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Notes, maps, to fudge die rolls when needed. They also tend to have useful information on the inside of them. Back in the 1E day they included the saving throws and combat guides.
Anything you need to keep information on your end. If for no other reason than for the players to "think" you have information that they do not and are not making something up on the fly. It helps add a sense of mystery.
Hiding die rolls =/= fudging. I don't like players knowing what modifiers are in effect. They can figure out a lot of things by knowing what I roll, then guessing why something did or didn't happen.
I thought of another use is to put a spell card of a group buff on it on the front of the screen so the players can see it. Also you can keep stat blocks on the other side so players don't see. This monster has a bad will save for example.
I thought of another use is to put a spell card of a group buff on it on the front of the screen so the players can see it. Also you can keep stat blocks on the other side so players don't see. This monster has a bad will save for example.
All of the above, but most of all I use the DM screen for false rolls. Basically the ability to grab dice, roll them, pretend to look something up, then look up with the poker face and ask, "What do you do now?" The players always look around and wonder if there is not a random encounter coming their way, a trap goes off, or any number of things. Most times it means nothing at all, but there are more than enough times that something does happen that the players still believe I am rolling real checks back there.
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Like most have said its a tool to prevent what's called 'metagaming' or essentially using the knowledge you might have as a player for your in game descisions. It does this by preventing a player from having that knowledge. So for instance, if my goblin swings at the fighter and misses, he knows that the goblin missed him, but not by how much. However if he see's a die roll of say an 18 and its still a miss he knows the goblin has little chance of hitting him and might drop his shield to 2hand a weapon.
Its also to keep hidden things like monster stats or miniatures that may be used in upcomming encounters, maps the dm has drawn/printed that sort of thing. The dm controls the whole world and thus knows what's going on, the players are only supposed to know what their characters know.
I use a GM screen about 50% of the time (when I remember to snag it before heading out to the game). I don't often roll dice behind it, since my group will float around while playing and I don't like having to move it from place to place (we have two tables set up generally, sometimes a third if the group is large enough that day, but usually one near the couch for social role play and one in the dining room for combat maps). I do like having a screen though, as long as it isn't so tall to section me off from the players. Having tables of DCs quickly at hand without needing to thumb through a book is nice, and I can paperclip important information for the session onto either side (like the seldom used underwater combat rules). I'm lucky to have a decent collection of screens as well, so the backdrop for the players can help set the mood for whatever terrian the game is in (Volcano? I've got a screen for that! Frozen tundra? You bet. Dragon fght? That's covered. And so on...). As TOZ pointed out above they are great for keeping minis behind, both to have them ready at hand to pop out onto a battlemat and to keep the play space cluttered with extra minis that my cats might decide to munch on (3 kobolds dead so far). They also let me set down notes, maps, books, and more without ruining surprises for nearby players.
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What is a gm screen for? I know its to hide your rolls but why? What do you attempt to hide?
What besides the roll do you hide? Notes?
Im confused.
Notes, maps, minis...things you as a player are not supposed to know. Some rolls you shouldn't know the results of. Rolls like some skill checks and saving throws for curses and diseases for instance.
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What a marvelous idea. I ahd not thought of that. I think I will need to pull out the old DM screen I have.
I like to let the players catch a glimpse of a few of them as I'm picking them out. I usually bring a couple I'm not planning on using for just such purposes.
"Was that a purple worm he just took out?"
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What a marvelous idea. I ahd not thought of that. I think I will need to pull out the old DM screen I have.I like to let the players catch a glimpse of a few of them as I'm picking them out. I usually bring a couple I'm not planning on using for just such purposes.
"Was that a purple worm he just took out?"
Reactions are priceless.
I love this, but sadly it wouldn't work for me. We have a large collection of minis, but we treat them as generic distinguishable monsters of that size. So three trolls might look like an ettin, a large air elemental, and a yellow ooze.
What is a gm screen for? I know its to hide your rolls but why? What do you attempt to hide?
What besides the roll do you hide? Notes?
Im confused.
You certainly are confused.
For me:
- rolls (not interested in players being able to instantly calculate opponents' modifiers)
- notes
- maps
- The screen also has quick-reference material readily available.
All of the above, but most of all I use the DM screen for false rolls. Basically the ability to grab dice, roll them, pretend to look something up, then look up with the poker face and ask, "What do you do now?" The players always look around and wonder if there is not a random encounter coming their way, a trap goes off, or any number of things. Most times it means nothing at all, but there are more than enough times that something does happen that the players still believe I am rolling real checks back there.Heh, I love doing this. I don't get to do this as often anymore as my players have figured out that the mere act of me rolling doesn't mean something's going to happen. At first though ...
Me: *clatter*
Players: I look around for enemies while drawing my weapon!A couple minutes pass...
Players: Um, where's the monsters?
Me: What monsters?
Players: The ones you rolled dice for?
Me: *innocent look*
Players: Grrr...
This sort of thing especially comes up with search checks, or any situation where the players expect something to be there that just isn't. If I refused to roll, they'd know there was nothing there. But if they see the dice coming up 20s, they'd likely know for certain nothing was there. If they saw them all coming up 1's, they'd insist on continuing the search. Arguments might erupt. Best to bluff them, tell them they're fairly certain there's nothing to find, and let them move on.