New DM Screen

After a hurricane ripped through our town on Friday -- the house next to ours had part of its roof torn off! -- we wanted to get out for a while, so we headed up to Reno, which is the closest thing to a big city in our little corner of Western Nevada. I finally picked up the new Fifth Edition DM Screen (along with an A-Wing and B-Wing for our Star Wars: X-Wing escapades) and, wow, it's easily the best GM/DM screen I've ever seen. It has the obligatory charts (conditions, cover, skill DCs, etc.), but what really sets it apart is the narrative stuff. This screen helps you create NPCs on the fly by providing tables for distinguishing characteristics, ideals, bonds, and flaws, and it even includes a fairly robust random name generator. In about thirty seconds, I created Kirondic, a fellow who's loyal to his family but also seeking redemption, perhaps because of the shameful secret from his past. Oh, and he's prone to squinting. The screen also features a couple of handy tables called "Something Happens!" and "Quick Finds," which help DMs move the story along if things begin to slow down or if the PCs need a bit of prodding. I just rolled a 19 on "Something Happens!", so now the PCs catch a whiff of a foul smell in the air. Actually, that sounds a lot like our Druid Cycle game sessions...