If you’re like me, you pack too much stuff for your face to face games. Oh, we all try to bring just the essentials, but then we still throw in extra stuff, “just in case.” I know a GM who uses a rolling luggage carrier for all their rulebooks. But what do we really need?
Now, I’m not the first person to address this issue. Two great articles that have appeared on this site are:
So the ground has been trod, but hopefully I can bring something new to the topic. My goal was to boil things down to the ABSOLUTE minimum needed to play, without sacrificing the experience. I also wanted to keep things as light weight as possible. Obviously, some of my own preferences as a GM will reveal themselves. However, hopefully this list will get you thinking about your own GM kit.
DEFINITE ITEMS
1. Pencils – players don’t usually bring them.
2. Small pieces of paper or index cards – Great for making character name tents. This helps me a lot during play. They can use the others for their own notes if they like.
3. Dice – I’ll put in two sets. One for me, and one for players to share. If the players’ dice set is mismatched, all the better. It is much easier to tell a new player to “roll the green one” rather than “roll the d8.”
4. Tokens – I use tokens rather than minis. I print out 1 inch by 1 inch square pictures of PC’s and NPC’s, glue them to some cereal box cardboard, and cut them when dry. These are almost free to make, and ultimately customizable. You can include a great diversity of character types, and print out the big bads just a little bigger to scare them. We all love our minis, but for travelling light, tokens work just fine. Tape or glue a penny on the bottom if you need them to be a bit heavier.
5. Character sheets – I have a standard document of pregens that I’ve used over and over. I just print new ones before each gaming session with a new group. Players can use them to keep their notes right on them. Don’t feel like you have to represent every race/class/level combination. Have enough of the standard character types for your game. If it is a long running campaign, then you can introduce more individualized characters. For a one-shot, people just want to play an elf or a wookie.
6. Session notes – This is your workhorse. Make sure you have enough information for your NPC’s (combat stats, spells, etc..) and any other needed information. You’ll be surprised how light this document can be. Using a two column page set up, I can run a four hour game with just the front and the back of one sheet.
7. Maps (sorta) – You can pack maps, or print them out ahead of time. Terrain is great, but heavy and bulky. I’ve used Jenga blocks as well, though they tend slide around as players reach for dice and figures. If you want to give yourself even more flexibility during play, consider just packing some 11″ X 17″ paper and toss a few crayons into your box or bag. Then just draw out a map as the players reach those areas. Sure it isn’t fancy, but it allows players to create some of the world in their minds. Novels do it all the time. And there is nothing wrong with just playing on a blank table. Your medeival forest awaits.
HEY, WHAT ABOUT…..
1. Rulebooks – They’re heavy. Consider writing any “cheat sheet” notes on your session notes. Also, certain rulebooks may be legally available in pdf form, and you might consider using them on a tablet or phone. You may not even need that, if you use the secret weapon.
Here it is, revealed after these many years. Are you ready? Suppose you’re asked whether a spell or a skill
can be used in a certain manner, and you don’t remember. Simply say these four words:
“Sure, I’ll allow it.”
Done. You can always double check the rule for next time. If the request is too much, say:
“Probably not in this situation.”
Those two phrases take the place of several pounds of rulebooks.
2. GM Screen – Roll your dice behind your hand. Hide your session notes under a piece of paper.
3. Poker chips – These make great “condition” indicators or can be used for “action points” if your system uses them. Whether you include these or not will depend on your system or style of play. To save weight, cut some circles out of different color paper.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Some folks may want an even leaner kit than I’ve described. And some folks may need a little more. Either way, you may want to use this list as a starting point, adding and subtracting to taste.
Just remember, if you pack it, you carry it.
What did I miss? What can I leave out? Share your thoughts below.
You included minis but no battle mat. I like a Noteboard for light travel. You can use either the blank or grid side, and make a lot of notes right on it.
I would include more dice. Perception/spot/notice/etc checks are often made by everyone, having several dice can help that go faster.
I do like the idea of creating your own character sheets, Pathfinder has a lot of info on the sheet, but a lot of it is left blank for different characters. For a demo game or a con game- gutting the skills to list just the bonuses for trained and common skills (climb and perception) can save a lot of headaches.
For casters in a system that uses spells- I really like spell cards. I’ve made my own before or find an online generator or buy them in a store. Pretty light, and they can fit in a deck box for a card game.
My advice is to share the burden.
Whenever I run a game at a friends’ house, all I bring with me is my core rule book (or, in the case of D&D, a Players Handbook), my dice, my notes, my laptop/tablet, and any adventure-specific materials (module/adventure, setting information, etc). All of these fit comfortably in a Samsonite bag.
Everything else is on my friends – battlemats, miniatures, extra dice, and any supplemental books that I’ve approved for the campaign.
I like the idea of sharing the burden, especially for a recurring game.
My minimalist GM kit: a laptop with all my notes, the rulebooks, a dice-rolling program; character sheets and maybe printed cheatsheets for them, pencils or pens, and notecards of sticky notes. I usually don’t bring dice unless it’s something oddball like Fate dice — nearly always there’s one guy with a big full of them.
Usually, I can get away with a small backpack. If I’m traveling really light, I’ll use my iPad instead of the laptop and throw everything in a motorcycle tank bag.
For 5e, I use the starter set box, but fill it with a copy of the adventure, the paizo basic flip map, dry erase pens, and looney pyramids. I bring along the hardbacks (though, if trying to be minimalist, the PHB alone would probably work) and lots of dice in a single organizer. (Great for rolling 5 attacks at once…)
You’re 100% right about pencils. I like old business cards or 3×5 cards for each player (initiative, etc.); an extra 3×5 card makes a great name standee for public play.
Old business cards work great too. Thanks to EVERYONE for the replies.
When it comes to lugging unnecessary weight, I’m very much guilty as charged — especially when it comes to the books.
For my D&D 5e campaign, I’ve DM’ed five sessions so far, and I have thus far only cracked open the Monster Manual twice and the DM Guide exactly *once*. Everything else I either already had in my notes (for the monsters) or just winged it (for everything else).
The Players Handbook does get a fair amount of use (darn those spell-casters and all of their nitty gritty spell details!)…, but I’m half tempted to have this be provided by the host of the session.
Done!
Now, if only I can stop from carrying 20-30 pencils and pens and a dozen sets of dice…! 😉
//TB
A rolling case of rule books? Piker!
My Delta Green game is now officially “semi-portable”.
Every month I trundle into the LFGS with a rolling bag of rulebooks (no legally available D20 Call of Cthulhu or Double System sourcebooks available as PDF to my knowledge) dice, GM screen, clips for same, legal sized envelopes of custom-made clues, notebooks, wet erase pens, masking tape, large box of Zombies!!! for minis and a bumper box o’ ceramic magnets.
Once that is installed I go back to the car for my two battlemats, and my backpack with my laptop (which contains Scrivener files of my campaign notes), wallet o’ character sheets and iPad in it.
Then I go back for the small folding table for the laptop so I don’t clutter the playing surface with hi-tech nonsense.
Then I go back for the giant folding whiteboard we stick to a window with magnets so the players can do the police procedural note synthesis and head-slapping thing.
Then I go back for the plastic bin containing the stuff to produce the ambient sound effects for the thing they haven’t seen yet so no further details on that.
The big 8-seater table gets covered with battlemats. The whiteboard gets stuck to the window and the GM screen erected and populated with my notes and any clues likely to be handed out soon (at least, the ones not so badly distressed they will begin to disintegrate when removed from the envelope they are kept in). The small table is erected and the laptop of all things installed on it.
And then the players arrive to be confronted with wonderland. Or Carcosa, depending on events last time.
Deadlands:Reloaded has a smaller cargo footprint and fits into two bags. All the GM stuff is on my laptop, but there are cards and poker chips and cardboard minis and dice and that folder of blank character sheets and the player manuals I supply to those too cheap to get their own.
The new Slipstream game I’m co-chairing may end up being very small indeed, cargo-wise. My co-chair brings all sorts of extra stuff so I won’t have to.