What would you want on a custom GM screen?

[Dirtfox]

First a quick clarification: This is a custom craft project for a gift, not a product in development.

I'm making a custom folding wood GM's screen, and I want as much input as possible from other GMs and players - what would make it awesome? What would be useful to you?

This is going to be freestanding, three wood panels, hinged so it can fold flat. One side will of course face the players so players could benefit from it, one side would be for the GM only. Due to the limitation of folding flat, there is only one side panel for the GM and one side panel for the players that can have 'stuff' sticking up off it if needed.

I've thought of a few things so far. Please feel free to weigh in, or add something you want to see. For example as I'm a player making this gift for a GM, I don't know what kind of rules or references or tools everyone likes to have.

So far:
- Initiative tracker
- Round tracker
- Metal surface with magnets for buffs/debuffs/conditions in effect
- Dry-erase surface
- Some way to attach notes?

[Cuup]

I would have suggested a dry-erase board if it wasn't already listed - good call! I can be pretty scatter-brained and, as a GM, have forgotten a very important combat and/or plot hinging detail on more than one occasion, until after the session/encounter has ended ("Wait...I gave those archers Rapid Shot! I forgot! They should have been doing twice as much damage/round! Noooooooo"). Therefore, I would appreciate a giant red "DON'T FORGET" sign top-center, with the dry-erase surface directly below it ("Good point, Past Me; there IS a trap door there!").

[DeltaOneG]

Something along the top that would let you attach a sheet of paper but wouldn't prevent folding flat.

Or something like paper/sheet protectors that you could wet-erase on but have notes inside.

[Deadmoon]

a "cheat sheet" with a brief description of all the conditions: dazed, dazzled, stunned, staggered, grappled, pinned, etc....

[Dirtfox]

Thanks everyone! Great ideas so far. A sheet protector sleeve could even go on the flat sides. And the conditions could go on the Player side of the boards

[Malag]

You know what might be cool. Some sort of small paper panel which GM might attach on opposite side of screen so the players can see the photo of a person who they are talking with.

[LazarX]

Dirtfox wrote:

First a quick clarification: This is a custom craft project for a gift, not a product in development.

I'm making a custom folding wood GM's screen, and I want as much input as possible from other GMs and players - what would make it awesome? What would be useful to you?

This is going to be freestanding, three wood panels, hinged so it can fold flat. One side will of course face the players so players could benefit from it, one side would be for the GM only. Due to the limitation of folding flat, there is only one side panel for the GM and one side panel for the players that can have 'stuff' sticking up off it if needed.

I'd design it so that it could hold card stock sheets on both sides in a slip in slip out fashion. That way a person could set it up for whatever game she wants to run, Pathfinder, GURPS, AD+D, Gamma World.

[Dirtfox]

Nice ideas! Totally useful brainstorm for me, thank you. I'm thinking I'll include some of those cardstock rules reference pages with the gift. We mostly play Pathfinder but have toyed with FATE and Star Wars.

By the way I liked the portrait frame idea a lot, and I know the GM doesn't have a color printer so I'm trying to find some way he could use his iPod Touch as a photo screen. An iPod/Smartphone rest with a hole for the cable seems very do-able.