GM's Screen
 

Hi,

What's actually on the GM screen? I have looked at the preview on Drive thru rpg but it doesn't show the actual screen, just what I think is the back facing the characters and a quick character cheat-sheet with some sample characters. All fine and dandy except that is hardly the tables or information I am interested in when running a game. Nice to start new players with, but hardly the kind of stuff I need in the middle of a game.

So, what's actually there for the GM?

Thanks,
Queetser

Re: GM's Screen
 

It has:

Attack Modifiers
Size/Speed/Range Table
Active Defense Modifiers
Wandering Monster table (chance of appearance)
Hit Location Table
Critical Hit Table
Effects of Accumulated Injury
Effects of Accumulated Fatigue
Critical Head Blow Table
Fright Checks
Probability of Success table (on 3d6)
Critical Miss Table
Unarmed Critical Miss Table
Scatter chart
Reaction Rolls
Success Rolls chart
General Modifiers (for noncombat tasks)
Complementary Skill Rolls reminder

Re: GM's Screen
 

https://www.sjgames.com/dungeonfantasy/gmscreen/

Check out the video. You may be able to pause during the video to see some of what's there.

The GM screen is 4 portrait style panels.

Player facing side is all artwork. GM facing side is text.

GM side has the following:
(minimum of art work on GM side, which is good)
Attack Modifiers
Wandering monster table (very small, for 3d6)
Active Defenses
Hit Location table
Critical Hit tables
Success Rolls summary
General Modifiers listing
Scatter table listing
Reaction Rolls

I think that's the major headings. I may have left something out.

You also get a wrapper sheet to cover the physical screen.
A character creation cheat sheet 16 pages
Delvers to Go booklet 16 pages

Re: GM's Screen
 

Thanks guys! I'll have to pick one of those up.

Re: GM's Screen
 

You can also make your own which allows you to do other things.

I built mine using a pair of A3 Art portfolios, some plastic page sleeves and some binder clips.

The GM side has stuff *I* typically have to refer to but I can easily add other notes by just clipping a page over them or sliding a page over one I don't need right now.

I can display various items for the players by using the other side of the binder clip to hold it on their side. Sometimes its a representation of the town, village, city to set the tone for what they are seeing. Sometimes its a general 'map' of an area (something that would be considered common knowledge info easily gathered by asking or looking at road signs), images of creatures/people they are encountering, sometimes its just a piece of art that I feel communicates something about the upcoming session, sometimes its the who comes next in the attack stack. There is a lot of space to use, so its often multiples of these things.

This setup works better for me because I know what tables I need (Reaction Table) vs things I don't (Hit locations and DR for vehicles). If I run a space campaign I can easily add tables for energy weapons and drop the magic chart.

I like the idea of GM screens, I just don't find the preprinted ones as useful as they purport to be, just because each GM is different and what you need as reference is different. Typically I find 50% or less of what is one the screen of actual value to me as the GM and generic art is... well generic, it might not even fit your campaign, but your old west group is still going to be looking at that rampaging dragon.

Re: GM's Screen
 

And I like this suggestion too. Because we sit in a 'living room' setting rather than around the dining room table, I tend to pass out a small handout of relevant stuff for the players like tables and stuff. But it would be nice to have cool pics ready to go.

My daughter is the more tech savy of our group and she regularly does all her presentations (pictures, sounds, etc) from her laptop to our tv. Which I wish I knew how to do. She's showed me but my memory is poor and getting poorer.