Good Gifts for GMs


Advice


I really appreciate all of the time, effort, and money that GMs put in to the game. A good GM is worth his/her weight in gold--they can give a breath of life to an adventure (even poorly-edited ones where players have to make SWIM checks to open a door). What is an appropriate way to show thanks? Yes, I do know that Paizo has gift cards.

Thanks,

^3


I am debating this same thing.

My first thought was some kind of gift card for a site that sells miniatures, but I didn't know what site to use.

But after trying it out, I am leaning towards getting my GM Lords of Waterdeep. It's a great strategy game, we can break it out if some players unexpectedly cancel, and the flavor is all D&D even if the the gameplay is very different.


Take them to a strip club. :p

Or, if you dont like the smell of sweat and shame, get him/her WizWar. Very fun game with awesome rules.

Sovereign Court

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More sourcebooks or anything that make awesome props.


1) Cookies
2) Crafted beer


I've received dice and a Chessex Battle Mat, which was awesome.


Wyrmwood Gaming - make funky dice boxes and rolling trays out of exotic woods.

Black Rock Relics - make custom ceramic dice with your choice of colors and such.

Brain Vessel - just got the pirate cards c/w leather pouches and dealer coins for my Freeport campaign.

All depends on how much you want to spend ;)


You know that's a great idea. I should really show my dm my appreciation for all he has done and his great gaming skills. I think he could use more Bestiary. I know hes lacking some so i will get him one or two that he is missing so we can fight cooler monsters or die from cooler monsters. Either one works really.
Thanks for the idea guys :).


If you play a norse campaign - some Elder Futhark Runes in Gemstone perhaps.

There's a lot of custom stuff available on Etsy nowadays as well, Leatherwork, chainmail, etc.
I got a Personalised fingerpuppet of my father (though unfortunately looks like he's closed down the webstore).


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Pizza.


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If you made character sketches for your guys, assemble them into one mighty fighting force, have it printed in an 8x10 glossy, and frame it. That's what we're doing for ours.


It's super nice to hear people thinking about getting GM gifts!

My focus has normally been on helping defray the costs of running a game. I've gotten prop cards, pawns and similar items for my GM before we started Skulls & Shackles. The pre-painted minis if you're running an AP also makes a great gift, since they are randomized.

Of course, if your GM already has everything, dice (I like the ones that light up on a 20 and the clear ones with mini confirmation dice inside them), dice rollers and consumables like dry erase markers tend to be useful.


DocShock wrote:
If you made character sketches for your guys, assemble them into one mighty fighting force, have it printed in an 8x10 glossy, and frame it. That's what we're doing for ours.

That.... is a great idea. Very heartfelt and personal.

Silver Crusade

There's a company, I will have to look up the name, that sells numbered sticky pips to help differentiate when you have a bunch of the same enemy type in combat. They're not terribly expensive and every GM should have some.

One of the guys in our PFS cluster recently purchased a bunch of sets and had our VC give them to the people who volunteer to GM frequently. They also come in different colors, so if you have a favorite local sports team you can get them sort of personalized for each person.

Paizo Employee

One of my players is slowly getting me the pawn sets. Granted, that's in part so she can see what they're fighting from the sofa, but it's still pretty awesome.

I've also received many, many dinners for GMing. Can't go wrong with tasty food :)

Cheers!
Landon


Add ons such as the flying bases, clear plastic templates, and extra minis, of the previously mentioned pre-painted kind, all add to the experience if your DM uses minatures.

Help carrying gear, books, and such is an easy option that shows appreciation.
So is just saying thank you after the game- especially if it was a rough session with arguments ot rules debates.

Offering to run a game he can ply in is also awesome- even if it's a board game or another system she may enjoy a short break.


I had been borrowing the magnetic Initiative Tracker thingy (technical term) from one of my players. The group got me my own for my birthday. Things the GM can use in the game are always helpful.

Grand Lodge

Dice Tower.

Dungeon Tiles.

Hero Lab License.

DM screen.


Have him unwrap the next ap that you will be running.

The Exchange

Athos710 wrote:
I had been borrowing the magnetic Initiative Tracker thingy (technical term) from one of my players. The group got me my own for my birthday. Things the GM can use in the game are always helpful.

You are most welcome, glorious and wondrous GM. All hail the glorious GM. Praise be unto he who brings treasure.


Players who know how the system works. Those are always nice because it means the GM isn't training a new person for the first few sessions for the seventh time.

Sourcebooks, minis for common enemies (or pawn sets if they don't have them already), a few extra sets of dice, Initiative Tracker. The cost of a DM can get quite up there especially if they're getting a whole bunch of fluff-related things so they can really make the world breathe and come to life.

A meal or set of drinks for them or the group is also liked.

And of course, telling the GM that you liked something in particular, or really enjoyed the particular dungeon/quest/monster encounter goes a long way.

Grand Lodge

Anyone wanting to shower me with gifts is welcome in my games! Baring that i would like to hear good job or wow a little more often. Same group more or less 20 years people get complacent.

Silver Crusade

One Dragon to Rule Them All

Our GM was speechless.


Bigdaddyjug wrote:

There's a company, I will have to look up the name, that sells numbered sticky pips to help differentiate when you have a bunch of the same enemy type in combat. They're not terribly expensive and every GM should have some.

One of the guys in our PFS cluster recently purchased a bunch of sets and had our VC give them to the people who volunteer to GM frequently. They also come in different colors, so if you have a favorite local sports team you can get them sort of personalized for each person.

I was one of the beneficiaries of this. Thanks Cormac! I really love these little buggers. You can find the Mini Counters at STUFFER SHACK, www.stuffershack.com

Liberty's Edge

I bought a couple of GMs running AP on here one of the pdfs for each. That saves them 17-18 bucks as a thank you for running the AP.

I bought my tabletop GM a Chessex Battle Mat and I was a kickstarter for Deep Magic, he's getting my hardcopy of the book, while I keep my pdf.


This

Grand Lodge

Gnomezrule wrote:
This

Want!


I do a lot of crafting and finding cheap decoration for the battle mat. Reusable modular table terrain is great. The DM can use them to spice up encounters and bam future encounters are spiced up.

Trees
Dungeon furniture- beds, tables, chairs, ect

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