Dungeon Master's Screen

Magnificent, isn't it? I'm starting September off with the DM Screen because I already own it, having received it as a bonus in the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game boxed set I bought last month. The rest of the month's products are on their way in the mail, but I don't expect them to arrive for at least another week. So, I'll start the month with this and some online stuff (as well as campaign development for Tasiri).

The DM Screen is a full-color, four-panel foldout of glossy artwork (as seen above). It shows what appears to be all the iconic characters from the Player's Handbook in various situations. Tordek the dwarf fighter is facing an...ogre? bugbear? around a corner while a pair of skeletons and a shadowy werewolf sneak up behind him. Meanwhile, Jozan the cleric and Vadania the half-elf druid are charging at Tordek's opponent down a staircase to flank him. At the bottom of those stairs, Mialee the elf wizard is ignoring Tordek's opponent and instead casting a spell at the purple worm(?) in a crevice at her feet, while a minotaur and a mandibled monster (maybe a demon?) threaten her from the side.

Around the corner, Soveliss the elf ranger follows Krusk the half-orc barbarian and Alhandra the human paladin into battle against a massive spider that is chewing someone non-iconic (so expendable and doomed) while Nebin the gnome illusionist tries to save the poor doomed fool as another spider approaches from a hole in the wall.

Finally, the last of our iconics share the fourth panel. Lidda the halfling rogue watches the spider-fight while Hennet the human sorcerer and Devis the human bard go through a treasure chest. In the background, Ember the human monk (who is not Asian) stands guard at the bottom of a long staircase. Unfortunately for her and probably the rest of the adventurers, there's a really big red dragon at the top of those stairs that is about to eat two nameless men-at-arms before it comes down to wreak havoc on the iconic party.

So yeah, there's a lot happening here. And that's just the art side of the screen.

The inside of the screen has lots of information to assist the fledgling 3rd edition DM (which, let's face it, everyone was fledgling at the time this was released). The first page, in a blue theme, includes a whole bunch of skill check DCs to help the DM determine how difficult a task might be. Very helpful as guidelines for skills.

The rest of the panels recreate tables from the Player's Handbook. The 2nd, 3rd and half of the 4th panel, with an orange theme, are most of tables from the chapter on Combat, several of which include the determination of potential attacks of opportunity (complete with the 'Maybes' and 'Usuallys' that are so helpful. The creature size and scale table is also here, as are the tables on cover, concealment, various attack roll modifiers, turning undead, object hardness, and a new table on what classes have access to what spell levels at what character level. I'm not sure this is all that useful, and this space could have been taken up by a different table that might have combat applications.

The last half of the 4th panel has a green theme, and it's got more info on skills, including a helpful list of what skills can be used untrained (and their applicable ability modifier). The final table at the bottom is a reproduction of the table on Light Sources from the chapter on Adventuring.

So, this is pretty useful. It's got very little in common with the old 1st edition DM Screen, mainly because 3rd edition doesn't use the combat matrices that 1st edition did, so there are a lot fewer charts and tables required for figuring out whether or not you hit something. But there's more to it than just the artwork and tables; there's also a short, eight-page booklet included as well. All of the pages have photocopy permissions attached.

The first page is a Combat Planner. You can list the PCs and the enemies, their speed, AC, attack bonuses, saving throw mods, and hit points, as well as a note of any special vision they have (darkvision or low-light). You can also use a 'Combat Round Matrix' for which you simply list the combatants in initiative order, then check off the columns as they take their actions in a round (this also lets you figure out spell durations if necessary).

Pages 2 and 3 are actually a brief DMG preview, specifically on generating towns. Well, I wish I'd had this handy when I created Highwich and Hollowcross, but I suppose I'll be able to use them to fill in some stuff now. Well, not right now. But later. I can already tell that Chapter 4 of the DMG is going to be long; the tables here are tables 4-40 through 4-46. These tables and information help generate the characteristics of a town, but don't have anything to do with assigning buildings or anything like that. So, nothing I already did has to be changed. Good.

Page 4 is about Grenadelike Weapons as well as Area Spells, including visual explanations of areas of effect for sleep and burning hands, although I have to question the second one as it doesn't make sense. I thought burning hands was a fan of flames that extends out from the caster, not a semicircle where the caster is on the diameter. Maybe it will be errataed later. There are also a few diagrams on how to determine where a missed thrown weapon lands.

Page 5 has two more of these visual explanations for color spray and detect evil. It also includes two more DMG tables, these ones on diseases and poisons. So you can start using them right away even before the DMG arrives. Isn't that nice? The poisons are rather specific, and so are the diseases, with names and saving throw DCs for each, as well as the effects of failed saves. The effects are not pleasant.

Pages 6 and 7 are reproductions from the Player's Handbook, on weapons. All the weapons in the PH are listed here just as they were in the book. Simple Weapons, melee and ranged; Martial Weapons, and Exotic Weapons with their full statistics. At the bottom of page 7 is the Special and Superior Items table as well.

Finally, page 8 is a blank graph paper page with 1" squares that can be copied and used for battlemats if you have counters or minis to play with.

So, that's the Dungeon Master's Screen. It's a gorgeous product, and the insert pages will likely see use in most games as well.

I'll continue tomorrow with a couple of online additions, as well as more development on Tasiri. Until then, have a great day, and game on.