D&D 5E To Screen or not to Screen

[MNblockhead]

DMs, do you use a DM screen or not? I've stopped using DM screens, but it took time to wean myself from them.

When I started DMing again after over 25 years of having not played TTRPGs, after buying the Core books, the next thing I looked for was the DM screen. I pre-ordered the first DM screen for 5e as soon as it was announced.

When I got it I was disappointed. Nice artwork on the players' side, but where was all the tables of useful stuff?

I found the DnD community to be a better source, with lots of great home-brew screens.

For a while I made my own screen with two three-ring binders clipped together with binder clips (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH1zx1Wqd5g). It is a neat concept, but I didn't like how tall it was and it tends to encourage putting too much stuff there. It really isn't practical to be flipping through pages on your DM screen, better to just have a quick reference binder laying on the side.

Then I bought the mini version of "The World's Greatest Screen" by Hammerdog (http://hammerdog.com/twgs/) and used the inserts created by DM David (http://dmdavid.com/tag/improved-fifth-edition-dungeon-master-screen-and-initiative-tents/), some of which I replaced/modified with my own inserts, which I created in MS Publisher.

This worked well for a while, but over time, I found that I really didn't reference them that much and that he screen was just taking up table space. I came to the conclusion that I didn't need a screen. I've been running my games without a DM screen for many months now. Here are some reasons why:

1. Unlike the "old days" (80s), I decided to start making my rolls in front of the players. This deserves its own thread, but basically, it keeps things exciting, increases the appearance of fairness, and just keeps the players more engaged with the game (if the dice are rolled in front of them, they'll look, rather than start chatting or looking at their phones while I roll and add a bunch of dice). I even role passive perception and encounter roles in the open. I don't tell them why I'm rolling at those times and I find that almost creates more anxiety/curiosity than rolling behind the screen.
2. My laptop is my DM screen and it has a small foot print. I play with terrain and minis or theater of the mind, but I've added some tech to my at-table game. I run my games using RealmWorks, which replaces paper modules and adventure books, and Hero Labs, which replaces initiative tents and my Paizo battle pad.
3. DM screen reference tables are no longer as useful as they once were. First, 5e rules are much easier to keep in mind. You just do not have to constantly check tables like you had to in AD&D 1e. Second, what you do have to look up are more world-building and flavor related, such as name generators, price lists, and the like. A DM screen is just not big enough to be very useful as a reference for those things. Instead, I now have a 3-ring binder containing page protectors holding DM Sleeves created by Reddit user ElfShadow (https://www.reddit.com/user/ElfShadow/), plus some other summary sheets I've found on the web and some I've made myself. Also, I put a lot of things in RealmWorks, which I can pull up by searching or keep open in a tab for quick reference. Even with the time I've put into that binder, I don't use it as often as i thought I would. If I have to look up a rule, either a player or I can usually find the answer in the PHB or DMG fairly quickly. 5e is just easier to pick up and the books, while not perfect, are much easier to navigate than the old 1e books.
4. I like not having a separation between me and the players.

That said, there are a couple of situations where I will still pull out a DM screen:

1. If I'm running a session from printed material instead of from RealmWorks. I ran a couple of adventures from Kobold Press's Book of Lairs into my campaign and rather than try to put the material into RealmWorks, I just ran the adventure from the books. Also, when I run games for my children, I often am running either Hero Kids or a child-friendly 5e adventure, which I print out and run from paper. In these situations, the screen is important to protect them from spoilers.
2. If there are extra players and the table is getting crowded, I use the screen to "carve out" sufficient space for me to run the game. I've bought some fold-up tables so I can increase the table space to accommodate large groups now, so this isn't much of an issue.

Any one else give up the screen? Anyone who will have the screen removed only from their cold, dead hands?

 

[pemerton]

DMs, do you use a DM screen or not? I've stopped using DM screens, but it took time to wean myself from them.

<snip>

Any one else give up the screen?

I used a screen for part of one session, for fun, when it came in a boxed set I bought.

Otherwise I've never used a screen. When playing games that have required me to make rolls that the players can't see (not the case anymore, but it was in - say - AD&D) I've just rolled close to me and relied on my players' poor eyesight! When I use modules etc I just rely on the players not to peek too closely at my maps/notes.

 

[Voort]

I don't use a screen. It makes it easier to see the table & player's rolls. The only thing I have to do differently is write down the damage enemies take instead of hit point totals (counting damage up from zero). That eliminates any temptation to meta-game how close the bad guys are to dead.

 

[Campbell]

I do not like screens. They imply a degree of separation with the other players that I am not comfortable with. They also root me in one place, making it difficult for me to use space as an effective communication tool. I keep most of my prepped material on a tablet that can either lay flat, be slightly propped up, or carried around with me. I'm terrible at taking notes in the midst of play so I will generally assign a player to do that for me.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I use the official WotC screen. For important rolls I either roll outside the screen or have one of the players make my roll, but I like having all my notes easily available (I have a binder containing all the adventures I've run and am planning to run, so it's easy to make notes and adjustments). I also like to keep NPC notes and diagrams away from player eyes.

Also, the name generator chart, the travel time chart, and the Something Happens chart see a fair amount of use in my games.

 

[Plaguescarred]

DMs, do you use a DM screen or not?

Yes i still use DM screen and think the various tables included can be useful at times and so is the privacy it provides to my notes and dices.


Yan
D&D Playtester

 

[Dualazi]

I still use screens when playing in the flesh, or the hidden gmroll option when playing on roll20. I think that ultimately the game is enhanced when doing so, and it allows me to make necessary rolls in secrecy, such as player perception rolls or 'sense motive' checks. They're also handy for having things like conditions for easy reference without having to flip back and forth in the player's handbook, which I am already probably using to check spell descriptions.

 

[Charles Rampant]

I generally always use a screen. My notes are on an iPad - I store them on a tiddlywiki, along with copy/pastes from relevant PDFs - so it is not the secrecy for notes thing. I do like the option for keeping rolls secret: sometimes I roll out in the open, sometimes behind, sometimes I'll lift the screen to show a good roll... all of these options add to the 'showmanship' element of the DM's role, so I like having them available. (e.g. If you generally roll behind the screen, but then comes THE BIG ATTACK and you roll in the middle of the table, it draws attention.)

I've got 3 screens right now: the official 5e one, the Curse of Strahd one, and the Murder in Baldur's Gate one. The latter I've not used, but I really like the images on the front, and the 'random shop generator' is a solid inclusion. The Curse of Strahd one I found more useful outside of games - as a convenient small-sized map to hold - than in games, but it was very atmospheric to look at. Meanwhile, the main 5e one attracts amusing comments from players ("Why is that character facing away from the Dragon? Those guys are so screwed") but is very useful to me, primarily for the 'random NPC names' and 'Conditions' part of it.

It's a personal preference thing. Don't let someone tell you that they are better because they don't use a screen.

 

[Lanefan]

I use a screen*, both to hide my rolls and to hide my notes/maps/etc. I've also replaced all the tables on it with my own.

* - signed by Dave Arneson, no less; which means that yes, you'll have to pull it from my cold dead hands.

Lanefan

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

The only reason I use a DM's screen is so that I can hang monster tents over it. Flipping MM pages when using more than one monster is very annoying, and the monster tents put everything you need right in front of you, and a monster picture for the players to look at.