GM Screens - what is their Glorious Purpose?

Dom

Dom

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A selection of screens.​

Last night, I was working through my prep for running Achtung! Cthulhu when I reached the point that I had a look at the GM Screen. I’m approaching this system a little different to the other iterations of 2d20 that I’ve run (Star Trek Adventures and Dune) as this time I’ve not gone and created a full crib sheet for the game. The family resemblance of the later 2d20 games is pretty strong, and I felt that I should be able to run it referencing the GM Screen.

When I ran Curse of Strahd, it was my first exposure to D&D 5e and I ended up sticking a set of Post-it notes over the screen with the key rules that I could needed to reference and couldn’t remember. By the time we’d completed the first season, I’d reached the point that I was mainly using the screen, with occasional references to DnD Beyond or Alex(*). Towards the end, I was hardly referencing it at all.

(*) Every campaign needs an Alex, a player who’s spent the time with the books and knows how things work and can quickly reference or check something. Co-opt, don’t be threatened, as they help you focus on the flow of the session.

Anyway, the Achtung! Cthulhu screen as a four-panel portrait format screen, solidly built and nicely illustrated. However, when I looked at the content for use at the table, I was confused.

Stepping back; when I was younger, and didn’t have the disposable income, I used to create crib sheets for all my games to use at the table rather than buy a GM screen. It’s still a way that I learn games. However, now that I’m time-poor and able to afford buying a screen, I tend to pick them up.

Beyond the obvious part of screening off some of your notes from the players, what I look for in a screen is the quick reference material that I need when I’m GMing. Key rules or procedures, ideally with references to the pages in the book. To me, that’s the purpose of a screen; a barrier and references.

What jarred with me on the Achtung! Cthulhu screen was that one-and-a-half panels were dedicated to random tables for opponents and a picture. Over a third of the screen area wasted from my perspective, as it’s hugely unlikely I’d reference one of these in play; it’s not a D&D style game where you regularly roll for random encounters. The NPC quality table and abilities would have been more useful. Procedurally, the task mechanics were missing, and there was nothing on threat spends, dealing with squads, magic or truths. All fixable, but pretty surprising to me.

It led me to consider how GM Screens are designed. Although I’m talking about a specific games’ screen, there are many other examples like this. It just didn’t feel like it was something that had been planned for use at the table. In some cases, the screen should help understanding of more complex rules (for example, the DGP screen for MegaTraveller managed to express the combat flow much more clearly and concisely than the rules did).

To me the purpose of a screen is to be a sharp, focused reference for the GM. Filling them with cruft and things that won’t get used very often is a criminal waste of time and space.

What do you look for in a GM Screen?

20 November 2023

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I don't normally use GM screens - I don't like the way they create a barrier between me and the players. When I have used them, I've put them to one side and used them to store handouts and maps and things I don't want the players to see yet. (These days, I'm relaxed about that as well.)

I've not used them as a reference for rules - mainly because I think I'd find peering at a GM screen harder than looking at my summary sheet.

I did once make a GM screen for Call of Cthulhu out of a couple of Weetabix boxes. I taped three panels together and covered it with cuttings from newspapers and an elder sign on the front. I don't remember adding any tables or references to it - but by that point I had internalised the CoC rules anyway.
 
I find a GM screen is vital, especially if you are using published adventures with big illustrations on the page - having the adventure or your notes in plain sight just spoils twists or saps player agency because 'oh, we know what is supposed to happen next'.

So my screen is first and foremost a barrier to line of sight and then inside it I have random tables and the PC stats (AC, etc) but not so much actual reference material.
 
For most games, I can never be bothered with a screen, but I did use one for Symbaroum because:

(a) I got it in the Kickstarter
(b) It was a landscape one, meaning a very low profile on the table.
(c) there are some critical tables needed and
(d) I was working from an actual book rather than making shit up out of my bullets.

It didn't cause me any issues and under the right circumstances I would be open to using one again, but the main point was (b) - the form factor was right for me.
 
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First Age said:
I normally use GM screens - I like the way that they create a barrier between me and the players. When I have used them, I hide behind them and sob quietly at my own GMing and the progress of the game.
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I mean, not really. I like landscape ones because they are less obtrusive, I play games with rules and the screens often help with some key look-ups, though as Dom indicates, not always the right look-ups. A bit of thematic art displaying to the players is also nice.
 
I tend to use a crib sheet, flat on the table in front of me, rather than a GM screen. I don't like the barrier, personally. I keep meaning to have a second page with key info about the PCs and enemies, plus markers for wound etc, but haven't found the motivation to do that yet. The PCs change every session or two, so it would be updated continually.

I've also noticed that what the publishers think is vital reference information for the GM at the table isn't what I want, so I stopped buying them and carried on with the crib sheets.
 
I still buy GM Screens now and then, in the hope they'll be handy summaries of all the charts, tables and rules I need. Sadly, several of the recent ones have been sorely lacking (Dune being the worst example). They are also bloody expensive for what you get.

I've usually made myself some sort of crib sheet as part of prepping to run a game. So the GM screen gets relegated to being something to hide notes/props behind or something to stick post-it notes to.
 
I don’t use GM screens as they usually don’t have the charts or information I need on them and they put a barrier up between me and the players. Plus I stand on occasions whilst I GM.

Putting together a cheat sheet helps me pick up on the finer points of the system.
 
Stronty Girl said:
I still buy GM Screens now and then, in the hope they'll be handy summaries of all the charts, tables and rules I need. Sadly, several of the recent ones have been sorely lacking (Dune being the worst example). They are also bloody expensive for what you get.

I've usually made myself some sort of crib sheet as part of prepping to run a game. So the GM screen gets relegated to being something to hide notes/props behind or something to stick post-it notes to.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty much the same. I like a GM screen that has charts and tables, so I don't have to spend time flicking through rulebooks.
 
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