But you'll wish you could."
There are a lot of physical items related to our hobby. Like, sure there's dice, pencils and mountain dew, but a lot of people go the extra mile. Charts and maps on the wall, minis for combat, dice towers for fair rolling, and I've even seen people put a felt tray in the middle of the table so there's absolutely no cheating. Kind of a yikes from me, but it's not my group.
There's also GM screens. Huge privacy screens either preprinted by the game company and filled with charts, or hand crafted with info pinned to them. Man, those wood ones are nice, it almost makes me not hate the whole concept. Almost. Today we're gonna talk about why I can't stand DM screens.
So the primary use of DM screens is providing secrecy. When you're behind the screen, you have plenty of space for notes and even dice rolls that nobody can peek at. You can have your module book open to the right page, you can have your notebook full of plans open, and you can keep all of your dice rolls a secret.
As an aside, I do want to note that there is some merit in secret dice rolls. I don't always make it a big deal, since it speeds up the game to just tell people DCs they're rolling against constantly. Analysis of information is definitely part of the game though, and secret dice rolls make the group rely on your verbal descriptions and their skill checks. Just make sure those verbal descriptions are good. There's also the undeniable fact that you might have to fudge the dice. I think you should steer clear of doing so to make a fight more challenging, but either way, it just needs to happen sometimes.
The other thing GM screens are for is information. While the outside is usually covered in art, the inside will have a ton of charts or other helpful reminders, like having the grapple flowchart from back when grapple was confusing. Maybe some rules on Attack of Opportunity, for back when we were stupid and thought those were confusing. Generally thinks which will be useful to have on hand.
Except...
There's a difference between what we think we need and what's actually useful to know. A lot of people who play World of Warcraft, or any other MMO, will have their user interface customized and cluttered with information. It seems like the more difficult the content is, the more crap they slap onto their interface. Wordup is one of WoW's theorycrafters and guide-writers. A while ago I saw him say that most people overload themselves with information and track a lot of stuff that's ultimately not very useful to know. At worst, they'll distract themselves. It got me looking at UIs with more than just a sickened expression and kind of inspired this post.
You can probably see where I'm going with this.
I can probably think of a few charts in any pen and paper game I've played that you need to look at constantly. The Time and Value Progression Chart in Mutants and Masterminds. Condition modifiers in Pathfinder, if you're anything like me and forget what the difference is constantly. I definitely can't think of more than a few of them for a single game. Probably not more than five, and definitely not enough to fill a giant fold-out screen. If "All those charts" is why you like GM screens then I'm sorry but you're misguided.
I guarantee you've gone dozens of sessions not using any of those precious charts jammed onto the screen, and frankly they're only there to create a perceived sense of value so you don't feel bad paying ten fucking dollars for printed cardboard. Even if I was completely wrong, it doesn't justify the screen's existence, let alone its position propped up in front of you. You probably have plenty of space on a table, a side table, or a wall for some helpful charts.
Speaking of its position in front of you, I did go a little backwards on purpose. My main issue with these things is what they do to how you interact with your group. If someone really, really wanted those charts and just kept the thing stapled to his wall or in his lap, fine. I think it's a waste of money in a world where we have free photoshop programs, but fine. It wouldn't be that bad.
If you've been here with me since the beginning you know I don't like the idea that the GM is the Lord and Master. It's an inherently combative and antagonistic outlook that will eventually harm the shit out of your game. It's not even true: The only true metric of success we have in this hobby is if everyone had fun or not. Acting like a King, pushing people around and being overly strict with your rules is only fun for you: and if you really, seriously only care about your own fun...get another hobby. We'll all be happier.
Ahem. Not that DM screens do all that on their own. They're more like a tool the toxic GM uses which sometimes falls into the hands of regular, well meaning GMs. Putting something in front of yourself which virtually prevents two average height people from clearly seeing each other creates a psychological divide. Everyone will start thinking in different terms whether they want to or not. The GM and the players might even start "Othering" each other.
That's a lot of doom and gloom, but it does affect you. Maybe not that bad, but it will. In addition to that, it's a physical nuisance. It'll get knocked over. It'll get in the way. It'll make it harder for you to see the map, assuming you're using one. It might even get in the way when you're moving minis around or trying to plan monster actions.
You probably don't need that privacy as much as you think you do. It can be useful, but there's other ways to get it. Most people can shield a die roll with their hands if the other players are super close. Especially nosy people should be talked to regardless of your privacy solution, or else they're going to do something childish like try to peek your notes while you're in the bathroom. A really clever solution I've seen was to set the screen up on a side table and put your notes behind that. I still think screens are waste of money, but that's clever nonetheless.
If you're married to the idea, I want you follow the example of Matt Mercer. Look up footage of Critical Role of google what their table setup looks like. Matt is never obscured by his screen, and at all times the other players can easily see most of his body. His custom screen is positively tiny compared to traditional ones and never feels like a barrier. Ironically, I don't think he even really needs a GM screen due to his position when filming...but the cool wooden one he's got is at least a little bit of branding. A custom screen, one with clips on the inside, can be used in conjunction with note cards for keeping info like initiative or short-form monster stats visible. This is basically the only reasonable use for one of these things. I still think they're pointless, but Matt's custom screen is at least clearly inoffensive.
I feel like I've made my point. Don't feel called out, but every time I've seen a GM trot one of these out, I've gotten the distinct impression that they just liked feeling like King Dungeon Master and the screen was their badge of office. It's a deliberate effort to "Other" your group, and that's not a good idea. My groups are all older now, though. We're less disruptive. More cohesive and trusting. And nobody's brought up a GM screen in years. Maybe that's a coincidence. But I don't think so.
So the primary use of DM screens is providing secrecy. When you're behind the screen, you have plenty of space for notes and even dice rolls that nobody can peek at. You can have your module book open to the right page, you can have your notebook full of plans open, and you can keep all of your dice rolls a secret.
As an aside, I do want to note that there is some merit in secret dice rolls. I don't always make it a big deal, since it speeds up the game to just tell people DCs they're rolling against constantly. Analysis of information is definitely part of the game though, and secret dice rolls make the group rely on your verbal descriptions and their skill checks. Just make sure those verbal descriptions are good. There's also the undeniable fact that you might have to fudge the dice. I think you should steer clear of doing so to make a fight more challenging, but either way, it just needs to happen sometimes.
The other thing GM screens are for is information. While the outside is usually covered in art, the inside will have a ton of charts or other helpful reminders, like having the grapple flowchart from back when grapple was confusing. Maybe some rules on Attack of Opportunity, for back when we were stupid and thought those were confusing. Generally thinks which will be useful to have on hand.
Except...
There's a difference between what we think we need and what's actually useful to know. A lot of people who play World of Warcraft, or any other MMO, will have their user interface customized and cluttered with information. It seems like the more difficult the content is, the more crap they slap onto their interface. Wordup is one of WoW's theorycrafters and guide-writers. A while ago I saw him say that most people overload themselves with information and track a lot of stuff that's ultimately not very useful to know. At worst, they'll distract themselves. It got me looking at UIs with more than just a sickened expression and kind of inspired this post.
You can probably see where I'm going with this.
I can probably think of a few charts in any pen and paper game I've played that you need to look at constantly. The Time and Value Progression Chart in Mutants and Masterminds. Condition modifiers in Pathfinder, if you're anything like me and forget what the difference is constantly. I definitely can't think of more than a few of them for a single game. Probably not more than five, and definitely not enough to fill a giant fold-out screen. If "All those charts" is why you like GM screens then I'm sorry but you're misguided.
I guarantee you've gone dozens of sessions not using any of those precious charts jammed onto the screen, and frankly they're only there to create a perceived sense of value so you don't feel bad paying ten fucking dollars for printed cardboard. Even if I was completely wrong, it doesn't justify the screen's existence, let alone its position propped up in front of you. You probably have plenty of space on a table, a side table, or a wall for some helpful charts.
Speaking of its position in front of you, I did go a little backwards on purpose. My main issue with these things is what they do to how you interact with your group. If someone really, really wanted those charts and just kept the thing stapled to his wall or in his lap, fine. I think it's a waste of money in a world where we have free photoshop programs, but fine. It wouldn't be that bad.
If you've been here with me since the beginning you know I don't like the idea that the GM is the Lord and Master. It's an inherently combative and antagonistic outlook that will eventually harm the shit out of your game. It's not even true: The only true metric of success we have in this hobby is if everyone had fun or not. Acting like a King, pushing people around and being overly strict with your rules is only fun for you: and if you really, seriously only care about your own fun...get another hobby. We'll all be happier.
Ahem. Not that DM screens do all that on their own. They're more like a tool the toxic GM uses which sometimes falls into the hands of regular, well meaning GMs. Putting something in front of yourself which virtually prevents two average height people from clearly seeing each other creates a psychological divide. Everyone will start thinking in different terms whether they want to or not. The GM and the players might even start "Othering" each other.
That's a lot of doom and gloom, but it does affect you. Maybe not that bad, but it will. In addition to that, it's a physical nuisance. It'll get knocked over. It'll get in the way. It'll make it harder for you to see the map, assuming you're using one. It might even get in the way when you're moving minis around or trying to plan monster actions.
You probably don't need that privacy as much as you think you do. It can be useful, but there's other ways to get it. Most people can shield a die roll with their hands if the other players are super close. Especially nosy people should be talked to regardless of your privacy solution, or else they're going to do something childish like try to peek your notes while you're in the bathroom. A really clever solution I've seen was to set the screen up on a side table and put your notes behind that. I still think screens are waste of money, but that's clever nonetheless.
If you're married to the idea, I want you follow the example of Matt Mercer. Look up footage of Critical Role of google what their table setup looks like. Matt is never obscured by his screen, and at all times the other players can easily see most of his body. His custom screen is positively tiny compared to traditional ones and never feels like a barrier. Ironically, I don't think he even really needs a GM screen due to his position when filming...but the cool wooden one he's got is at least a little bit of branding. A custom screen, one with clips on the inside, can be used in conjunction with note cards for keeping info like initiative or short-form monster stats visible. This is basically the only reasonable use for one of these things. I still think they're pointless, but Matt's custom screen is at least clearly inoffensive.
I feel like I've made my point. Don't feel called out, but every time I've seen a GM trot one of these out, I've gotten the distinct impression that they just liked feeling like King Dungeon Master and the screen was their badge of office. It's a deliberate effort to "Other" your group, and that's not a good idea. My groups are all older now, though. We're less disruptive. More cohesive and trusting. And nobody's brought up a GM screen in years. Maybe that's a coincidence. But I don't think so.
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