TPK, TPK...
She even wrote a christmas carol about it!
I believe she'd do it. No Scrolls of True Resurrection lying around, forgotten since 3.5, bit still usable.
Yes! You are wearing pants! No need to glance down at all!
Eat your heart out André the Giant!! (Fezzik)
What's actually behind mine: flask of whisky, bottle of Tylenol, crying towel.
A crying towel. That's what's been missing all these years! Thanks!
your liver called - it's begging you to switch to ibuprofen 😅
You guys have a liver still??
@@evanbryant9196 My liver was transplanted from a troll in 1987.
(Still not chaotic evil.)
@@GinnyDi We would not be tasty to famous movie cannibals!
I only use 2 sets of dice so I can have the satisfaction of saying "can I borrow 8d10s real quick?" to my players when they're in a tough encounter
Thats fun 🤭 i Play with 2 Sets and 2 big d20. 1 Set in a Happy color for good intentet rolls ans one in a evil color , that i do Not feeed so it rolls as evil as possible, for enemie rolls ans stuff. And the 2 big d20. One is blue the other Red. These i roll visible for players in Special situations. Like the red one if the hit would down a player or the blue one if the player get something nice.
And that is the ultimate power move
That's mildly evil. I love it.
diabolical. i love it.
I have a dm like that, and honestly, it's great! I love the impact of those moments. I know he has more dice 😂 it just feels really cool to know we're getting into something big
i didn't even question the bucket of dice and i think that says more about me than anything else LMAO
One of us. One of us.
100%, that first glance totally checked out in my mind 😆
I personally get my dice straight from the tap every session instead of carrying around a bucket. Much more convenient
she showed us ONE bucket. what she didn't show us, is the 55 gal drum of dice that she filled the bucket from.
I don't have a problem I can stop any time I want
as a beginner DM, I have,
- the basic DM screen from wotc
- the AC and the passive perception of the players
- a list of words to describe attacks so I don't repeat myself too much (which my players told me I was doing after the first two sessions)
- my laptop to search for things I don't remember and stats block of ennemies
- blank pieces of paper to write inportant stuffs or fights
- a set of dies, only one, we're low levels so it's okay for now
- a beer (important) and a small bowl for my part of aperitifs
- a small note with "you can do it" written on it
descriptive word list is such a good idea!
I like the list of descriptive attacks! Is there a source you got them from or did you brainstorm them?
eh thank you !
@@cerrida82 I did it myself, I started with what I knew then I search synonyms and I quickly had 200 words arranged by type of weapons.
Could you explain the list of words to describe attacks?
I love the dice tower in the player side of the screen!
It's such a cool touch!
Came for the behind-the-scenes, stayed for the awesome DM screen.
I really have a dilemma between wanting to roll in front of the players while wanting to hide my notes, I could use that
The dice tower is brilliant! ^_^
@@GinnyDi It reminds me of PDM--always making those combat rolls in front of the players. It's a great policy on so many levels. Also, after 40 years of DMing--a minimalist approach to what is behind your DM screens is what I've found that works best, too. You're already keeping track of so much in one game session and doing a lot of on the fly decision making. The less visual clutter you're dealing with the better.
As for your miniatures and your pile of shame--don't feel bad. I have well over 1000 unpainted miniatures in mine. Just a request, I'd love to see more of your painting in videos. The last one you did was fantastic. You don't have to be Lyla Mev or Sam Lenz or Ninjon or the many other fantastic youtubers out there who are out there. That can be really intimidating for some folks. It's cool to see how it's just fine to have well-painted tabletop ready figs--it doesn't have to be competition level.
Me, I'm behind my DM screen. I find not doing this can cause confusion in the players as to who are the players and who is actually herding the cats.
This is great! :-) lol
😂😂 I can't believe I left that out! Though, to be fair, the only way to get your own Ginny Di is to pick up one of my adventures… it didn’t seem like practical advice! 😅
Herding cats... Priceless. xD
The Sword bit never gets old. Its become something I look forward to in your videos. "How will it get worked into this topic"...I loved the "There will be no survivors" affirmation
I had to put it in at the end to build the suspense this time 😂
Ginny's sword is the Repetition Legitimizes of the DnD world.
At this point we are all going to have to start throwing the "Sword of Ginny D" in our campaigns
Always dropped by one of her characters to start (she's always carrying it, after all) and the stat block could differ based on the needs of the campaign, like finding the perfect video to help you with your next session.
Dang, you know what, I might just do that! XD
the 'Ginny D' intelligent sword...
oh the conversations that could take place... the possibilities are endless!
It's only a matter of time before she upgrades to an Albion Principe--then we really have to look out.
This can be a cursed item, So players will not be able to get rid of it so easily, And when they explain it they'll end up saying: And this is why I'm always carrying a sword!
Knowing that even DM with such a huge audience replaces monsters with something like Funko-pop makes me feel so calm. Thank you for that info! Missing some expensive stuff often makes people stop their imagination.
My solution for my minifigures has always been Legos. Players can customize and enjoy it. I can use a variety of creatures and customize things for each session. Any to top it all off, I have a reason to buy all sorts of strange sets just for minifigs and creatures!
I DM for my 10 year-old and his friends, and we use LEGO minifigs. They are customizable and with his assortment we can make up all sorts of variety, and easy enough to snag one to stand in for a generic NPC, monster, summon, etc.
I also use the green baseplates, trees, and some rando things for rocks. There is a LEGO D&D subreddit that has some pretty intense ideas, but I don't go that crazy. I also don't get too pedantic with distances, I'm DMing for kids, but it helps to give the relative distances and locations and that is good enough. Plus it is just fun.
@@hello-timbo I totally forgot about the subreddit. It's been a long time, I need to go back
Hey! I didn't realize anyone else did that! Me and my friends all use Lego for our characters. It's not a perfect solution (particularly for nonhumans), but when we've got two people who know a ridiculous number of minifig parts and 30-ish drawers of loose parts to search through, we make it work.
Plus lego just released a series of dnd minifigs
@@LadyBoldly and dont forget there's a QR code on the blind boxes that tells you whats in them! (because blind boxes can burn in hell alongside digital lootboxes)
Best program to track monster HP and imitative is boring old Excel spreadsheets. With a bit of cell function and formatting knowledge you can set up a great system. Bonus is you can prep at work and look like you are doing something really important for the company
High five, paid-to-make-campaign-stuff-at-work buddy! I've got an Excel book with different sheets for every major location my players might go to (with maps and notes), plus more with special encounters. The first sheet is an index with links to the sheets as well as links to websites I might need for quick reference. The office printer is also useful for printing out small battle maps.
was going to say the same thing. i put all creatures into a sheet and they have input box areas where any numbers i enter there, will subtract from their totals. Our character sheets are also excel based.
was just coming here to say this exact thing. i keep the statblocks somewhere else (digital or physical depending on time/monster) but i track hp on an excel sheet that has all the npc's for an encounter. saves me the time and effort of doing math because i can just type the most recent damage into a table and it subtracts from the total. add some automatic coloring to show
Mathing made easy.
Plus you can program Excel to create all sorts of random numbers.
Not me looking at the custom screen site knowing FULL WELL I only play digitally with friends states away...
but like MAYBE just a look.
Awesome video, Ginny! Thanks for letting a newbie DM take a look behind the screen!
Haha, I feel you! 👀 You could just take a peek… you know, for inspiration (and definitely not to fall down the rabbit hole of wanting a full custom setup)
Have you tried Owlbear Rodeo for digital mapping in online games. I run one of my games online, and use Owlbear Rodeo. With free add ons it can track AC and HP, and you can hide these from the players.
My game is online theater of the mind style game so my "DM screen" is a Notepad file with the important story beats and encounters, an initiative list with momster HP. Keeping it minimal allows me to focus on the important things and keeps the ADHD at bay.
"Momster" 🤔✍
We used spare dice instead of plastic counters or minis. It was great, because you could say, "The D4s are goblins, the D6s are orks, and the D12 is a troll." and you can set them on different numbers to tell them apart if need be.
Bonus: you can even have the dice show their own initiative count! We did this with d6s for our PCs a while back and it honestly worked great
jup, we did it similarily back in the day. nowadays the players are living several 100km apart and we´re using Foundry :)
Good enough excuse for me to buy some dice 🤧
Dice, dice tray, laptop, binder with item cards and loot for the session, notepad & pen for initiative and scratch paper, a bundle of plastic tokens for DM inspiration, and a monocle.
Is the monocle prescription or just for *flair* ?
@@GinnyDi**Flair!** I gave each of my players one when they entered the over-the-top posh bullywug court in our campaign.
Spoilers: A horse typically has around 54.5 litres of blood
An equally good answer is: „Usually enough!“
also, the moment this piece of info suddenly matters to you, the horse in questions tends to have a different amount of blood
It’s that half that disturbs me.. like is 55 not a good enough estimate for a horse?
@@JohnR31415 The HORSE demands to have that .5 liter of blood.
Huh. You dont really think about horses having like 11 times as much blood as a person
I keep everything on my laptop.
Notes, Stats, art, even dice. Nothing is printed except very important magic item's that the players may get during the session.
(Oh, and I keep the DM screen upside down. Because its a Spelljammer screen and there is no "up" and "down" in space when outside of the hill sphere of a planet)
2:40 “I want to be the kind of person that is super organized.” I see you, fellow ADHDer. 👀
Your goblin boss cosplay fills me with immense joy, every time
Hmm I typically have two full bowls of cereal behind my screen. I'll have to try some of these options!
Have you ever tried to roll your dice in one of them? 😅
I adore the video screen for projection of maps. Just wow. I didn't even think this was possible. Inspired
oh there´s an entire universe of maps created specifically with that in mind and even programs/ vtts are supporting that by now.
WOW that DM screen ROCKS! Love the built-in dice roller!
Where are all the snacks any DM needs to function?
I have a second, larger table for the snacks and coffee 😂
@@GinnyDi *Cue Brennan's iconic rant*
I pretty much just have some tea and a handful of chocolate chips. XD
The bonus of running games online. Everyone supplies their own snacks.
I bring all of my DM work, for which my player pay with said snacks.
I'm old enough that GM screens were just flimsy cardboard things without any info on them. Then I spent years playing with a GM who was really into theater of the mind, and didn't believe in screens, maps, or minis (and his homebrew system supported that). Since I've been GM'ing myself, I like a screen with some info, and I'm starting to consider commissioning a hand-made one like yours, so thanks for the inspiration!
Behind my screen, I've got a beverage (or I'll lose my voice by the end of the session), monster hp on index cards, a summary page of my party's stats, as many dice as I might need to roll in session, and my laptop stand that has space for about 4 books under it. Minis, maps, and props are generally stashed somewhere close by, and my screen has a slot on top I use to track initiative.
Scratch paper, bag of dice, phone (smaller than a laptop) and whatever book today's monster is from
“And quickly google how mutch blood is in a horse”
I have never related to a statement I have never experienced as mutch as that
how... how much.... ?
According to google, 12.3 gallons.
@@davidparkes7741 Huh, I expected more.
Anyone who's every tried to DM or write a story has weird things in their google history
There is never the miniature you need, 100%! I have a tacklebox full and still always print more. Thanks for the fun video
good idea on that benny hill theme...
i never thought i could use that for my grimdark setting... warhammer 40k... deep inside a derelict space hulk
and yet somehow my players managed to make me use that song and it fitted the situation perfectly...
the capacity of some players to turn anything, anywhere, into a benny hill sketch is amazing
I had a party chasing a group of thieves in Lankhmar and I pulle dup the benny hill chase theme played it LoL
The way I was THIS close to plan out a way to get my hands on a TV for the sake of the map part of the video just because of how cool it sounded,
only to realise (fortunately in time) that I have only ran online D&D as a DM.. ever.
Definitely an idea I will be keeping though
I know it’s a small thing but I really appreciate the gnarly coloration around the goblin’s fingernails. Good attention to detail!
I usually don't use a screen anymore, because I find it muffles my voice or otherwise kinda gets in the way. But when I'm gaming out on the porch, usually I have a little dice box, a notebook and pen, the minimum number of books to run whatever I'm doing, and a cheap thin hardcover book that's not important to use as a hard surface to put the notebook on. Oh, and printouts of stuff that I never end up needing. I should stop doing that. I used to have a lot more stuff, but I think minimalism makes me less anxious.
This video has impeccable timing. I finally got a small group to DM for and I’ve been trying to find some pointers on what I should look into getting and using.
Ginny, did you just rickroll us?
I would deny it but... never gonna tell a lie 😂
@@GinnyDi *SLOW CLAP*
Being rickrolled at an angle of less than 29 degrees does not count as being rickrolled. If it were, just imagine the existential horror of 1980s dance floors!
@@RichWoods23 🤔
@@RichWoods23 Don't have to imagine it - I lived through them. Yes, I'm a fossil.
I'm enjoying your videos. A good perspective and a healthy dose of humor added to the stack.
For live role-playing: DM screen, pad of scratch paper, laptop with notes in OneNote (if you have access to MS Office, OneNote is a great Notebook. Links, expand/minimize note sections, tables, and such). Excel spreadsheet with a simple add/subtract function for tracking damage. Electronic dice (I'm old and got past the dice addiction long ago when the world was young, that and the random function is fine for a game). Source materials on the laptop JIC.
Electronic role playing on Roll 20 base. Just the R20 interface on large monitor and hit point tracking spreadsheet on the other. And adult beverages and hummus as needed.
I think you're doing a fine job of presenting the information in an entertaining manner without too much grand standing. Look forward to more videos.
When I saw you had so few dice for a second I thought you'd gone the Taylor's Tavern Tales route and EATEN THEM ALL
😂 My stomach can't handle that. CON is my dump stat
i love your one-shot binder, especially the spell card pages!
i usually have:
- dice tray with a couple sets of dice
- bluetooth speaker
- tablet with buttons for music/ambient sounds/lighting scenes
- printout of my session plan (if i have one lol)
- binder of hand-drawn paper maps (i number them and keep them sorted so i can actually find them)
- laptop with my campaign notes, combat tracking spreadsheet, and books/rules references
- sometimes random cards or printouts for specific crunchy rules, depending on the system (gotta have the pathfinder 1e grappling flowchart lol)
- pencil and index cards
- box of paper minis
It's a sword, isn't it?
that's why I always carry- awh man!
@@GinnyDi I initially read this as "carry a man" and wondered if you have the arm strength to lift your husband 😆.
@sebastianevangelista4921 every woman should be strong enough to carry her emotional support human, lest she find herself in a Women of Weinsberg situation.
@@matthewkreps3352 Oh good, then we're already prepared. My girlfriend tested out if she could pick me up and could.
In fact it turned out to be actually useful that time she was taking care of me after a minor surgery and I nearly fainted. :P So yeah, it's a useful thing to be able to do!
The advert goblin fits so perfectly it feels like they were made for it
There's a certain set of online _tools_ for _5e_ that is absolutely amazing for running the game even if you don't use it for activities that ought to need an eyepatch and a shoulder parrot. The customizable DM screen module is particularly amazing: the initiative tracker tracks monster HP, conditions, etc..., rolls initiative and HP for the monsters if you want it to, you can set it to show AC and PP too, set up a default party, pre-set encounters, shows the monsters' statblocks when you hover over their names... frankly it's so good it could be sold as a separate product, but it's completely free.
What's the name of this certain app.? Asking for a friend
Just google "5e tools"
@@bargik If you google "tools for 5e" it should show up. If that doesn't work, try "5e tools." You might also consider putting a period between the second set of search terms.
Yeah let us know
@@wowanothercookie 5e tools
Although my setup has changed over the years, I generally don't use a DM screen unless I have printed a lot of materials that I'll need to lay out and organize.
My usual set up is:
- A stack of dry erase markers for notes and drawing maps and battle areas on a glass tabletop that has a hex pattern. (If I'm travelling, I use a folding battle mat.)
- A small whiteboard(for tracking event timers/monster hit points.)
- A dice tray with four or five sets of dice (I roll in front of my players unless it is something that would tip them of to something happening then I use browser-based dice.)
- A few cases of miniatures.
- Colored mini clothespins with player's names on them for initiative (they clip to the top of my laptop.)
- Small, colored binder clips for monster initiative (also clipped to the top of my laptop.)
- A party tracking sheet with character stats, skills and abilities listed.
- My Laptop which I use for most stat blocks, campaign and adventure notes, PDF Resource books, and occasional die rolling tool, as well as audio.
- A small Bluetooth speaker for the background music and ambient sounds as well as the occasional voice recording.
- Any handouts/artifacts that I may have for the session (which usually stay in my canvas picnic basket that I transport everything in.)
I’ve tried so many HP trackers, and a google sheet still works best for me lol
Sometimes the simplest option is the best!
Just when I think you can't top my favourite video you make another one I love!
Seriously, loved the first reveal! The magic 8 ball and the monster sports drinks were a nice touch. The screen you and your dad made was very cool! Keep up the great work.
Thank you for the video, I always love all your stuff! As a new DM who is trying super hard to be organized when I am not an organized person, it's so interesting to see what you as a veteran DM have behind your screen!
For combat tracking, I've found improved initiative to be perfect for me. I do a lot of homebrew monsters and it not only covers initiative order, abilities, spells and conditions etc but also allows me to create the monsters right in their very intuitive software without having to use other stat block creators.
The real game changer! 5:08
I picked up Scrivener to help with my fiction writing and quickly realised it was also perfect for organising roleplaying campaigns. It was great for creating file structures for organising all the different notes from mission ideas, NPC descriptions and world building notes.
7:11 a woman of culture! Great choice of armament!
Amazing content, obviously, but I *also* continue to enjoy watching your ad reads which is another level of talent altogether hahaha
Welcome to the in-person digital map club! I use a 65 inch tv built into my game table and use a program called Arkenforge for maps and sound effects. FYI, if your players like bows, get a big screen, they'll love you forever!
Always incredible content. As a 15 year GM, I always come back for tips, tricks, and reassurances.
Your videos are always so helpful! Thank you fellow Coloradan (:
Thanks, neighbor!!
Very interesting, as always I love your skits and your thoughts on storytelling and creativity (and working with others)
You can't beat pen and papers for note taking.
At the end of every session I dictate into MS OneNote no more digging for notes on previous sessions all neatly organized for all 3 of my campaigns.
I can type just fast enough to usually keep up with transcribing conversations verbatim, so long as I'm not involved. Obsidian lets me easily hotlink keywords on the go, or go back and update them. I can't even count the number of times I've been able to search my entire backlog of notes for one very specific detail someone couldn't remember from 15 sessions ago.
Pen and paper never had a chance! It does get points for vibes, though. If I was playing in-person and technology wasn't allowed, I'd definitely use a spiral-bound notebook and treasure its weathered pages.
@@robertschriner5143 I put end of session notes on a Orange post it note right on the VTT map
Thank you, I appreciate thevpeek behind the curtanin. It was surprisingly normal. I was not expecting scandalous, just more higher end stuff. Everything is attainable/ you can make what you have work. I am planing out my first campaign. Watching this video, definitly took some pressure off.
I make A8 notecards for all of the items I give my players, it really helps them keep a smaller table footprint and every characters items can be easily traded with others without having to erase things from their character sheet. I also use physical coins which is an investment for sure but it is a lot of fun to dump a handful of coins and item cards on the table and watch the players figure out how to divide the loot. I no longer need to remind players to deduct gold when buying things and it saves the character sheets from getting the classic eraser holes.
Great video! The sword bit gets me every time. I hope you do that forever.
1:59 Same! I gave up on digital tools. I just use sticky notes to tab the MM and track hit points at the same time
The cat is usually behind our DM screen sitting in the DM's dice tray regardless of how he feels about it.
Truly the mark of an experienced DM's space: Notepad, dice, reference material (ie laptop/book).
Never let anyone tell you you aren't doing it right, you've landed where the 20-30 year vets landed.
only one thought - 20+ year vets don't usually bring books. most of everything needed is either in their head or on a few index cards as reference notes.
as a GM of 45+ years, I almost never bring source material or rulebooks to the session.
@@bruced648 next time I'll post a more exhaustive list of "reference material" to suit your specific scenario.
I have been looking into making my own DM screen so this is perfect.
Also for minis, I use my bottle cap collection. my players like to choose the ones with dragons that I've found or their favorite sodas
The answer: 52 Billion dice. Any more is excessive
99% of DM prep is counting your 52 Billion dice 😂
@@GinnyDi In the word of those two sharks from Finding Nemo.....INTERVENTION!!!!
That is about one complete D&D-style dice set per person on earth.
One can never have too many dice
@@maxschendell7630 I guess you can, a friend of mines wife told him he can not buy any more dice ... So he backed a kickstarter for an adventure, its not his fault they give free dice with it
Thanks for the peek behind the screen!
I am forwarding this to my daughter, a middle school librarian and sponsor of the D&D Club (21 members).
I'm a clipboard DM. I can run our group's typical 3-4 hour session off of a page that's half notes and half scratch paper, and monsters stats on the page beneath. I usually keep any maps, props, and additional surprises in another room or something. No DM screen needed!
Back when I DID use a screen, I found myself only using it for the status conditions. But if I ever do it again, maybe I'll reconsider!
DM rolls actually should be hidden, because there are times when you may need to fudge the numbers to prevent a TPK.
Thank you very much, very comprehensible and amazingly well organized. I have a strong tendency towards paper, which is why I often write everything down (in widely varying degrees of detail). The downside is that my basement is overflowing with folders full of scribbled notes from my games as a GM and as a player in perfect, albeit chaotic, harmony. And that's despite the fact that I digitize a lot of things afterwards, but I still have space and I don't have a problem for that long. I'm right about that!
When it comes to music, I prefer soundtracks for campaigns, as these are perfect for providing background and character music if you avoid familiar themes (The easiest way to lay wreckage to your storytelling is to play the „Raiders March“ and watch your players react.)
And I prefer paper rulebooks because I tend to get lost in PDFs.
0:30 bribes jar 😂😂 I think I am a too soft DM, I never got a bribe 🤔
For legal reasons, I too have *never* received a bribe 😂
@@GinnyDi 🤣🤣
The last bit about minimizing the amount of gimmicky stuff on my side of the screen seriously hit hard with how I’ve been progressing as well.
Those earrings 😍😍😍
Right?? 🥰 My favorite GenCon score
@@GinnyDi Dispel Dice, right? ;D
Yep! They're linked in the description 🥰
I absolutely love how easily you've justified your sword as a business expense. Great video! I really relate about having a laptop but generally using pen and paper where possible. I tend to print out all the statblocks and draw a little rectangle next to them to mark hitpoints, like an 'encounter sheet' instead of a character sheet. It takes a tiny bit more prep to print it, but it absolutely speeds things up for me at the table compared to typing the number changes. That said, modifying hitpoints constantly makes me yearn for a system that doesn't use it, but nearly every tactical system does involve hitting the bad guys... well, at least it's enjoyably analog!
Thank you so much. I am new, in being DM, and now I know, what is interesting (or what shoud I) to put on the screen. Again, thank you :)
Yay, the return of Mite! Good to see her getting a head... or three. Loved the look behind the screen, I've been working on my note taking so always good to see useful ideas.
Fun video! Gonna do as prompted at the end and describe my setup. I ended up getting one of those cloth dice bags with 9 compartments. Seven of them hold 40ish of each normal D&D die size and the other two hold 4 or 5 of each of the 7 additional DCC funky die sizes. My dice tray is a faux leather 11" hexagonal design, camel color, and I keep a yellow lined 4x6" sticky note pad for mostly inititative and HP tracking. I like the colored status rings with the condition written on them, so one box of those. A shoebox full of minis is usually on a nearby chair, rulebooks and monster cards/spell cards in another. No adventure books, but a smaller bag of random generation dice and some cards, like the Oracle Story Deck, combine with my psychotic mind to randomly create every aspect of my games. I actually don't use a screen but let everyone see my rolls if they want... I enjoy their reactions to them LOL.
Love your setup. Mine is a sketchbook with my notes and hand drawn (badly) maps, dry erase pens plus pencils, and blank index cards for a variety of things like status conditions, clues the players discover, monster toughness and parry scores for Deadlands that the players can reference,mini maps made up as needed, plus other uses…
My handiest tools are those blank index cards now that I’ve thought about it.
I am SO in love with that integrated dice tower! I thought it just had two chutes, but no! Had to go that extra mile with a friggin' switch!
2:56 I appreciate that you are finding the right blend of technology that serves your needs, rather than forcing yourself to use the shiniest tech no matter what. Bravo.
I’m starting my first campaign in a few weeks and your videos have been so incredibly helpful
I'm so relieved to hear that you're not a phony dice goblin pretending to be obsessed over shiny math rocks. Also, if you ever want to do more "let me show you some more of my dice collection" videos, I will enjoy them unironically. Also, my Deck of Boons and Banes is supposed to arrive Friday, so yay! #GetGinnyToTheFeaturedTableAtB&N
I wasn't sure about you and your channel...but...a single Benny Hill reference has solidifid all that. ❤🎉
I generally run everything from my laptop. I use a combat tracker (improved initiative), a note tracker (campaign logger), a custom calendar (donjon calendar), and word documents for campaign specific items and notes. I'm currently running a published adventure and I have taken to printing that out and clip binding it. This lets me make notes, highlight, etc. I generally let the computer do all the dice rolling, but I keep my dice available for non-planned things. I use a 2nd monitor pointed to the players for an initiative tracker. I make pogs from various art collections I've purchased over the years. The PCs (and certain NPCs) have actual miniatures, which helps differentiate the battlefield too. For capstone fights, I do get appropriate miniatures for the BBEG. I'd love to get a monitor/TV conversion for maps like you are using, but it isn't practical right now.
My Deck of Boons and Banes has shipped and will be here Friday!! My campaign is going into the last chapter the Siege of Kalaman and the party has 2 days before the enemy arrives. I plan on having Fizban and Ellywick Tumblestrum run into the party at different times before the big showdown and give them a boon from your deck. How exciting!!
Love the vid! I'd be interested in seeing one about what your session prep looks like (across the spectrum). I spend multiple hours each week preparing for my sessions (fully homebrewed campaign), and while I don't want to reduce the amount of work I put into the sessions, I would enjoy reducing the amount of time I put into them, its exhausting!
What's behind my DM screen? Info that I almost always realize is helpful RIGHT AFTER the session, because my anxiety during the session erases the idea of my notes from my memory. 😅
More and more the Goblin character is giving Ferengi and I'm here for it.
If I'll remember, I'll let you know after I've run my very first session in a couple of weeks (the 12th of november)..
I'm planning on dice, a dicetray, laptop, notes, tea (good stuff) and something to munch upon.
Cheers from the Netherlands!
Great video Ginny. You've embraced a lot more tech than I have. :-D
My DM Screen is still an old school foldable cardboard with the combat rules. Behind my screen:
-- two bags of dice (each about the size of a Crown Royal bag)
-- pen and paper for quick notes
-- combat stat sheet for tracking monster and character HP
-- music player connected to bluetooth speakers
-- my laptop handy for my extensive world and campaign notes
-- a notebook with maps, special magic items, custom monsters, and NPC data and sketches
-- the core rulebooks
Glad to know I'm not the only one who is not always optimally prepared in his campaign.
My setup is a bit different.
- no screen
- laptop with obsidian where i keep track of everything in the campaign.
- statblocks are also online
- a dry wipe board where i can keep track of dynamic things like initiative.
- lots of dice and a dice tray (i throw kinda in the open)
I've not been a DM for long, but I have been an online player for years. The more I experiment, the more I realize a good D&D tool needs:
- to be minimal and intuitive, so you don't have to think about how it works during the game
- to be flexible and hackable, so the tool adapts to your game and not the other way around
- to mostly offer features that speed up the game and compensate your own weaknesses
With that said, I present you my three favorite tools:
- Raw text files and a good search utility
- Spreadsheets to track monster stats and HP
- Owlbear Rodeo :)
Ginny I dont Know why but your Goblin voice is so damn good I absolutely love it
I love my TV screen; it really helps immerse the players. it's not a crutch, but ore of a tool. I built a new dining room table specifically for with adding a TV in mind. everyone loves it and so do I. Groovy video
Wait, did my favorite D&D RUclipsr just Rickroll me? 😆 I love the bucket of dice!! As a fellow dice goblin myself that was just awesome.
I haven't run a table game in years. Most of the people in my games live far away, even in other states, so we use Roll20. I have 2 screens for my PC. One screen has Roll20, the other screen has D&D Beyond with a ton of tabs open for different monsters, spells, NPC's etc. I even keep tabs open for the PC's character sheets because I can often find things on their sheets faster than they can, plus it's easier to find passive stats that way.
Hi, Mr Di. You raised a really good DM!
Love the video Ginny! Actually I love all of them, but I don't often write comments. My setup behind the screen is very similar. My notebook, printed statblocks and a few sets of dice. I do have a small side table next to the table where I keep my books and the dice I don't seem to need (it's best to have them there just in case).
The table I have came with a thick transparant plastic sheet and lies perfectly flat on it. I keep an empty A4 copy paper sheet between the table and the plastic so I can have a player write down initiative on the plastic above the sheet. The contrast of the dark wood and the white paper makes it visible for everyone and it's also easily erased.
Keep the awesome video's coming, they're really informative and helpful! Even as an experienced DM, I often learn something or pick up some handy tip. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this. Oh, and you're also really funny 😁
Thank you so much! Love hearing that even a seasoned DM can find something useful (and maybe a laugh or two)! 😄
That initiative tracking hack with the plastic sheet is genius!
I've been playing and running games for about 20 years, and I stopped using a GM screen about 2 years ago. While I played DnD pretty much exclusively until the OGL Scandal, most of what I run today is in another system called Savage Worlds. It uses an exploding dice mechanic, so it's possible for something rolling 2d4 damage to end up dealing 25 damage. The occasional nat 20 coming up against the players is one thing, but when you roll the maximum on a die 5 times in a row, that feels like cheating if it's done behind the screen and it really builds tension for the players when done in their sight. As far as notes go, I used to keep my laptop out, but I have been increasingly relying on good old pen and paper. Important stuff can get digitized after the session. I keep my minis on a box beneath the table so that no one can see what's about to come out, but rolling everything in the open really does change the way things flow
I totally get the appeal of rolling in the open - it seems to create a different kind of tension. I might have to try it out.
I actually have a friend who gets his players to roll their death saves privately and message him with the outcome. He said that also really ups the tension when characters go down during combat!
so truuueeee! for most of the time, LESS is MORE! ♥ thanks Ginny!
i love the idea of having a little laminated sheet and dry erase marker to quickly write initiatives of everyone pinned to the back of the screen. Sometimes remembering stuff like that can add another layer of being overwhelmed so anything I can do to help me focus and also enjoy myself is ideal
I use a clear 8.5x11 sleeve with a printed 0-30 initiative scale HP tracker in it. That clips inside my binder (on the left side) and I write the initiative on that with wet-erase markers; green for my PCs and red for enemies. I prefer the wet erase markers bc they don't rub off and make me lose track of everything, lol.
The goblin make-up is brilliant! :D
Great video!
I used to use pencil and paper for HP as well, but these days I find a spreadsheet works best for me. I have a template saved with each party member and their AC in their own row. When I want to prepare for a combat, I just fill out rows for monsters with AC, HP, Attacks and any other abilities so it's all there for me to reference at once. When it's time to roll initiative I just fill in those values and I can sort by that column. Easy peasy.
I use a custom DM screen with removable inserts. I can change it based on the system I am running, or even group--some inserts are customized on reference tables best suited for my particular group, or just notes on current important quests, NPC's, or often referenced info on current dungeon or area.