Speeding things up

Last updated: 251223

As my groups advance in levels, the combat gets more and more complicated. In fairness, we also play a more rules-intensive complicated game that my youth. But I’m also slowing as I age. I just can’t keep all the tables, abilities, and rolls in my head any more. So I’m taking steps.

My problems mostly relate to written information. We use a white board, so I don’t have to keep track of where creatures are. It’s easy to roll a pile of d20s, so managing multiple creatures doesn’t take me long.

My first change is the DM’s Screen. I’ve been using the default Dungeon Masters Screen since it was published, but the data isn’t arranged in a way that puts what I need in the same place. The concept of”THAC0″ means I don’t need a half-page of “to hit” values. The assassination table gets used a lot (for attacks upon helpless creatures). The information about monster reactions and morale is in multiple places in the DMG. The information for detect invisible & scrying is in two places in the DMG. Neither is included on the DM’s screen. Psionic combat is almost always just a psionic on a non-psionic (when it’s not, I’m going to have to pull out my documentation on psionics anyway). I’ve rebuild the screen to put the information that I want all together, hopefully matching the frequency I want it.

Second is monster information. For a single monster in the combat I can turn to the appropriate manual. For the higher-level monsters there is a lot of information in there that can take a moment to extract. And when there are two (or more) different monsters involved with a long list of powers, I end up flipping back-and-forth. A lot. Between books. Then there’s extracting information from other editions. I’m now creating “Monster Cards” in advance for those more complex monsters, both condensing the information to only what I need and then expanding the information to include details on spells and special powers (like range, duration, etc.).

Combat gets complex quickly. I’ll also at least note in advance what each group of opponents is likely to cast or do in the first couple of rounds, and in what order. They’ll likely want protection spells first, considerations for area-of-effect spells ,etc.

I’ve attached a copy of my DM’s Screen in Word format (so you can edit to taste).  It will likely undergo a number of revisions, so keep checking back if you find it interesting. And let me know if you have suggestions. I’ll tinker with it a while before eventually printing it on something more robust than copy paper.

I’d love to get feedback on possible changes (or errors)! I’ve now got 6 pages for a tri-fold with just a little room left.

Rick’s DM Screen

Author: Rick

A DM for *mumble* years, I've been playing AD&D since junior high. I've currently got two separate campaigns running, both in Mystara. I've been told when they handed out hobbies, I stood in the short lines. I actively cycle tour, kayak, play board games, read, develop home automation software, play Stars!, volunteer with the International and National American Red Cross, and work on a never-ending stream of home repairs. In my wake I've left paintball, medieval full-contact combat (SCA), computer gaming, Heroclix, and kite construction. View all posts by Rick