I prefer to GM without a screen. Mostly, it’s because I like to roll in the open, as it builds trust and fosters intimacy.
I like the feel of being “part of the game” – in the company of others at the table. The screen, being a barrier, works against that.
And yet, of late, I’ve had need of a screen. Maybe need is too strong a word, but for the section of Rise of Tiamat I’ve been running, the screen has been handy.
So what uses have compelled me to forsake my trust-building openness for that four-paneled board, at least for the duration of this campaign?
1. Maps for the journey. This campaign does a lot of trekking up and down the Forgotten Realms’ Sword Coast. Clipping a map on the players’ side of the screen has resolved the “Where are we going, again?” questions.
2. Scene-setting photos. Another bit of shorthand. Printouts of photographs of terrain and landscapes that evoke the area of the Sword Coast the adventurers are in has been a great visual shorthand. Photos of arctic peoples was really handy to convey the sense of things in the Sea of Moving Ice. But it’s been equally useful in depicting the stark badlands of the Serpent Hills.
3. A place to clip more photos, but of important NPCs. (However, the number of NPCs has now grown that I’ve switched to printing portraits on individual cards, which the PCs can have at hand. But this worked early on.)
4. A place to hang printouts of maps, especially dungeons, on the GM side. This, of course, is one of the longstanding uses of a screen. Normally, these would simply be a part of a notebook that I’m running the session from. But because Rise is a published campaign, I’m running from the book. With that campaign book and a Monster Manual and my minis laid out before me, Being able to clip up a map kept that reference work from being part of the page shuffle but still handy visually.
While I can’t say I’m a GM screen convert – my preference for an open table remains – being adaptable to certain aids given the situation is a good GMing trait. Be not afraid to try a different approach when the situation warrants.
This is exactly the litmus test I have on ‘do I use a GM screen or not’. Using a big map, or maps in a full-sized book? Then I use a GM screen. No such maps? Then I don’t.
Most commonly I use smaller maps — ones I draw myself on 5.5×8.5″ paper and use in a classic binder (as shown in my video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cREY6rTyzg), with the binder propped up as a GM screen, or one page dungeons which I have propped up on my iPad stand (e.g. http://goo.gl/PeUJmZ) which serves as a mini-stand.
Stan, just curious why you use the smaller binder rather than an 8.5 by 11?
I like the smaller form factor. Staples binder (see http://swshinn.com/rpg-hobby-games/amazing-savage-worlds-binder-with-a-free-rpg-template/) stands upright really well, but is short enough that I can see over it easily without obstruction. It’s small enough I can hold it with one hand and see a map inside it while I draw the battlemat with my other hand. See http://swshinn.com/traveller-rpg/classic-traveller-binder/ for more details.
A smaller screen can have real advantages, and it might be the middle ground a lot of us are seeking. We “need” a place to put things, but we want as small a barrier as possible between us and the players.
Oh, and include me among those who are getting good use out of the 1E to 5E monster conversion. Well done, sir!
Awesome! 🙂
Thanks Stan!!! Guess Staples is getting some of my money soon. I like Troy thought about as small a barrier as possible too.
I use a laptop connected to a 46″ tv. Everything I want to keep secret appears only on the laptop and anything I want the players to see I just slide over to the tv. The laptop makes it very easy for me to keep everything organized and I even use the setup to control ambient music for any situation.
I still prefer to make die rolls in the open, but if I wanted it would be a snap to use a virtual dice roller on the laptop to keep things secret.
Good digital advice. Do you hanging anything game-ish from the back of the laptop screen?
No, the laptop is usually situated to one side rather than directly between me and the players.
The 46″ tv has plenty of screen real estate to put up multiple images (like PC or NPC portraits), maps, etc. all at the same time and its large enough for the entire group to see everything well.
If all you are doing is hanging things from your screen, here’s a alternative that might work for you depending on your space. Hit the arts and crafts store and pick up a small foldable easel. You can stick this in a corner easily visible to the players and put up whatever visual you like. Just be sure to print your visuals on a good card stock or a heavy lamination and you are good to go. If you want to get fancy, blow the image up a bit and glue it to a foamboard or other heavy backing. The wooden ones are cheaper, but metal is more lightweight and durable. It doesn’t work for handouts, but that’s why we call the “handouts”, right?
BlueSponge, did you attend my game at GenCon. That’s exactly what I did.
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/11817201_10153528889949511_3026195076721835053_n.jpg?oh=ca93b8d4cec2f13c65d89b38bc61610f&oe=5675F3AA
I did not. But great minds and all that. 🙂
Troy, this was a neat article. I expected you were going to talk about hiding stuff from the players, but you turned your DM’s screen into a PLAYER resource. That’s fabulous and I am stealing the idea.
I GM mostly through roll20, and I know the players use the “player handouts” section a lot to refer to the area map, sessions to level up, etc… I also have Magic-style cards there for some of the important NPC’s.
But I’m seriously going to think about this for my next FTF game (sadly, it’s not until October.).
Thanks so much!
Glad you liked it and will find it useful.
I have also recently started using a screen for the first time, because I have started GMing a little bit of Paranoia. For those unfamiliar with the system, Paranoia isn’t exactly all about fostering an open, trusting relationship with the players anyway. Players tend to keep their character sheets secret from other players and the GM is the central conduit of knowledge of all the characters, so thus they have to keep their notes secret as a courtesy to players who share secrets about their character. Confused yet? Good, you’re getting the hang of Paranoia.
Still, even in this scenario it’s been hard. I’ve started keeping my screen just a little to the side, so it’s not directly in my way when I’m talking to the players. I angle the sides so that they still can’t see anything, but it’s not immediately placing a barricade between us. This may sort of go against the spirit of Paranoia, but I think my players appreciated it.
I use a humongous screen for my Delta Green game, made from hinged slabs of MDF sponge-painted to depict a formless green foggy miasma. I clip the flimsy-ass D20 GM screen to this on my side and whatever I feel like using to the other. I feel safer knowing the players cannot breach it with their hurled game detritus when they debate a controversial ruling.
For my Savage Worlds games I have a screen but I use it as a crib sheet for all those rules one uses once in a blue moon rather than as a screen. It lies folded within reach off to one side.
Some games actually sort of require a screen. Trail of Cthulhu comes to mind, with the Wall o’ PC Stats the keeper uses to remind the too-lazy-to-read-the-bloody-rules players how the game works
>80(
sorry, to cue the players to “passive skill use”. Seriously heavy GM load vs. trad Call of Cthulhu there.
Song of Ice and Fire also benefits from having a Wall O’ Rules Summaries handy, since the game is only mildly easier than calculus to make work. In my opinion.
Pathfinder’s screen is about the best darn D20-ish screen I’ve ever seen myself. Very useful. Good to have in sight. Easy to use. Very well laid-out.
No screen needed for GURPS – because everyone manages their characters with computers. GURPS for Dummies actually goes so far as to suggest the GM should have a live spreadsheet running to manage damage knock-on effects when characters get into combat. People tell me GURPS can be fun. I’m still looking for a campaign with smiling, laptop-less players so I can find out for myself.
I’m finding that when I do use a screen I’m more and more wanting to use one with panels having landscape orientation. Best of both worlds: Screen Of Secrets and able to see everyone.
I’m late to the conversation but I’d like to chime in to support a few of the points others have made.
First, I agree with Troy that it’s better to ditch the screen as a barrier to isolate the GM from players. Opening the space creates trust and improves communication.
Second, I agree with using props of some kind to help players visualize important information, like pictures of a monster/npc/setting or maps of an area. A traditional screen is okay as a medium to hold these, but there are better techniques.
I really like the idea suggested above of printing 3×5 or 4×6 cards (on heavy stock) and placing them in a small, folding easel– the kind you can buy at a craft store for $2. I have been doing this for years with my gaming groups, mostly for sharing pictures of NPCs and monsters, and it’s been a great help.
Another technique I use with material on 8.5×11 pages is to drop them in clear plastic holders. Postcard sized prints are good for portraits, but I always use 8.5×11 for maps. You can buy these sheaths in boxes of 25 or 50 for a few dollars at any office supply store. Slide in two sheets of paper, back to back, to make the item double sided. Depending on how many sheaths you use at a time, you can either leave them loose on the table for players to grab as reference or clip them into a 3-ring binder for better organization.
I’m curious about the idea above of organizing all this material on a large computer monitor visible to the group. I’ve thought about doing this with my games but the physical logistics are a challenge. I.e., where do I position the monitor so that it’s well supported, the players can all see it (it’s not behind anybody), and the cables don’t create a hazard as people constantly get up for drinks, snacks, bathroom visits, etc.
My setup is fairly simple in that we typically game in the living room which is already set up so that everyone can see the t.v. However, if I had a typical game room setup where everyone was sitting around a table I would probably locate the t.v. behind the GM, either mounted on the wall or perhaps on a stand in one corner. That would make the most sense as everyone should be situated facing toward the GMs position anyway.
That should keep cable runs minimal and away from the players entering exiting the area. It would also mean only the GM would need turn to see the screen when/if necessary.