rpg

4713 readers

10 users here now

This community is for meaningful discussions of tabletop/pen & paper RPGs

Rules (wip):

Do not distribute pirate content
Do not incite arguments/flamewars/gatekeeping.
Do not submit video game content unless the game is based on a tabletop RPG property and is newsworthy.
Image and video links MUST be TTRPG related and should be shared as self posts/text with context or discussion unless they fall under our specific case rules.
Do not submit posts looking for players, groups or games.
Do not advertise for livestreams
Limit Self-promotions. Active members may promote their own content once per week. Crowdfunding posts are limited to one announcement and one reminder across all users.
Comment respectfully. Refrain from personal attacks and discriminatory (racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.) comments. Comments deemed abusive may be removed by moderators.
No Zak S content.
Off-Topic: Book trade, Boardgames, wargames, video games are generally off-topic.
No AI-generated content. Discussion of AI generation pertaining to RPGs is explicitly allowed.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Avogadro@ttrpg.network

sirblastalot@ttrpg.network

TripHammer@ttrpg.network

Primarch@ttrpg.network

BrentTaylor@ttrpg.network

What do you put on your GM screen? (lemmy.today)

submitted 3 weeks ago by Paradachshund@lemmy.today to c/rpg@ttrpg.network

23 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've always GM'd with my laptop, never used a screen, but I like the idea of it more and more.

I was just curious what people put on there? What do you consider essential and what has come in handy for you?

For reference I run Call of Cthulhu so especially interested in that, but I've also done DND so really just curious in general.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Paradachshund@lemmy.today 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Another vote for no screen! I definitely overestimated how common these were.

[–] INeedMana@piefed.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Now that I think of it, if I were running D&D 3.5 back when it was in full swing, and players had monster book burned into their minds, having even a shoddy copy of a page might have spoiled some fun. But I think that time has passed.

Even if the main point of a scene is a fight with tentacles GM will reveal the true nature of later, fewer players can bring up stats from seeing which page the book is open on, you might be using some homebrew from some blog anyway, or you might even be playing a more free-form system, where even meta-knowledge of the setting does not imply what the creature will do. I think many tables back then used to be more like a boardgame, where knowing what you fight against was half the battle.

And even if some OSR fan might say now "I wish those tables were back", from what I see around, nowadays there is much more flexibility, randomness and content (i.e. monsters) is not limited to a mainline that everybody knows

So even intentional peeking at GM's notes gives much less info, and unintentional does not spoil the fun

[–] Paradachshund@lemmy.today 2 points 2 weeks ago

A lot of the people who responded here have focused on the secrecy, but that's actually not my goal with it really. It just seemed nice to put the laptop away for a while and have quick reference for rules and plot points all laid out at once.

Do people really have players trying to ferret out secrets that much, or that are that distrustful of dice rolls? I can't imagine anyone doing that in my group, but maybe I just have a good one.

I do focus a lot more on roleplay and discourage metagaming, so maybe that's part of it too.