The DM Screen. It’s one of the quintessential D&D visuals. But what goes behind it? What lurks behind that foot-high barrier between the characters and the gods? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave delve into how they use the DM screen, what they want to have behind it, and what they need to have behind it.
One thing you do need behind your screen though is dice… so check out our affiliate link with FanRoll dice for all your dice and dice accessories and get 10% off your entire purchase!
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1:40 DM Dave’s vitamin-induced fever dream that led to this topic.
3:00 First things first: Session Notes.
3:58 The most important thing behind the screen? Your imagination!
4:30 The DM Screen.
6:05 A little D&D History tangent about the DM screen.
6:45 What’s behind depends on what game you’re running: terrain, maps, and minis, oh my!
8:45 Even with a DM screen, you don’t have to hide the dice rolls.
9:15 A laptop/tablet as a DM screen.
12:06 Even without terrain, maps, minis – still prepare some good visuals.
15:10 How to easily introduce music into the session – also, check out Matt Mercer’s DM Screen Gamemaster Tips
17:45 No one sees the NPCs or landscapes the same way… set it in their mind.
23:15 Take a lesson from block text: have some prepped descriptors for important scenes and NPCs.
24:45 How Roll20 and VTT’s make the entire internet your DM screen.
26:30 Think like a “Road DM.” What are the essentials?
32:10 Putting up the DM screen for one character – Character-specific narrative outside of game.
33:50 The Campaign 3-Ring Binder.
34:30 Fodder for another episode – the sequel to our episode on RPG Economics
36:50 High Fantasy=Low Magic – another aside.
40:18 Final Thoughts