[guymc]

I’m working on what needs to be in a TFT Gamemaster’s Screen, should we hit that stretch goal. (And you and your friends are going to be darn sure he HIT that goal, right?)

The structure of such a screen is planned to be a 2-side screen with three LANDSCAPE-oriented panels of about 8.5 X 11 inches or thereabouts. The outside facing the players will have artwork (color, I believe) for the center panel, flanked by 2 panels of info that the players will need most often during game play. The other side (toward the GM) will be three panels of GM-oriented info to avoid a lot of boom consultation in the heat of play.

The question is: “What should be on those panels?”

Below is my list so far and my proposed location for that material. Please give me some feedback on what info from this list is placed correctly and useful, what needs to be added that isn’t already there, what other material needs to be there but be moved or duplicated, and what can be dropped as unnecessary.

Also, if you don't mind, use the quote function of the forums judiciously here. Don't quote the whole thing here for a short comment or question. Instead, edit the post to show at the top only the piece of the screen on which you are commenting for clarity, or just head your post appropriately so I can keep track of what you are talking about.

PLAYER SIDE - 2 PANELS

FULL TURN SEQUENCE - When things happen and in what order during a combat turn.

LIST OF OPTIONS - What options can be chosen for a character during a player turn, when they are executed during the turn, and how they are resolved.

DX BONUSES AND PENALTIES - Adjustment to DX for position, conditions, target, handicaps, armor and shields, range for thrown/ranged weapons and spells

DODGING/DEFENDING - Die rolls and bad/good roll effects against targets who are dodging or defending.

CONTESTS - Basic rules and die rolls for contesting one player’s attributes against another’s, or against a crowd, or against a crowd, including both one-resolution contests and multi-round contests.

FACING AND ENGAGEMENT DIAGRAM - Shows effect of attacking from the side or behind a target, and how facing affects whether or not an opponent and a figure are considered engaged.


GAMEMASTER SIDE - 3 PANELS

TURN SEQUENCE - Same as on the Player side

SAVING ROLLS - A long list of saving rolls necessary in various situations, gleaned from throughout the rulebook and organized alphabetically.
For example:
Amulet – resist 3/IQ
Animal Handler 3/IQ to influence animal
Avert – avoid falling if you cannot move away 3/DX
Basilisk – avoid freeze 4/IQ
Berserk – snap out of it 3/IQ
Boating – avoid tipping 4/DX each 5 minutes
Broken ground – avoid falling if running 3/(DX-2)
…etc…

REACTIONS TO INJURY - Effects of figures as they take damage.

RECOVERY - How fast and by what methods figures recovery from both exhaustion/fatigue and actual injury.

EXPERIENCE POINTS - Guidelines for GM awards of XP, and player expenditure of XP for improving attributes, purchasing Talents and Spells, etc.

MAP SCALES - A list of cascading map scales for ITL/TFT, from the combat hex up through the megahex/labyrinth map hex, etc. (Each subsequent map scaled hex is three times as wide as the previous one.)

SUCCESS ROLLS - Guide to when and how to make success rolls fr combat and out of combat, including a chart of critical success/failures on rolls of 3 or more dice.

CONTESTS - Same as on the Player side.

TIME, SPEED AND DISTANCE - How long is a combat turn? How many turns does it take do specific things? How far can you move on a labyrinth map in one labyrinth turn? (Does this need to include overland movement on larger scale maps? How far can you walk, run, ride in an hour or a day?)


SAVED FOR PULLOUTS

These have been left off the screen because I believe they are most commonly used during preparation for play, not during play itself. Pullouts may be organized and provided as PDF files included with the PDF package, or — probably as a stretch goal — printed as a separate booklet for easy reference by players and gamemasters. Do you agree? Are there others that need to be pulled out this way?

(Please keep in mind we don’t want to put half the book in the pullouts because that’s as bad as having to look through the book for everything. Also keep in mind that all this material will be in the PDF of In The Labyrinth anyway and can be printed out from there as needed.)

COMPREHENSIVE WEAPON TABLE - Types, costs, damage done, weight, use restrictions

COMPREHENSIVE ARMOR TABLE - Types, costs, damage absorbed, weight, use restrictions

COMPREHENSIVE EQUIPMENT TABLE - Common equipment for labyrinth and/or overland adventures; type, cost, weight, use restrictions, appropriate saving or success rolls.