Protect your important notes and die rolls from prying player eyes with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GM Screen! This beautiful 4-panel screen features stunning artwork from Wayne Reynolds on the player's side, and a huge number of charts and tables on the GM side to speed up play and reduce time spent leafing through rulebooks in search of an obscure modifier or result. From skill check Difficulty Classes to two-weapon fighting modifiers, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GM Screen gives you the tools you need to keep the game fast and fun. Constructed of ultra-high-grade hardcover book stock, this durable screen is perfect for travel, convention play, or repeated regular use.
Tables and Charts Included
Acrobatics DCs and Modifiers
Bluff Modifiers
Climb DCs and Modifiers
Diplomacy DCs and Modifiers
Disable Device DCs
Fly DCs and Wind Effects on Flight
Heal DCs
Knowledge DCs
Perception DCs and Modifiers
Ride DCs
Spellcraft DCs
Survival DCs and Tracking Modifiers
Swim DCs
Attack Roll Modifiers
Armor Class Modifiers
Combat Maneuvers
Two-Weapon Fighting Penalties
Concentration Check DCs
Common Conditions
Armor and Weapon Hardness and Hit Points
Substance Hardness and Hit Points
Common Object Hardness and Hit Points
Experience Point Awards
Treasure Values per Encounter
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GM Screen measures 8.5" x 11" when folded and 34" x 11" in when unfolded.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-216-6
Alternate cover art versions of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GM Screen are also available:
I've had the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GM Screen for years, long before I actually started playing Pathfinder regularly. The purpose of a screen, of course, is so the GM can hide their notes from pesky players, assemble miniatures of diabolical villains without being seen, roll dice ominously, and, most importantly, remind themselves of key rules so the game doesn't have to stop so everyone can flip open their 500+ page rulebooks. This four-panel screen is certainly a durable product, as it's survived (quite literally) more than a hundred sessions and still looks brand new. It's made of quite sturdy stuff, unlike many other screens I've seen, and won't easily tip over.
The exterior side facing the PCs is a line-up of the most iconic images of the Pathfinder Iconics: the embodiment of each character class. I once found the art style a bit over-the-top and cartoony, but I've really warmed to it now and quite like it. I can't say what it's like to stare at the characters for hours, but there's so many little details on each character that the eye shouldn't get bored quickly! (Note there are two alternate screens available with different characters, but I don't own either of those). I've found it quite handy to use paperclips to hold pics of NPCs the party is talking too, monsters they're fighting, etc.
The interior side facing the DM is, of course, what matters!
Two full panels are depicted to summaries of various skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Fly, Heal, Knowledge, Perception, Ride, Spellcraft, Survival, and Swim. Not every skill is represented, and one could argue that some of the missing skills (like Stealth, Intimidate, and Use Magic Device are used more often than some of the skills that are represented like Swim). Still, the skills that are included are broken down into very handy, easy-to-read lists of activities, modifiers, and DCs. It's a very attractive, smart presentation.
The third panel is devoted to combat, and the top half of the panel has five sections: Attack roll modifiers, armor class modifiers, combat maneuvers, two-weapon fighting penalties, and concentration checks. With the possible exception of two-weapon fighting penalties (which a player should have figured out well ahead of time), all of these things are extremely important things to have available for easy reference. The bottom half of the panel is a summary of the effects of common conditions, which is again quite handy--it's annoying to have to stop and look up what the effects of being stunned or nauseated are every time it happens.
The fourth panel is a bunch of miscellaneous stuff, and it's here that I think there was room for improvement. The left half of the panel is all devoted to listing the hardness and hit points of weapons, armor, common objects, and various materials. I don't mind this much, because even though this information is needed rarely, when it's needed it's usually important (like whether a sundered weapon is going to break). Still, I wouldn't have devoted so much space to it considering how much other stuff in the game is probably more important. The right half of the panel lists experience point awards by CR and treasure values per encounter. To my mind, this is the least essential information to be on the screen, as most groups handle this either between sessions or at least after a session, when an extra minute to flip open a book is no big deal. Because most monster entries already list XP and treasure, this is the only part of the screen that I never use.
So on the whole, that's 3 to 3 1/2 panels of a 4 panel GM screen that are extremely useful! My biggest problem is actually remembering what's on the screen, as often I look something up in a book only to realize later that it was on the screen the whole time. Anyway, while a screen like this is not strictly essential, it's about as close as it gets. A session will run faster and smoother if the GM has one of these, and it's worth the money.
Pros
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* Very sturdy.
* Good selection of DM info.
* Fair price.
Cons
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* I'd prefer a landscape screen. Pretty please?
* The art is a collage of recycled iconic portraits, which probably helped keep costs down, but I would have preferred something a bit more inspiring. After all, the players are going to be staring at this thing quite a bit...
This four panel Gamemasters screen for the Pathfinder role playing game features extra durable hardcover stock pages, a great piece of art on the player's side, and four pages of quick reference charts on the GM's side.
Page One, "Skills", includes charts for acrobatic maneuvers, bluffing, wind effects on flight, Climbing, Diplomacy, Disabling Devices, and flying.
Page Two, "Skills", has references for healing, knowledge, perception, riding, spellcraft, survival, and swimming.
Page Three, "Combat", contains attack roll modifiers, armor class modifiers, combat maneuvers, two-weapon fighting, concentration checks, and a great list of conditions that affect combat.
Page Four, "Miscellaneous", shows armor and weapon hardness, other item hardness, and common item hardness as well as charts for XP awards, and for treasure values per encounter.
Having these charts at your fingertips saves a lot of time leafing through the various books for a quick ruling. The four panel construction gives GM's room for both a notepad and their maps. The heavy card stock covers means its very durable and suitable for frequent use. If you're a GM for a Pathfinder game, and you don't have this screen, my suggestion is that it be the next item on your "To Purchase" list. Highly recommended.
Don't know what to say that the other reviews haven't already said. This GM screen was built to last, and the boatload of information each of the panels contains is the perfect reference for any GM.
I actually don't mind the fourth panel. I just figured it was common for party members to think "I should try and break his sword instead of just stabbing him." :)
I was very impressed with the quality of this screen. For the money, I really expected just a thin card stock screen. What I got was a very, heavy wall.
I will buy this, but I don't like the artwork at all. I like the iconics, but this is cluttered and compacted. The formatting of the image is all over the place, and the details are lost in the confusion. Sometimes less is more. I will just have to live with it. I would have preferred something more like a dynamic tableaux. Is this placeholder art?
I will buy this, but I don't like the artwork at all. I like the iconics, but this is cluttered and compacted. The formatting of the image is all over the place, and the details are lost in the confusion. Sometimes less is more. I will just have to live with it. I would have preferred something more like a dynamic tableaux. Is this placeholder art?
Looks great to me. I'm only disappointed Seoni isn't closer to the middle.
My guess is that it isn't placeholder art because they've provided a thumbnail of the entire screen image and not just the standard product image.
I'm so glad to hear it will be on hard stock. I have to admit that the 4e DM screen has spoiled me and made me envious, and I was hoping the Pathfinder one would be as good.
My only question is will it have the status conditions summarized in it?
At the risk of being the guy who complains a lot. It really freaks me out how the lighting is all coming from different angles on the iconics in that montage....
Not really my fault I guess - it's just the art classes talking.
Hardback cover stock is the only way to do it. I'm so glad Paizo (and WotC before them) followed Green Ronin's example (at least, I think we have Green Ronin to thank; the True20 screen is the first place I saw it). It is one of those things that is so obvious in retrospect, but such a huge improvement.
This would be a sure buy for me, if only it was in landscape format :(
Some of us do like that it's easier to see over a landscape-format screen. But many of us feel that the 34" arc of a vertical 4-panel screen is about right, while the 44" arc of a horizontal screen is just too big.
The real dealbreaker for the horizontal format for us, I think, is that since your books, dice, minis and such usually block the bottom inch or two of the screen, horizontal layout means we'd lose as much as 20 square inches of useful printable area for tables (compared to vertical layout). That's a fair amount of real estate that we can put to good use.
every product I am seeing in this launch makes impresses me more and more...
Best looking GM screen I have seen in a very long time. Maybe I won't have to hide my real screen behind my Planescape one now ;D
You don't say... that's the best-looking GM screen I have ever seen! Wow... I thought I could manage with my old 2E DM's screen, but this is a must buy!
This would be a sure buy for me, if only it was in landscape format :(
Some of us do like that it's easier to see over a landscape-format screen. But many of us feel that the 34" arc of a vertical 4-panel screen is about right, while the 44" arc of a horizontal screen is just too big.
The real dealbreaker for the horizontal format for us, I think, is that since your books, dice, minis and such usually block the bottom inch or two of the screen, horizontal layout means we'd lose as much as 20 square inches of useful printable area for tables (compared to vertical layout). That's a fair amount of real estate that we can put to good use.
Maybe in the future we can get a landscape screen with some more picturesque art. I've nothing against the iconics, I just always preferred an action scene on the screen. It sends a message to the players: "Should I be just standing around looking cool or should I be battling monsters?"
Maybe in the future we can get a landscape screen with some more picturesque art. I've nothing against the iconics, I just always preferred an action scene on the screen. It sends a message to the players: "Should I be just standing around looking cool or should I be battling monsters?"
Play a conjurer. That way you can look cool, while your minions fight the monsters ;-)
So, I see and recognize all the iconics but ...who is all the way to the right? Did I miss an iconic? Do we have an iconic Drow wizard or something that I totally missed???
So, I see and recognize all the iconics but ...who is all the way to the right? Did I miss an iconic? Do we have an iconic Drow wizard or something that I totally missed???
That's Seltyiel, the iconic multiclass character from the cover of Pathfinder #12. He's a half-elf.